The Haye's Arboretum race offers 10k, half marathon, and full marathon lengths, though half and full marathons repeat the same loop multiple times. This race takes place in February, meaning cold is a serious factor. On the morning of the race the ground was crystallized and the mud crunchy under our feet. This made the scenery especially pretty, but it took a full 2 miles to start feeling even vaguely warm. Thankfully, the nature center provides the perfect place to hang out pre-start and afterwards.

The race is well organized, and it's easy to register online. It's a small race, which is refreshing if you've done a lot of large ones. The terrain is pretty, with lots of things trees to jump over and muddy bits as you go through the park setting. There are loads of switchbacks and tight turns, which can make you a little dizzy as you sometimes feel you're running tight circles. The tight turns, probably combined with mud or roots, caused a couple people to fall. It's not a course for setting records. There are some hills as well. The aid station was fine, and there were hotdogs, hot cocoa, plus fruit and water afterwards. The medal for this race is nothing particularly special, and the shirt was downright ugly, so don't expect awesome swag from this one! Otherwise, a pretty race in a season where there aren't many trail races.

If you consider yourself an even mildly adventurous runner, you have to try this race at least once! It takes place at the beautiful Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis at night, which means there's only your headlamp to light your way. It's a trail run, and there's something both creepy and inherently surreal about seeing your light cutting through the dark, bouncing off the ice of the frozen reservoir, illuminating the trunks of trees along your path. The slight Blair Witch Project vibe might make you run faster, but beware of down limbs, mud pits, creek crossings, and icy bridges!

This race is a pleasure from registration. You can choose the quarter, half, or full marathon length, though do be mindful that there's a cut-off time. The organizers are very clear in stating that this race is run in all weather, so don't bother asking if they'll cancel for snow! You'll get nice reminder emails and a glimpse at the swag before you sign up. The long sleeve thermal provided this year is awesome, and they even offer it in extra small! The medal is a spinner, and like all of theirs, it's enormous and looks great wherever you keep your collection. The race sells out every year, so you'll want to register early.

When you arrive on race evening, you'll be greeted with ample parking, an organized packet pick-up, plenty of portapots, friendly volunteers, and lots of similarly insane folks warming up. Oh, and it'll be cold! The race starts in close-set waves, so at times you might be cruising with 10k folks and marathoners. Once the 10k people finish, you'll have a much quieter race, and you may often find yourself seemingly alone on the trail, which is wonderfully serene. There are plenty of arrows marking your path, so you need not worry about getting lost. The 2017 run was incredible muddy, so be prepared and protect your feet. Your shoes will very likely get extremely wet, which we all know leads to blisters. Bring some layers that you can easily remove. Lots of people ran with tiny backpacks for hats and gloves they no longer needed a few miles in. BRING DRY SHOES AND SOCKS! You'll want them post race.

You'll want to keep in mind that you will not set a PR on this run, so don't anticipate it. Depending on conditions, it can be more like an alternating run/hike. There are parts where running would be dangerous. I saw several people eat it on slick mud and exposed roots. Don't worry too much about your time on this one. If you stay upright and finish, you've accomplished something awesome, and guaranteed you'll have a blast doing it.

The trail volunteers are great, and you'll find lots of rest stops with gatorade, water, trail mix, and potties. At the finish line you'll find snacks, your medal, and a results board that's promptly updated. Photos are results are usually up the next day at the latest.

Overall, know what you're getting into on this one. I wouldn't recommend this if you have another race soon after, as your recovery will be different after this, and you may have falls to nurse. However, if you're looking for a unique run that you can talk about for ages, this is for you!

The Caribbean Christmas 5k/Half Marathon is put on by 131 Events which, from what I've seen, offers the best races in Indiana. I have also completed the Eagle Creek Trail quarter and the BrewHaHa 5k with them. They like using the Carmel Civic Plaza as a start place, and that's where this race goes from. Unlike the other two, this race was a mixed bag.

Event registration is a cinch. Their races tend to fill, so I registered online early. Unlike the BrewHaHa, I wasn't into the apparel for this one, but you can opt out of a shirt and save a little money and room in your closet. They send lots of pre-race info, but it's not overwhelming. Pre-race was excellent as usual. They are organized, there's plenty of parking, and the process of picking up your packet is simple and featured hot coffee and live reggae bands playing Christmas music. It was a great time to check out some fun costumes, stretch, and try to warm up. (It was about 12 degrees.)

The half marathon started at 9:30, with the 5k at 9:40. Therein lies my first complaint. WIth the two starting so close together, the 5k ends well before the half, meaning the party is really over by the time the half runners come in, making the finish seem sad and uneventful despite the chipper volunteers handing out medals as you cross. It might be better to start the half folks at 9 and the 5k at 10 so they'd finish closer to the same time.

My biggest complain on this race was the scenery. If you're running the 5k, it's fine. You get to see Civic Plaza, a bit of the excellent Monan trail, and just a touch of downtown Carmel. If you're running the 15k, you get about 3 miles of interesting scenery, and then a bunch of business parks. Yup. You run around hospitals, past the offices of some orthodontists, and past some expensive but severely uniform residential complexes. You only get a couple blocks of the scenic part of the downtown shopping district. The terrain is largely flat, with some very gradual uphills and a couple bridges over noisy highways. Given the lengthy trail and the abundance of much nicer downtown area, the half could be re-routed to give runners much nicer views. Running around busy traffic circles with angry drivers honking at you despite the very helpful police presence just isn't appealing. It also didn't help that there were no cheering onlookers because of the cold.

