If you build it they will come!! That is definitely what happened at our inaugural Raceway 5K event on Saturday August 17, 2013. Well over 100 runners and walkers showed up and were prepared to give it all they got! Sponsors, vendors, and volunteers were up extra early to prepare for the event and all the hard work that was put into hosting the event payed off. This doesn't go without saying that there were not any hiccups on the way, but overall it was a big success and something we plan to make an annual event. 

One by one they showed up and prepared themselves for the race and before you knew it the count down to the start of the race began. Jeff Provisor, our current club President and event coordinator, MC'd the race providing great play by play and did the course justice by paying homage to it's heyday by starting the race with a "Racers Start Your Engines" with the sound effects to match and the waving of a green flag to send the racers on their way! With that being said this is the 1st time a race has been conducted on this historical course since it closed which we are very happy to be a part of. 

The weather was perfect and the scenery along the course was in full bloom giving runners an ideal setting as they pushed them selves to do their best throughout the entire race. Spectators and race marshals were positioned along the course cheering on the racers as the ran by shouting out words of encouragement to motivate them to give it their all. Shortly after the 18 minute mark our first racer passes the finish line and was greeted by a crowd of spectators cheering them to victory. Keep in mind that there a couple tough hills in this course so to finish it in 18 minutes is very impressive!

Check out all the pics in our photo albums!

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Special Thanks to everyone that helped us make this possible: Dick Pond Athletics, The Village of Carpentersville, RaceWay Woods Forest Preserve, Hill Toppers Running Club, Chiro One Wellness Centers, Fox River Spa & Salon, Carpentersville Professional Fire Fighters, Elite Fitness, Inner Peace Pilates, the MIRPA organization, Carpentersville FISH Food Pantry, the CAMBR Organization and all our volunteers.

When planning this event and obtaining the necessary permits we quickly found out we had to stick to the paved areas in the park and soon after decided to base the race off the former greatness of the historical Meadowdale International Raceway which in it's heyday hosted a slew of professional performance car races. Although our race did not feature any high performance vehicles we did feature high performance human beings. We wanted our racers to have that nostalgic feel of race from the past which is why our promotions and advertising are very similar to that they may have been done in the 50's & 60's! From the black and white old fashion advertising to the use of an old race trophy for our winners we did our best to provide that old raceway feeling!