About This Event:
The 5th Annual Winter Blast Half Marathon/10K/5K is organized by the Kalamazoo Area Runners and the City of Portage in a community celebration of health and wellness. All proceeds will support the Portage Winter Blast Half Marathon, 10k and 5k and the Kalamazoo Area Runners (KAR).

Course:
The half marathon, 10k and 5K courses highlight the Portage Trail Way System and include a mix of mostly flat paved bike trail and city roads, road closures will occur as appropriate.  The course is cleared of snow and ice as much as possible, however, this is a mid-winter run and conditions may include extreme cold and windy conditions and slick surfaces caused by snow, ice, sleet, hail, mud and rain.

Event Dates and Times:
All running events will start and end at Portage Central High School. 8135 South Westnedge Avenue, Portage, MI 49002 on Sunday, February 26, 2017.

• Each Race will have its own start as follows:

Half Marathon - 8:00 am

10k - 8:10 am

5k - 8:20 am

• Cutoff time to be included in half marathon results is 3 hours, 45 minutes. Roads will be re-opened at 12:00 noon.

Registration:

• Online registration closes Friday, February 24, 2017 at 11:59pm.  The half marathon will close registration once it attains a cap of 1500 runners.
• Sponsor expo, Early packet pick-up and late registration for all events will be held from 2:00pm - 4:00pm on Saturday, February 25, 2017 at Portage Central High School. Race day registration will be available for all events.  
• Race Day packet pick-up will be Sunday, February 26, 2017 at Portage Central High School from 6:30 - 7:30am. There is no shirt guarantee for transfers or late registrations received after February 24th.
• NO REFUNDS. 
• Due to safety and potential liability issues anyone running with a bib not their own in any race will be disqualified. Please visit the KAR website (www.kalamazooarearunners.org)  or the event website at (www.portagewinterblast.wordpress.com) for additional information on this event.

Registration Fees:  

• Period 1: October 1 - December 31, 2016

Half Marathon: $55 ($10 discount for KAR members)
5k/10k: $30 ($5 discount for KAR members)

• Period 2: January 1 to February 24, 2017 (Registration closes 2/24/2017)

Half Marathon: $65 ($10 discount for KAR members)
5k/10k: $35 ($5 discount to KAR members)

• Late Registration (On-site only, Saturday February 25th and Sunday, February 26th)

Half Marathon: $75 ($10 discount for KAR members)
5k/10k: $40 ($5 discount for KAR members)

Awards:

Awards to first place overall open, masters, grand masters, senior masters and five year age division three deep. Finisher medals to all half marathoners completing the race within the time limit.

Please visit the KAR website (www.kalamazooarearunners.org) for additional information on this event.