Just finished the 2013 Borgess Run for the Health of it Kalamazoo Marathon on 05/05/2013. This race…read morein Michigan was another marathon on my 50 States quest from Hawaii. I needed both Wisconsin and Michigan, so I saw that they were on both the same weekend and that they were offering up the "Mittens Challenge", where you got an extra finisher's medal for completing both marathons. The icing on the cake was that of their 50 States Marathon Challenge, where the first registered entry from each state would receive comp entry fee and a free pair of New Balance.I happened to be one lucky (or otherwise) entrant from Hawaii and was great to be apart of this race. I didnt have the opportunity to go to the race expo / packet pick up due to me running the Wisconsin marathon the day before, so I can't comment on that. The weather was cool and manageable on race morning, which was nice on my tired legs. I think it was 72/55 and partly sunny. The marathon started at 8am, which was nice, so we didnt have to get up so early, We marathoners weaved through downtown Kalamazoo in the early miles, which was nice. Seeing the passerby clapping and cheering for all the faster runners was invigorating as I passed by made me run faster. In the middle miles before the half way point, we ran through Western Michigan University, which was pretty good and scenic. Only problem was lack of spectators out here. The aid stations were adequate, so I can't complain. There were some parts of the course that were somewhat depressed, but I didn't care. There were timing splits at 13.1, mile 20, and at the finish line. In the later half of the course, we weaved through residential and through community parks, which gave some bit of shade when the sun was being mean to me. The course itself was hilly, with several hills that were challenging, but manageable to say the least. It was a nice marathon overall and I would recommend this race to anyone who wants a good challenge. The hills are a bummer, but what great marathon would it be without them? The finish was great, after running 2 states on a nice spring weekend. Thanks to the Kalamazoo for a great race and hope to be back in a future year to get revenge on those hills, but for now, it was a sweet victory to notch another one in Michigan. Overall, I would recommend this marathon, if you don't mind the hills and want something to do while vacationing in Kalamazoo. The finishers medal is great: a silver medallion that sports the Kalamazoo marathon logo on it. Only thing is that they contract the timing company to 6 1/2 hours, so they'll stop timing then, but allow you to finish. Still, it is a nice marathon and recommended if you are in the area. Run more! B+

The race is decent but the DJ at mile 19 is terrible. Not sure if Arcadia Ale put him out there or…read moreif it was the marathon but he literally told me he CANNOT play upbeat music the entire time. MILE 19 when runners need a boost and he's playing a depressing slow song. I talked to him and he said he needs to mix it up because the spectators can or listen to upbeat music the whole time..

Oh.Mud.God! Mudathlon doesn't muck around. This obstacle course makes Warrior Dash look like a…read morespringtime frolic through a field of daisies. It is 3 miles of Hell and back. I have dirt on top of dirt, cuts and scrapes, I will definitely need a third shower later today, and I finally got my knees to stop bleeding. They covered everything and made sure everyone was having "a mucking good time!" from start to finish, before and after. Parking was a breeze and the field was pretty level and not as muddy as I imagined it would be. They gave hayrides from parking to the race site and a table with waivers awaited anyone who still hadn't signed one. Then it was off to packet pick-up to get my goody bag and race bib. Close to the starting line was a gear check that let you check-in and check-out gear repeatedly. So if you only needed your wallet then you could get it and put it back in gear check. Way better than Warrior Dash's no-rechecking policy. The race itself was ridiculous. I've never been so dirty in my life. They don't tease you with a pleasant jog and a little creek that barely gets your shoes wet. They throw everything and the kitchen sink at you from the beginning. There are some little things you jump over and then you come to a river that goes waist-high. It's all downhill and uphill and climbing from there. 40+ obstacles, actually. And they include climbing over hay bails, climbing through tractor tires, running through a set of tires, sliding down a hill, tightrope balancing, scrambling up walls of dirt, hoisting yourself over wooden walls and a variety of other crazy stuff they put in your way. It's not even that each obstacle is unreasonably hard, but there are just SO many that it wears you out pretty quickly. This was only the second annual Chicagoland/NW Indiana Mudathlon, so I hope it will take off and become more popular. I would like to see them add some more food besides burgers and brats. Maybe some turkey legs like Warrior Dash.

