Miles For Mitchell 5k

Miles for Mitchell was held on May 3, 2014 in Herriman, Utah.  This was an amazing community event to be a part of.  This race was not competitive and is more of a journey to be the best that you can be.  It was a great run for me after having a baby a few months ago and not being in the best of shape.  This race had every shape, size, age, babies in strollers, families running together, dogs, and even two boys with the same disease as Mitchell in their wheelchairs.  The organizers and volunteers were so encouraging as well as runners (and walkers) cheering each other on.  The race was timed and even had pace runners but had a very relaxing feel to just finish.

An email was sent out a few days before about packet pick up and times for the race.  I wish they would have included the route.  I tried to find it online and could not.  I figured knowing the area and living close by that it would run around the neighborhood by the park.  But I would have felt more comfortable if I had known for sure where I was going.

Race packet pick up was super fast.  I walked into the RunGr8 store, told them my name, and walked out.  It is so nice to pick up packets during store hours so you can go when it is convenient for you.  The packet had so many free things that I wouldn’t expect for a fundraiser run.  I was very impressed with the coupons and free things that I can use.

The park was busy the day of the race.  My only complaint on race day was that we started about 15 minutes late.  Mr. Jones gave a few words of thanks and then we were off. The course was great.  There were three water stations with cheering volunteers.  There were also lots of officers to help with traffic and keep us safe.  At the finish line there were oranges and water for the runners.

When the race was over they did the raffle and then there were tables for the silent auction to browse through. My family came to see me finish and get a waffle from Waffle Love.  Everyone should be rewarded with a waffle after running.

There was not a medal for finishing.  The reward (besides the waffle) was helping to raise money for a great cause.  I did take the Miles for Mitchell lanyard that was in my swag bag to hang on my medal board to remind me that I did this race.

As I checked Facebook today and looked at the pictures of the race it was so fun to see pictures from around the world of people dedicating their runs for the day to Mitchell and DMD Awareness.  There is even a touching video found at http://vimeo.com/93898951 of race day.

I give this race 4 shoes.

Miles For Mitchell

The second annual Miles for Mitchell 5K will be held on May 3 in Herriman, Utah. Mitchell Jones was diagnosed with Duchene Muscular Dystrophy in July 2005. As his family struggled to deal with the many issues of his disease, his father took his thoughts to the internet. He started a Facebook page that detailed the struggles, challenges, and triumphs of this amazing young man and his family. Unfortunately, Mitchell passed away on March 2, 2013.

In an effort to honor his memory, family and friends of Mitchell started a 5K. Dari Wininger, race director, says she started this race to help her son Carter deal with the death of his good friend in a positive way. "How could I not do something for the pure love of childhood friends?"

In the inaugural year, the funds donated were used to pay for Mitchell's funeral and a portion of his headstone. Going forward, all funds from the race will go to support the mission of Mitchell's Journey and Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy.

Last year we had the great privilege of assisting with this race. This year we have the opportunity to review the race and encourage our great running community to get involved. You can get involved by racing on May 3 (details below), dedicating your Saturday run to Mitchell, purchasing a shirt, or sending a donation.

After the race there will be a raffle, silent auction, and the Waffle Love truck will be there! If you haven't tried Waffle Love, you are missing out on the best waffles on the planet!

You can make a donation to the nonprofit foundation by using the following Paypal link:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=M93R6MNRF4EY6

Or sending a check to
Mitchell's Journey
5526 West 13400 South #102
Herriman, UT 84096

Race details:

DATE & TIME
Saturday May 3, 2014
run/walk begins at 9:00 am

LOCATION
Herriman Main Street Park
13000 South 5900 West
Herriman, Utah

To sign up for the race:
https://endurancecui.active.com/event-reg/select-race?e=6830452

If you are dedicating your Saturday run to Mitchell, be sure to take a pic, and share it on the Miles For Mitchell Facebook page. Mitchell loved purple and gold, lego's, video games and Star Wars; find a fun way to include his fav's during your run.

