Every Thanksgiving in Nappanee, IN, the I'm Thankful Four is held at 8:00. The start location is NorthWood High School which provides a lot of parking and an athletic center to keep warm in before the run if the weather is bad.
Proceeds from the race go to the Kelsey Mikel Scholarship Foubdation. Kelsey Mikel is the daughter of high school cross country coach, Mark Mikel who was tragically killed in a car accident 11 years ago. The run also promotes organ donation.
Early registration fee is $15 and goes up to $25 at packet pick up and day of registration. For the race entry, you get a long sleeve cotton tshirt and this year a I'm Thankful Four watch. Best watch $2 can buy as the race director states.
The morning of the race, there is a meeting inside the high school athletic center giving instructions for the 4 mile run and 2 mile run. As tradition in this race goes, there is also a period of time when everyone shouts what they are thankful for before going out to the start.
This run typically has over 800 participants involved. Even with the large number, this is a low key event, and it's advertised as such. There are no age group awards, but there are awards for beating the turkey. There are three turkeys: a male turkey, a female turkey, and a butterball turkey (honor system for anyone who weighs over 200lbs). This year if you beat the turkey, you received a hoodie. I am guessing over 100 runners beat the turkey.
The course is easy to follow and flat, parts are on roads, other parts on bike paths. Course is very well marked and volunteers are on every corner. There are no aid stations as it's usually cool enough that they are not needed. But if you need water, bring your own. The finish line is on the high school track right outside the athletic center.
There are cookies and water following the race to enjoy. Since there are no age group awards to wait for, you are able to leave the race location early to prepare for the rest of your Thanksgiving day.
This is a very low key event and family friendly run. Bring your kids, bring your dog and come out to exercise before stuffing yourself later on.

This is the second year that I have ran in one of the Veterans races in Columbia City, IN. This year I was taking on the full marathon. The course is the exact same as the full marathon except you do the course twice which adds a mental aspect to the race. It allows for a lot of second thoughts about wanting to do a second lap and you also know what's in front of you as you head out the second time (can be good or bad.
Before the race is a nice tribute to all veterans of the armed forces who are running in the race. Also prior to the race there were two moments of silence, 1 for those we have lost in war and 1 for those we lost in Paris the previous night. The national anthem was played and a loud cannon was fired to start the half marathon and full marathon together. The course heads east out of town and from
About mile 1-12, you are in the country. I like running in the country, but if the wind is blowing hard, it makes for a real tough run. Luckily on this day, it wasn't too bad. There are a lot of rolling hill sections on the course with the worst ring at miles 11 and 23.
One of the improvements needed on this course is change in aid stations. The volunteers were great at the aid stations but there just are not enough stations. The first aid station was at mile 2, then 4.5, 5.5, and not again until 8.75, 9.75, 11.25, 12.5, and 13.1 and at same locations for lap 2. Would love to see another between 5.5 and 8.75. Gatorade and water were at all stations plus gel one of the aid stations that you passed 4 times.
If your doing the full marathon, be ready to be running alone. The runners really thin out after you run the first lap as the half runners finish.

Swag: this year, the shirt provider switched from New Balance to Brooks. Got to say, I liked my New Balance jacket last year. The long sleeve Brooks shirt is nice though. Also given to half and full runners were given a pair of BrooksDash Gloves which came in handy on the cold race morning. The first 200 entries (no matter the distance) got a free pint glass from Nrooks. It's nice, just wish it had the race logo on it (but it was free).

Medals: the medals were nice. Once again in the shape of Indiana and had a Navy emblem on them. Every year they choose a different branch of service to represent. Also the race chooses a different charity that supports vets to support. This year it was Veterans Auto Racing Team.

This is a small town race. It's small in numbers, small in crowd support, but a great cause and we'll run race.

This is the third straight year that I have ran in the Monumental Marathon and I truly believe it is one of the best, non-marathon major in the country. This year featured course changes, while at first I was disappointed, proved to be great! The start now features a .75 mile stretch before the first turn, unlike in past years when you only had 3-4 blocks until you first turned. The finish was also another major change. I used to love finishing facing the state house, but moving the finish to another street allowed larger and louder crowd support. It felt like more of a true celebration.
Aid stations were placed at every mile, minus the first mile which allowed the pack to spread out a little first. There were also 3 aid stations with CarbBoom energy gels. The course is mostly flat with a few hills around miles 10-12 and 14-16 but nothing that should prove to be too difficult for a trained marathon runner. The volunteers were great as well along the course as were the law enforcement on making sure the runners stay safe.
The SWAG was good as well this year. The race shirt gets better every year and at the finish, not only are you given a finishers medals (which is on year 2 of a 4 piece set) but also a beanie to wear right away to keep your head warm along with a space blanket.
The expo is what I would describe as a midsize expo. It's not Chicago or Boston, but it isn't held in a small room with a handful of vendors either. I believe there were probably a little more than 50 booths. The race also brought in Bart Yasso to speak and hang out with the runners during the expo or maybe even a shakeout run the day before.
There are also a lot of down town hotels, many within a couple blocks of the downtown start/finish line. Can be pricy but it is very convenient.
Overall, this is a very fast course, and it seems to have gotten faster with a couple of course changes this year. This race is starting to also drawl some runners looking to make the Olympic trials (this may not be the case for the next couple years since the qualifying window won't be open for the 2020 trials yet).

