Welcome to the 2025 United Financial Credit Union Walleye Races!
Here is your Participant Guide
United Financial Credit Union and Dig Deep Race Events - along with Freeland SportsZone, Tittabawassee Township, the Freeland Lions Club and many amazing Sponsors - welcome you to this year’s race along a stretch of newly constructed pathway making up part of the Great Lakes Bay Trail System! Thank you to all of our United Financial Walleye Race Sponsors! Make sure to stop into the Sportszone on race day to visit with our sponsor tables!
Saturday, April 26th Packet Pickup Location: 2PM-4PM on the back patio at Bayne's Apple Valley, 5395 Midland Rd, Freeland, MI 48623
Try your best to make it out to Bayne’s on Saturday as the Hard Cider House will be in full swing and the pizza oven will be working! Can’t wait? Go visit Ben in the Hard Cider House to get stocked with Bayne’s Cider Project beverages! Receive $2 off a pint by showing your race bib at packet pickup!
Sunday, April 27 Packet Pickup and Race Location: 8:00AM-9:15AM Freeland SportsZone, 5690 Midland Road, Freeland, Michigan 48623
Race Start Times:
Please note the start and finish location is in the same spot this year. This race is a true out-and-back.
Kid’s Fun Run start - 8:45AM
10K start - 9:30AM
5K Run/Walk start - 9:35AM
5K Fun Walk (untimed) start - 9:36AM
Packet Pickup and Late Registration Information:
Participants may pick up packets:
Saturday, April 26 - 2:00PM to 4:00PM at Bayne’s Apple Valley, 5395 Midland Rd, Freeland, MI
Sunday, April 27 - 7:30AM to 8:45AM at Freeland SportsZone
Race day packet pickup and late registration will take place inside Freeland SportsZone.
Race bibs MUST be worn uncovered on the front of the body. Be sure to smile when crossing the finish line as photographer Todd Boone with Meaningful Moments Photography will be taking your FREE online photo!
If you need to change events, please notify staff at packet pickup.
If you’d like to “drop” a bag of personal items in the event tent, please bring a bag with you! Event Staff at packet pickup will be happy to hold your bag for you.
Come to have fun! Hey, at least we’re all racing a real race, right?
Registration with T-shirt cutoff was Sunday, April 20th at midnight. However, organizers have ordered several additional shirts that will be for sale on a first come first serve basis at $10 each. Arrive to packet pickup early to get yours!
*PLEASE NOTE: All participants who registered “with t-shirt” MUST pick up your t-shirt during packet pickup. If unable to attend, you may have a friend pick up items for you. We will NOT mail or ship items for on-site registrants. Those not picking up before close of packet pickup will forfeit their shirts, bibs and medals.
Race Course
This year’s race courses will have a shared start and finish line. Both will be on the North side of Freeland SportsZone.
10K Course
This year’s 10K course will be an “out-and-back” utilizing a portion of the newly connected Kochville Township extension. Runners will go out 3.1 miles to a turnaround point before heading toward the SportsZone finish line. There will be a water station near the intersection of Hackett Rd and the trail and another close to the turnaround near Hospital Rd and the trail.
5K Course
The 5K is an out-and-back event this year. Runners will run to a point 1.55 miles away along the Great Lakes Bay Regional Trail before turning around and returning to the finish line at SportZone. There will be one water station near the turnaround point.
Kids 1 Mile Course*
The 1 Mile race is untimed. The run starts and finishes at the same start/finish line for the 5K and 10K events. Youth runners will head toward the pavilion near the tennis courts before taking a hard left and entering the Stone Briar neighborhood. They will do one counter-clockwise lap of the neighborhood before re-entering the trail and heading back to the finish line.
*Please note that children 10 and under MUST be accompanied by a parent or chaperone while running. This is for their safety as part of the course takes place on roads.
Race Results
Race results for the 10K and 5K Run/Walk from Great Lakes Race Management will be available by scanning the QR code on your race bib!
Awards*
Awards will be provided 3 deep to overall male and female winners of the 5K and 10K events. In addition overall winners will be provided free entry to next year’s Walleye Festival Event in the category they win. 2nd Place overall finishers will receive 50% off and 3rd Place overall finishers will receive 25% off entry to the 2024 event. Finish times for this year’s event for overall awards will be determined by “gun” start and chip finish. This means that the official overall time begins when we say “Go”.
Age group awards will be issued to the first place male and female (FIRST PLACE ONLY) in the 5K event following 10 year categories:
9 & Under
10-14
15-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70+
Age group awards will be issued to the first place male and female (FIRST PLACE ONLY) in the 10K event following 10 year categories:
14 & Under
15-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70+
FAQ’s
Can I run with my dog?
We love dogs too! Unfortunately, the sanctioning body for this event (USA Track & Field) strictly prohibits the participation of dogs (other than service animals) at events.
Can I run/walk with a stroller?
The narrow racecourse utilizing out and back runner traffic on the Freeland Rail Trail means that we cannot allow strollers.
What does “USATF Sanctioning” mean?
It means that organizers have followed a process with USA Track & Field that requires creation of a safety plan and purchase of outstanding insurance covering participants, volunteers, sponsors, partners and organizers of the event. It also means that your race results will be official for scoring purposes (assuming you track that sort of thing).
What happens if the event is cancelled? Will I receive a refund?
Unfortunately, no. We’ve had to wait this long for registration to open because we wanted to be reasonably sure the event will take place. At this point, most of the registration money has been allocated to shirts, medals, race bibs, etc. and this weird year’s financial toll on race management means that refunds will not be possible should the government shut down this event. We will do our best to reschedule the race for a date deemed “safe”.
Be sure to check out our awesome sponsors and partners!
REFUND AND TRANSFER POLICY
We completely understand that plans change and athletes will sometimes be unable to compete in an event they've signed up for. We also understand that registering for one of our events is a financial investment in that race. We accept your registration funds with the full intention of putting on the promised event with the listed amenities and we use your registration funds to pay for the necessary items and services needed to host the event. With that in mind, refunds will not be provided for this event unless the event is cancelled for reasons within our control. The following are examples (but not limited to) of reasons an event might be canceled that are NOT within our control: Dangerous weather; natural disasters; pandemics; acts of terrorism; local emergencies; government mandates; and any situation creating a threat to safety of participants, volunteers, staff or bystanders.
Should a participant have an injury or other medical issue keeping them from competing in an event they've registered for, we would be happy to transfer their registration to a similar TriToFinish-owned event up to and including the same event the following season. A doctor's slip may be required as proof of injury or ailment. Failure to provide proof if requested will result in non-transfer of the event.
Transferring registrations to other participants is NOT allowed.
