46th HAP Crim Festival of Races

September 12, 2023

Great Success!

Flint, MI /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – The Crim Fitness Foundation hosted the 46th edition of the HAP Crim Festival of Races August 24-26 with nearly 9,000 participants toeing the historic blue starting line on the bricks of Saginaw Street marking a return to pre-pandemic numbers.

The week started with the opening of the Crim Race Expo which hosted 48 retailers, health providers, and other vendors. The Expo, which also serves as packet pickup and late registration saw more than 20,000 visitors over the two-day span.

Friday evening, festivities continued with the ceremonial Lois Craig Invitational for Special Olympians and the Michigan Mile.

Saturday saw the running of the 10-mile, 5-mile and 5K races, as well as the massive Crim Festival, which featured a whole host of finish line goodies, complimentary pizza and beer for participants, food trucks, music from a live band, games, activities, and awards ceremonies. At the festival, every participant could be seen wearing the 1987 vintage/throwback medal – the first of Crim’s “Road to 50 Years” medals. Each year until the Crim’s 50th anniversary in 2027, participants will receive a 10-year anniversary medal (‘97, ‘07, and ‘17), all of which will magnetize to a 10-inch Crim50 medal.

Kenny Krell, Director of Races and Training, in his first year in the position was overwhelmed by the community’s support of the event. He said, “It was amazing to see everyone lined up again on Saginaw Street. From the start line and all along the course, the community was there to cheer on the participants every step of the way. I am thankful for everyone who decided to join us and I am thankful for everyone of our sponsors, donors, volunteers, and public safety officials who made this event possible.”

Special honorary participants in this year’s race included the 14 members of the Crim’s newly visually impaired training group, as well as retired Army Veteran Major Jon Turnbull, who was wounded in combat and lost his eyesight. He completed the Crim 10-mile as a way to inspire all those who are dealing with barriers in life to meet big goals head-on.

Overall winners for the 2023 race series include:

The Crim Fitness Foundation looks forward to launching sponsorship opportunities for the race in the next several weeks. Participants can look forward to early-bird registration on Cyber Monday at crimraces.org.

The HAP Crim Festival of Races supports the work of the Crim Fitness Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, whose goal is to improve the health and wellness of the residents of Flint and Genesee County, MI. The organization impacts approximately 30,000 individuals each year through programs including: Crim Youth Sports and Youth Running Clubs; mental wellbeing, mindfulness and yoga; direct nutrition education and food policy; neighborhood impact, policy advocacy, and built environmental change; and more.

CRIM FITNESS FOUNDATION

The Crim works to cultivate accessible, vibrant communities in Flint and Genesee County that encourage people to lead a healthy lifestyle by integrating physical activity, healthy eating, and mindfulness into their daily lives. We mentor other communities to do the same. The Crim uses events, programs, policy, systems, and environmental change to transform the culture of health in the communities we serve.