In the fourth season of “The Office,” Michael sponsors a fun run for rabies. He organizes the event after accidentally hitting Meredith with his car and learning that she may have been exposed to the disease.
The event is officially given an absurdly long title: the Michael Scott’s Dunder Mifflin Scranton Meredith Palmer Memorial Celebrity Rabies Awareness Pro-Am Fun Run Race for the Cure. The bloated name is typical of Michael’s need to turn a simple gesture into a highly visible personal production.
The episode, “Fun Run,” opens the show’s fourth season and aired in 2007. Meredith’s injury, Dwight’s intense concern about rabies, and Michael’s misguided attempts to appear compassionate drive the episode’s main comedy. Michael also treats the run as a way to repair his relationship with Meredith.
The disease is not a random charity choice: Meredith is hospitalized after the accident and is believed to have been exposed to rabies. The episode exaggerates Michael’s misunderstanding of the illness, including his bizarre comments about hydration and the supposed behavior of people with rabies.