I needed Iowa for my 50 states marathon journey for the 2nd time around. Initially, I wanted to run…read morethe Equalizer 24/12 hr ultra in 2020, but it got delayed by the thing. Traveling and doing marathons is a pretty cool experience, not to mention expensive and physically challenging and exhausting. Still enjoying it. With that said, I found the Equalizer 24/12 hr ultra event on runningintheusa website and registered for the 2020 edition. When lockdowns happened in 2020, i asked for a rollover to 2021. When the delta wave of Covid decided to make things worse, I emailed the race director to roll me over to 2022. Once things started to settle down into the new normal, I made plans to travel in 2022. Registration was held online, so payment is 100% credit card. Not sure if they do race weekend registration, but best to get registered in advance so it's saves time and peace of mind. With that said, I arrived here after running a race in South Carolina the weekend before tired, but refreshed. The irony of running marathons so close to each other is that your body does adapt and adjust to what you put on it. Thankfully, I did some practice at getting somewhat good at it. Equalizer 24/12/6 hr event features a 1.9 mile loop around Gray's Lake Park in Des Moines, Iowa. Seems pretty much straightforward, I think. Or so it would seem. The overall experience here at the Equalizer 24/12/6 hr event went fairly well. While loops can either help or break you, it gradually broke me to where I just settled for the marathon distance while my friend, who has the car, went on to do 50km. It was nice to be able to not have him wait for me, so it worked out. We got what we wanted out of it. There was one main aid station on the south side of the park, where the timing station and the race staff was situated. Along the course, there was a sizable bridge that seemed like a good 800 feet across, although it may have been longer. It illuminated at night so you knew where the bridge was. It was beautiful. Doing this race was good and got myself a new state on my quest to run the 50 states marathons / ultras for the 2nd time around. Iowa 2022 was my 27th state and passed half way. The course was nice and mostly flat, with only a couple of hills on the course. Not really hills but short uphill sections. There was restrooms available on the course, which is cool. The weather was on point and never got really hot, even though the sun was out majority of the day without much cloud cover. The Equalizer race hosted a small race field, which was nice, although could have been larger. I do enjoy this type of race format instead of the standard marathon event, where I have to be done at a certain time. Here, you have a longer time to finish what you want completed. A lot of people love the generous time limit for the marathon or 50km if doing the 12 or 24 hr. Or if you are talented and/fast, you can try the 100km or 100 miler within 24 hours. Whatever you feel like, consider Equalizer 24/12/6 hr endurance event for your race if you're doing it for a personal challenge or running the 50 states. All good! The Equalizer 24/12/6 hr endurance event is held annually at Gray's Lake Park in Des Moines, IA. The event itself is really low key. With the basics of various forms of aid, not limiting to water, gatorade, various lines of soda pop, and various food items, and timing to get your results timely, that's all you basically need in a race. Although race medals are sure to attract many a participant, it's not as important for me particularly for me, as I enjoy the generous time limits that these timed races provide. This race does not provide individual finisher medals to participants but they do age group medals, at least in the 2022 edition of the race. For the most part though, the experience here in Des Moines running the marathon distance is as invaluable to me as life itself. When you do this as your livelihood and lifestyle, it helps to be familiar with such things. There's parking right next to the start and finish line area, so you can really limp to your car if you need some comfort in between miles. Low key races can be a good thing too. Logistically, this was an easy one to do. If you need Iowa or want to do a timed race to see how you'd do, consider the Equalizer Endurance Run in Des Moines, IA. Its usually held late October. 5.0 stars for the overall experience. Support local! Run more! A+

Great park & venue…read more Love going here for community events & festivities. Enjoyed the World Food & Music Festival.

Great paved and dirt trails to walk, run, and bike on around the prairie and to Saylorville lake…read more Connects to other bike trails nearby. Several paved parking spots at the trail head with a restroom and several shaded picnic tables along the path.

5 Stars! My son really loved this class. He is already talking about signing up next year. He said…read morehe liked that everyone had their own computer to work on and that some tasks were really challenging and others were pretty easy. As a parent and teacher, I know that having this balance between opportunities for challenge and success evidence of a great class.

Dam to Dam has always been on my bucket list and this year I finally got to run it! Traditionally a…read more20k, 2014 was the first year as a actual half marathon and I absolutely loved the course. Very flat and interesting the whole way. This is a race you could definitely PR if the weather cooperates and you plan ahead. By planning ahead, I mean, start early. I started just ahead of the 9:00 minute/mile pace and the course was pretty swamped the entire time. Even towards the end and at the finish line there were always plenty of other people around me. The finish line was also fantastic. Free, unlimited beer! Heck yes! And not just to finishers :) It was definitely a huge party at the end and we had a great time. My only beef with Dam to Dam is that it is NOT friendly to out of town runners. Packet pick-up times are only from 2pm - 8pm the night before the race. Coming from KC, we thankfully had friends in town to grab our packets for us because our only other option would be to take off time from work early. They also strand you at the finish line. The course is point to point and you need to take a shuttle bus to the race start. At registration you indicate which location you are going to get on the bus. We chose the Ankeny stop because it was close to our friend's house. We didn't realize, however, that the buses don't bring you back to your car afterwards. What? So after the race, we were essentially stranded downtown. If you didn't have friends who weren't running, how would you get back? A $40 cab ride.. that's how. Yikes. The swag was decent. A nice Brooks dri fit and a pair of Brooks socks. The starting line was super buggy (since you are standing ON the dam surrounded by water), but was plentiful with port-o-potties. The aid stations were kinda hit or miss. They were all very well staffed, but only a few had Powerade. It was a super humid day, so I definitely wanted to get more Powerade than I was able to get, but it turned out okay. On course support was also good, multiple areas where lots of spectators were gathered. There are a few parts where the course moves onto a trail which was pretty crowded, I think they could really benefit from using starting waves next year. The medal was fairly unimpressive, however, despite its size, this is still a smaller local race. It doesn't cost a lot and for the price, I'm perfectly happy with my money going towards the beer after :) :) We had an absolute blast and will definitely be back next year (just a little more prepared)! Course - A (But they should use a wave start!) Medal - C Swag - B- Overall Management - B+ Finish Line - A+

Absolutely horrible customer service. The guy at the consession stand was a huge jerk. While we…read morewere waiting for a game to finish up so my daughters team could play a bunch of people were watching the TVs in the front area and the consession stand guy turned them off with no explanation. When someone asked why he told another customer that this was not a sports bar, and wouldn't even respond to me or a couple other customers when asked for a reason. This all happened within minutes of my wife spending about $20 an food for my kids and paying to get into the facility. Lastly as we were there for a basketball tournament were there were hundreds of people in the building so they turned off the water fountains so your forced to get something to drink from them. Avoid this place if possible!!

Jim Hallman always tries to work with my scheldue to get me a lesson. The facility is always clean…read more There are always balls or tees available. Easy to call the front desk and reserve a tunnel.

This league offers an opinion for tball through high school for players interested in playing the…read moregame but don't want to (or cant afford) travel and play tournaments. Great option for a regular schedule however since the coaches are volunteer parents, the skills of the game are not drilled in. There are several fields with plenty of shade and a concessions stand for spectators. Registration opens around the new year for spring ball and there is a summer ("second session") option for kids interested in more game time but no practice.