Crim Festival of Races
| Crim Festival of Races | |
|---|---|
| Location | Flint, Michigan |
| Event type | road |
| Distance | several (10 Miles) |
| Primary sponsor | Health Plus of Michigan |
| Beneficiary | Area 13 Special Olympics |
| Established | 1977 |
| Course records | m:  Joseph Kamau (KEN) 45:43w:  Cathy O'Brien (USA) 51:47 |
| Official site | crim |
| Founder |
Bobby Crim Lois Craig |
|---|---|
| Type | Nonprofit corporation |
|
Area served
|
Genesee County, Michigan |
| Website | crim |
|
Formerly called
|
The Crim Road Races, Inc. Crim Festival of Races, Inc. |
The Crim Festival of Races is an annual road running event with several races and walking events. The original distance was 10 miles (16 kilometers) and is the marque race as "The Crim" with its infamous Bradley Hills and blue line to keep runners on course. The Crim has been held in August in Flint, Michigan since 1977. It draws runners from around the world from countries such as Kenya, Russia, and Ukraine. The race attracts approximately 50,000 people each year. The festival is one of the Flint Parade of Festivals.
The races and walks are Michigan Mile Series, 5K, 8K, 10 Mile, the Teddy Bear Trot and Lois Craig Invitational Special Olympics Race.
The race has hosted the United States national 10-mile championship race on two occasions. The 2009 women's U.S. title was won by Molly Huddle, while the 2010 men's title was won by Fasil Bizuneh.
Bobby Crim, then speaker of the state house, and Lois Craig, Crim's administrative assistant, were looking for a fund raiser in 1976 for the Special Olympics program that was just starting up. The fourth Saturday in August 1977 was selected with a start time of Noon with Craig serving as race director. That first Bobby Crim Road Race had 707 runners and raised $30,170 for Special Olympics. While expecting to be a one time event, Crim wished to continue the event to raise more money.
In 1979, the race had 34,000 from all over the world. In 1985, race organization was incorporated as The Crim Road Race, Inc. to increase the number of charities assisted. Additional races were added in 1987, the 8K Race and in 1988, the 5K Family Walk and Teddy Bear Trot. From 1989 to 1992, the Crim 8K Walk, the Friday night concert the night, carnival rides and post-event entertainment were added.
In 1992, the Road Race event is renamed along with its corporate organization to Crim Festival of Races. The Festival continued to expand adding a one-mile run, 8K race/walk, 5K run, Competitive Walk, Neighborhood Running Clubs, Crim Kids Classic, the Crim Training Program, Beyond 2000 community fitness Program and The Feelin’ Good Mileage Club school fitness program between 1992 and 2008. With the 1993 event raising $1.3 million, Craig stepped down as race director to go to work for Area 13 Special Olympics. A Special Olympics race that is held as a part of the Festival on Friday was named in Craig's honor, the Lois Craig Invitational Special Olympics Race.
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Wikipedia