The Haunted Hilly Half/Terrible 10k/ and Frightening 5k are run starting in beautiful Bonneyville Mill County Park in Bristol, IN. The races boast some tough hills to run on. The 5k course has a couple hills that aren't that bad, the 10k course has some more challenging hills. I did not see the half marathon course but heard from others that there are more hills similar to that of the 10kcourse. The race is run out in the country roads. For me, I will take country roads over city streets any day. Plus the race is always the weekend of or before Halloween.
You have your option of picking up your packet the night before from 5:00-6:45 (park closes at 7:00) or race morning. I chose the night before so that I could drive the course.
With this being a Halloween themed race, there were a lot of costumed runners and there was also a costume parade as well as contest with a few different categories held before the race.
The Half Marathon race got started at 8:45 with the 5k and 10k starting together at 10k. This is a smaller local race so the roads were not closed off to cars. Runners were asked to follow the rules of the road, which, from I saw, they did. The 5k and 10k course was out and back with the toughest hills on the 10k course coming after the 5k turnaround. With this being a country run, don't expect too many people cheering you on. However, this race was very well volunteered as well as very well marked on which way to go. Basically, if you got lost, then you really messed up.
Awards were nice. All runners got a necklace with vampire teeth on them. Vampires aren't really my thing but it goes with the theme. Awards were given to top 3 overall and top 3 in each age division.
The shirts were good. Nothing too high quality, just a good tech shirt. The race director is also very well organized. The only negative is parking. With this being a county park, parking is spread out a little. The half marathon runners get to park right by the start. The 5k and 10k runners park in parking lots about a quarter mile to a half mile from the start. But let's face it, we are runners. That shouldn't bother us too much.
For more info on how I did personally in this race, visit my blog at: ‘Terrible 10k’ Not So Terrible | Daddy, Did You Win?
https://daddydidyouwin.wordpress.com/2015/11/02/terrible-10k-not-so-terrible/

The Blueberry Stomp, tied into the Blueberry Festival in Plymouth, IN, takes place every Labor Day. You have your choice on either the 15k or 5k. There is also a 1 mile kids fun run as well. The 15kand 5k do start at the same time, which for most races could cause a lot of congestion and confusion, but for this race, it is a very smooth start.
The race starts by Central Park on the North side of Plymouth and heads south through downtown. A tradition at the start is that the race is started with the sound of a large cannon and also stomping on blueberries laid out at the start by the festival queen. The start of the race is a gradual downhill and running straight through town for the first mile and a half before the first turn as you are leaving town.
Shortly after the first turn, the 5k makes another right hand turn and starts heading back towards the park for the finish, while the 15k heads out to the country roads. After the second mile, the rolling hills really begin to hit and it is a lot of ups and downs. It's nothing too bad but it's noticeable. If you take it easy at the start, you should have no trouble.
Miles 2-8 are primarily out in the country with no one out there besides those working at the aid stations (which are very well maned) and your fellow runners. Depending on the day's weather, it can get very hot at this point. After about the 3.5 mile mark, you make a left turn, then run a mile to another left turn, run another mile until another left turn and run a mile and turn right to start back into town. Running around the country mile is a lot better than making a u turn around a cone.
The finish is great. You run in the opposite direction of the festival parade that has already started and you hear the cheers of the crowd as you run by, and it is a large crowd. The finish line is then just past where you started from.
The t shirts for the race, I would like to see some improvements. They are cotton and in my oppinion are too colorful. Every year, an artist hand drawls the logo for the shirt.
The awards on the other hand are very original. Last year it was a coaster and a grill spatula with the race logo. Very unique.
Plenty of food after the race. I think if they change the shirts, this would be a fantastic race. Other than that, I highly recommend it. You never know who will be running it. Last year, hometown girl and Olympian, Morgan Uceny ran in the 5k. I have not heard but I do not believe she will be back this year. If you do come, make sure to check out the rest of the festival. Great food to be had.