That being said, the volunteers were excellent. There were water/gatorade stops with port-a-pots every couple miles, and people were using those bathrooms because of the coffee at registration. KEEP THOSE BATHROOMS! There's nothing worse than a long race where you have to run off into the woods.The aid stations were well-stocked and there looked to be lots of medical personnel in addition to the numerous police officers directing traffic around the clearly set-up cones. The photographers were well placed and cheerful, and the folks at the finish line were top-notch.

Post-race featured donuts and promptly updated times, though the music was being packed in well before the last folks made it over the line. There was also a free beer with your drink ticket, though many people passed it up this time because of the cold. There were also bananas and a ridiculously fun giant medal that looks like a snow globe. Pictures from the race and results were posted online same-day, which is great. Still, given the boring course and poor timing, this run just wasn't as fun as the 5k. I think I'll stick with trail races for this distance from now on.

Though I live in Indiana, I traveled down to Lexington for the long Thanksgiving weekend and figured I'd register for a race to keep in shape and run somewhere new. This race was a good choice! It's run at the beautiful Keeneland horse park, though you won't see any horses; none of them were out during the run. This is a massive race, so register early and realize that you'll be running with at least 2400 other people. Save yourself time for parking, as you'll have quite the distance to walk from your car to the start. Your reward is an excellent morning.

I registered online early and thus got the long sleeve technical shirt, which is a beauty. Unlike many races, they actually offer XS!!! This makes me happy to no end. Once registered, they'll inundate you with emails about race day details. They aren't kidding when they say to pick your packet up early. Glad I did, because there were around 5000 people there on race morning. Still, the emails are a bit excessive.

The event itself is organized, with little group warm-ups and clear signs so that runners can divide themselves based on time. They clearly state that people with strollers and dogs should be in back, but they need to better enforce this or, better yet, DO NOT ALLOW DOGS ON LEASHES. I saw some very close calls where two dogs on leashes started sniffing each other and created an extremely dangerous tripwire with their leashes. Going down on that pavement could have been a disaster for any of the thousands of people running behind them. Perhaps a separate race for dog/human teams would be better.

The course is beautiful and winds past some awesome buildings and a lot of stunning farm land. The time of year is just right for the setting. There are some uphills, but they're gradual and no problem if you're used to doing any hills at all. That being said, if you're looking for a PR, this may not be your race because of the hills and because it takes a little time to break out of the massive pack.

This race supports lots of awesome charities, and the first mile is a memorial mile. Lots of people turn up in costume, so it's good family fun and enjoyable for spectators too. There is hot cocoa, bananas, and donuts afterward and finishing times are posted promptly.

This run is the last in the Red, White and Rose winery run series. This particular race was fraught with problems from the beginning. The website said to park at Unionville Elementary School, a couple miles near Butler winery, because there wouldn't be enough parking at the winery. The website promised a shuttle running regularly to get folks to the start line. I arrived an hour early, parked, and waited....and waited.... By the time the 'shuttle' (a woman in an SUV) showed up, there were around 20 people waiting and she had room for 5. "But", she informed us, "there's still plenty of parking at the winery". So we jumped in our cars and drove over to find more than ample parking.

I went to the registration table and was told they didn't have my information. I had registered for two races in the series at the same time, and apparently when one does that, one race often just doesn't show up. They got me registered on the spot, but when I asked where I should pick up the cheese platter I'd ordered for an additional $3 online, the woman didn't know what I was talking about and referred me to the tasting room of the winery. They informed me that they actually don't have cheese platters.

We weren't off to a great start.

Thankfully, once the race began, things looked up. The course is very pretty, with rolling hills and one steep, long uphill in the last couple miles.It goes through neighborhoods and forest, then along the edge of a lake. It's an out-and-back, which aren't my favorite, but the scenery is nice enough and the time of year so awesome that I didn't mind. The road was adorned with safety cones the whole way and folks directing traffic around the race, but that didn't stop a maniac driver from almost smashing into three of us as we crossed a road. The aid stations were well placed and stocked with water, though no Gatorade.

When we finished, half of us joined the long line for a free glass of wine, while the other half lined up for the medals and wine glasses. In line, many people complained that, though each run in the series was supposed to have a unique medal, they had received the same prize they got at the last race. Others complained that they had ordered extras like a blanket, but that it just said "Fun Runs" instead of being specific to the Red, White and Rose series. The wine cups distributed were also generic to Fun Runs. By the time I got to the table, they had in fact run out of medals altogether, so at least 50 of us did not receive one. The only plus was that, since I finished top 3, I got a $10 off coupon for another race and a banner to attach to my medal - even though I didn't have one!

Overall, this is a pretty race in a great location, but the organization needs to be better. If you run it, don't bother parking at the school - just park at the winery. And jump in line for a medal as soon as you finish. They won't run out of wine, but they might run out of prizes!