Flint, MI – Today, July 23, at a press conference held at Consumers Energy Flint Gas City, the Crim Fitness Foundation made a number of exciting announcements and updates regarding the 48th edition of the HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races.
In addition to remarks from the event’s title sponsor, HAP CareSource, Associate Director of Races and Training, Liz Jones reported that the Crim Training Program has had another strong year with more than 60 training groups and nearly 1,300 trainees. Jones also touted a growth trend of more than 25% in Crim’s Youth Summer Running Clubs and the Marti Austin Kids’ Classic Races to take place on August 16th, the unofficial kickoff to Race Week.
Director of External Relations, Brandon Morgan, outlined 2025 progress so far with a Crim Summer Race Series full of sold-out events and provided a look ahead at the HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races week-long schedule.
Morgan said, “With the support of our staff, Board of Directors, and dedicated community partners and sponsors, we’ve implemented even more strategies to enhance the participant experience and put Crim and Flint in the national spotlight. Even with the 2024 Festival being the biggest since 2016, we know this year’s Festival will surpass those numbers with approximately 12,000 runners and walkers – not to mention the more than 1,000 volunteers and thousands of additional spectators.”
It was noted that Crim has received a good deal of national recognition for its pioneering work innovating new training methods for individuals with disabilities and is quickly becoming a nationally-recognized event with participants from more than 35 states. The Crim Races also made a return to Elite Class Prize Money in 2025, with a $15,000 prize pool. Thus far, more than 45 elite athletes, domestically and internationally, have met the qualifying standards and will take to the USA Track and Field certified 10-mile course on August 23.
During the events, medals, awards, and shirt designs for all race distances were on display. For all participants, the Festival will also include the Crim Expo with nearly 50 vendors with the option to buy Crim-branded merchandise; high-quality ASICS participant shirts; complimentary pizza and beverages; finish line food including the famed chocolate milk and popsicles; live music on the Festival lot; course entertainment; free post-event yoga; vendors, freebies; and much more.
Rafael Turner, Consumers Energy’s Community Affairs Manager noted, “Consumers Energy is thrilled to again partner with the Crim. We’re excited to sponsor the 10-mile event, bringing diverse groups of people of all ages, interests and fitness levels with common interests together to be fit and have fun. We’re committed to the communities we serve and look forward to seeing the Flint community be part of this year’s races.”
More on the full schedule of events, as well as all registration information, can be obtained at crimraces.org.
About the HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races and Summer Event Series
The HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races and related events host upwards of 15,000 participants each year and are followed by tens of thousands more. The HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races is sponsored by more than 45 local, regional, and national corporations which allows for participants to have a world-class race experience at a reasonable cost, furthering the Crim Fitness Foundation’s mission to make health and wellbeing accessible to all.
The HAP Crim Festival of Races supports the work of the Crim Fitness Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, whose goal is to improve the physical, social, and mental wellbeing of 20,000+ Flint and Genesee County residents. The organization provides programs including: Crim Youth Sports and Youth Running Clubs; mental wellbeing, mindfulness and yoga; direct nutrition education and food policy; neighborhood impact, policy advocacy, and built environmental change; and more.
For more information on the Foundation and the Festival please visit crim.org and crimraces.org, respectively.
CRIM FITNESS FOUNDATION
The Crim works to cultivate accessible, vibrant communities in Flint and Genesee County that encourage people to lead a healthy lifestyle by integrating physical activity, healthy eating, and mindfulness into their daily lives. We mentor other communities to do the same. The Crim uses events, programs, policy, systems, and environmental change to transform the culture of health in the communities we serve.