We are looking forward to this race and running in memory of Mitchell!

Freeze Your Cookies Off 5K

Freeze Your Cookies Off after race cookies

I think the Freeze Your Cookies Off 5k was the only race where I have consumed more calories than I burned! Thanks to the awesome cookies offered at the finish line, the calories I burned were almost automatically put back on. And before you ask, yes they were excellent and they let everyone (not just the runners) have cookies.

True to the name, the race was run on a very, very cold morning. I was able to pick up my packet that morning and there was no line at all. Picked up my packet and retreated to the car to get warm again. There was a DJ playing great music for those who were willing to brave the chill.

The course was not too bad after that uphill on mile one. I would rather have a hill on mile one then at the end of the race. They didn’t offer any police to stop traffic, turns out that the course didn’t have a lot of traffic so I don’t think it effected the race at all. There were a lot of volunteers directing runners and one aid station offering water.

Freeze Your Cookies Off 5K

For anyone that has read my reviews, you know of my love for medals. There was no medal at this race and I have thought over and over about what cute medals they could offer. But the cookies and chocolate milk won me over!

The highlight was the guy who did the raffle. I am not sure who it was, but he was funny and quick witted. Unfortunately I didn’t win anything but the girl next to me got a free half marathon!

Now for the bad news, the shirt was not cute. If you aren’t going to give me a cute medal to show off later, at least give me a cute shirt. (Apparently I was not won over by the milk and cookies.)

Overall, I would give this race 3 shoes. This would be a great one if you are running your first 5k or just love running that distance. Did I mention they offered cookies at the finish?

Couch to 5k

Found this one on Pinterest and have had a lot of requests for a 5k training program. Give this one a shot and let us know what you think!

Miles for Mitchell

The Miles for Mitchell 5k on Saturday, May 4th was run at Main Street Park in Herriman, Utah. We had the opportunity to lend our support to this run.

We appreciate the opportunity to be involved in this 5k and in the lives of Mitchell's family. While trying to deal with the loss of their son, Chris and Natalie Jones agreed to allow their friends to put on this run to pay some of Mitchell's medical bills and to contribute to other families dealing with the debilitating disease of Muscular Dystrophy.

Thanks to all the volunteers, family members, and runners that showed up to support Mitchell's family. A special thanks to Dari Wininger and the ladies heading up the 5k. It was truly something special to be a part of!

Utah Runner Girls 5k

Utah Runner Girls 5k, let me start by saying that this is one of those races you don’t want to spend your money on. With that said, let’s start with the good points.

Their packet pick up was great, there was no line and we got to try on the shirts before to make sure we got the right size. 

The bling, well it was a girly necklace with their logo on it. Not the kind of medal that I prefer but I know a lot of ladies that loved it. So while it wasn’t my style, it was a crowd pleaser. 

The after race support was some bagels and water. Can’t complain about that right?

And that wraps up the good points of this race. What was so wrong with this race? When I sign up for a 5K I want to run a 5K. This race was advertised by Utah Runner Girls as a 5k, I signed up thinking it was a 5k, got ready that morning to run a 5k. Turns out that they decided not to do a 5k! I signed my daughters up for their Princess mile, which also had the same issue. It was not a full mile. 

On course support was offered, they had water and chocolate. Nothing special or outstanding, just one table with two volunteers.  Because of the loop in the route, you were able to pass the table twice.  A chocolate mile was promoted on their website and while I understand you can’t do a whole mile, the mini chocolate pieces that were offered were a huge disappointment. 

Communication was normal until I sent in a complaint about the race. The race director that responded stated that they were aware that the race was not a full 5k and that the Princess mile was not a full mile. Instead of offering an honest apology and trying to make it right, they placed the blame on others. Not exactly the type of customer service you expect but it is all too common in our current society.

Overall, the things promised online and by email were not delivered.  Our rating of this race is a 1 shoe. After all, when you sign up for a race you want the length that was promised.