The Run Woodstock event is back again this year. Scheduled to be held September 5-7 with the Bruin Lake campground as the headquarters, the event offers running, walking and hiking with distances from 3 to 100 miles.
The plan for the event went before the Lyndon Township Planning Commission on July 31, seeking a large temporary event permit for 20120 Bartell Road. Noting the event has been organized and ran well in the past, the Planning Commission granted the permit by a unanimous vote.
In describing the project location, the township planner’s report said there will be 1,500 people participating in the events with 1,000 staying at the campgrounds overnight on the 5th and 6th while Sept. 3, 4 and 8 will be used for set up and cleanup.
The event webpage describes the weekend, in part, this way:
“Get ready to set your soles free on a 140 acre incredible piece of pure Michigan forest and fields, not to mention… a beach! Century old white pines, old growth forests and meandering dirt two tracks make this place both magical and majestic! We know you are going to DIG it! The race course will roll in and out of camp and right on to the Potawatomi Trail, and the BBT trail connecting to the Waterloo Pinckney trail make it ideal for a serious trail festival! We’ll have plenty of room, amazing trails, and pristine wilderness surrounding us.”
The specific event schedule:
Friday – September 5
100 Mile & 100K – 2 P.M.
Far Out 5K (Free!) – 7:30 PM
Saturday – September 6
50 Mile & 50K – 6 A.M.
Mellow Marathon & Hippie Half – 7:30 A.M.
Flower Power 5 Mile – 8 A.M.
1 Mile Fun Run & Kids’ Dash – 3:15 P.M.
Feelin’ Groovy 5K (Free!) – 7:30 PM
Sunday – September 7
Free Love 5 Mile (Free!) – 8:30 A.M.
In approving an event such as this, the planning commission considers a list of standards to be met. One standard is, “all uses shall be conducted in a manner so as not to create a traffic hazard or a nuisance to neighboring properties.”
For this, the township planner said “The subject property is approximately 97 acres. There are existing roads throughout the site that will allow traffic to enter the site prior to parking. Because of the size and layout of the subject site it appears that the uses shall be conducted in a manner so as not to create a traffic hazard or a nuisance to neighboring properties.
Another standard is “Adequate site and surrounding area clean up shall be done during and following the use.”
The planner said the applicant has organized volunteers for this and has a history of a zero waste program with a history of recycling, repurposing and composting, diverting over 90 percent landfills, and has stated all waste will be removed from the site following the event.
On its webpage, the organizer of the event said:
“There seems to be two main themes to Run Woodstock, those coming to take on the challenge of a seriously long run in a far out supportive environment created by all that goes on at Run Woodstock,
and those who are attracted to the idea of a weekend of multiple trail runs, music, hikes, yoga, and perhaps putting in the most miles ever ran in a weekend or the most events they have ever done in 3 days!”
“Run Woodstock offers a wide range of professionally timed event distances. RF Events and the roadies of Run Woodstock take each of these events seriously and have great respect for the personal challenge each of you choose. Whether you enter the 100 mile, 100k, 50 mile, 50K, marathon, half marathon or 5 mile, you can expect a first class race experience. When you enter any of these runs or camp with us, we throw in fun organized runs that include the Friday night 5k, Saturday night 5K/5 mile and Sunday morning 5 mile.”
To learn more about the event, go to https://www.runwoodstock.com/.
Photo courtesy of the Run Woodstock Facebook page
8123 Main St Suite 200 Dexter, MI 48130