The Hip Hop Run Chicago was misleading, disorganized and expensive!…read more The gripes: 1. The race itself already cost $65.00 for 10K entry during March 2017, when I purchased it. No where on the website does it say, I also need to also additionally pay a venue fee of $5.98 plus $4.20 to ACTIVE.COM (the Ticketmaster-like agent). Total race cost is over $70. A couple weeks before the race (late April), I saw advertisements on Facebook for $22.50 per person for the hip hop run Chicago race event (plus the venue fee and active.com fee obviously), which really upset me that I got ripped off. 2. The race does NOT actually take place in Chicago at all (even though the website advertises with descriptions of Chicago scenery). A few weeks before the actual event, the race coordinators drop the bomb that the race actually takes place in the suburbs, another city: FOREST PARK (which takes me 2 hours to get there via public transportation and walking) at the Millers Meadows Preserve. 3. Packet pick up is also in the suburbs, LA GRANGE (which takes almost 2 hours to get to via public transportation or Metra ride). At the last minute, the race coordinators allowed for bib and shirt pick up on race day. 4. The planned race day schedule is ridiculously rushed: 6:30 AM PACKET PICK UP OPENS 7:30 AM + WARM UP W/TRAPS  7:55 NATIONAL ANTHEM 8:00 AM 10K START  (1 hour only to run 10K???) 8:15 AM 5K START  9:15 AM AWARDS & PERFORMANCES 5. One day before the race, we got an email asking for Volunteers for the race. This made me very nervous about the race experience. 6. We were told to arrive at 6:30am for packet pick up. And 7:30 will start warm up and get ready for the 10k race that is supposed to begin at 8:00am. We arrived at 7:20am and the race coordinators and volunteers were still trying to set up tents and DJ station. The warm up started 8am and the 10k race started at 8:20am -- twenty minutes delayed. 7. The t-shirt was not a performance t-shirt. If you run and sweat in cotton t-shirt, it will not breath well and weigh heavily and uncomfortably during the run. 8. The whole reason I signed up for the Hip Hop Run 10k was because it is supposed to have DJs stationed along the winding course. There was only ONE DJ stationed at the start/finish with ONE extended speaker about 0.25 miles away on the course. I ended up playing my own music through my headphones anyways. I am pretty sure the DJ was great -- if I could actually hear it throughout the run. 9. Race course was boring. The 10k route require running around the Miller Meadows trail loop twice. The signs were unclear on where to run and I had to slow down to make sure I was following the right path. I almost ran the loop the third time because the Finish line sign was unclear and confused with the 5K instructions. 10. Race course was dangerous because it involved running through the parking lot. Twice, cars pulling out almost hit me. 11. Not enough water stations on a 70+ degree hot morning; there were only 2. And who the heck hands out the entire bottle of water during a race? No one wants to carry that while running. I see a lot of people thrown their 10% consumed bottle of water in the trash during the run. 12. Walkers taking up all the lanes and blocking runners. Race coordinators should be more clear that walkers need to stay on the right lane unless they're going to run. 13. At the finish line, there was NO food left, not even a banana. There were not that many bottles of water left either. The medal and the fake printed chain on the strap was cheap. 14. Literally... at 9:15am... race coordinators/volunteers were taking some signs and equipment down (DJ was still going however). People are still running and you're taking stuff down already, which is rude. 15. While this didn't bother me personally, but who plans a race on Mother's Day weekend? If you want a higher turnout, plan it on another non-holiday weekend. The only good things: 1. My group of friends were great company. 2. Beautiful weather. For a $70 race, it should've been a top notch running experience, good scenery, awesome performance t-shirts, swag, food, and music.

My friend purchased a Groupon for the two of us to run the Hip Hop 10k which we ran this past…read moreweekend (5/13). Overall, I'm glad we did not pay full price as I would have even been more frustrated with what transpired on race day. I am an avid runner (5ks and 1/2 marathons) and participate in 3 - 5 races each season and haven't experienced this level of disorganization before. First, there was very little communication prior to the race about the exact location of the race. The morning of we received an e-mail at 7 am with a pin dropped in a forest preserve. There was no signage anywhere or workers directing runners to the area. There had been some e-mails the past few weeks about the race not actually taking place in Chicago despite the Active Event web page referring to Chicago's rich Hip Hop history and beautiful lake and skyline as the backdrop. The location and first impression were disappointing. Secondly, the course for the race was uninspired. It was simply two loops through the forest preserve (1 loop for the 5k) and included weaving/running through the parking lot for nearly 1 mile. Signs were written on poster board with the words "Turn Around" to direct runners to change direction. Again, there was no "Chicago" scenery to be enjoyed. As far as music throughout the race course, that also did not happen. It was simply a DJ at the start and a boombox somewhere around mile 2 (which was also mile 5). If I wanted to run 6.2 miles in a forest without music I could have done this myself and not paid for it. Finally, logistics for the day did not seem thought out from start to finish. There were many e-mails talking about issues/hiccups, one e-mail made a plea for volunteers to assist with race day, the race began about 25 minutes late, and the "after party" was off-site from the race at a club that is "bottle service" only and whose "dress code still applied" (no gym clothes). Overall, I'm very disappointed with the organization and execution of this race. It felt like money grab/rip-off. While I understand this was the Hip Hop Race's first time in Chicago, it certainly isn't their first time putting on a run. I hope no runner paid full price for this event as the whole thing could have been put on for about $500 total.