LHF 2010 Comments and stories I am sorry to say that I did NOT enjoy my time today as I ran this LHF race. There were WAY too many people so half of the time was spent walking not by choice because there were so many people in my way. The second complaint I have is that there were no water stations. I seriously cannot believe that a 7 mile course would not provide water stations and no i'm not going to drink the water in the creek as one of the staff memebers told me to do. I saw 3 different men urinating in there and it was quite sickening. I was very disappointed and I will not be running this race again in the future. One more complaint. My team got there 2 hours early to get a good parking spot, and we were directed to park all the way by the girl scout club, literally in the corner right by the road, yet we're seeing other cars directed to go by and park closer to the starting line. I dont' understand what type of program is being run here. There were plenty of spots closer to the start of the race and we arrived before Hickman was even backed up, yet we had to park the farthest away. Again I'm very diappointed and I will never be running this race again. Joy, As the race director for the event, I am very sorry that you didn't enjoy the experience. We have to make some tuff decisions when it comes to the various issues regarding this race. 1. I don't know what to tell you about the numbers. I myself enjoy a much smaller event. However, it is quite obvious that many people enjoy the atmosphere of this one (2500 runners in 2001, 7500 in 2008). That is why we limited the field two years ago. We have gotten many more complaints for limiting it than we have ever received for it being too big ( it's about 33 to 1 ). 1. Water stations on course? This is a "GREEN" decision that has been made based on the historical and cross country aspects of the race. We don't want to trash the LHF. If you have ever run in a race this size before, you hopefully can understand that paper cups would be in places that would be impossible to police effectively. I am also extremely confident that the comment on the stream was made in jest (farm animals live here also). 2. As for you final complaint, you might look at the other side. You were actually parked there so that you could get out easier. Some of the seasoned runners know that the closer to the starting line they are, the longer it takes to leave (some people have to wait in line over 45 minutes getting out). Obviously, you weren't one of these. Again, I want to say that I am sorry for your experience. We try to let people know what it is going to be like with all of the pre-race publicity. I knew on Thursday that I was going to have some newbies when I got the email regarding "if the race will be rescheduled in the case of rain and too much mud". Some events are just not to everyone's taste. Steve Bobenhouse Race representative Whatta fantastic, well-planned event! Even down to the details of car-parking...directions were given from the entrance to the actual stall to park in! Just one complaint, though...I can handle the guys dressed in only speedos...but thongs??? In our running group, we had two guys dressed in thongs with their behinds totally exposed. Even the girls in our grouping were discussed with having to run behind them. I feel sorry for the people who had to follow them up the creek embankments!!! This was a bucket list race for me since I started back running last year. Not only did I check it off this year, but plan to make it an annual event, along with Dam to Dam. 7 miles of cold, wet, hilly mud. It was a blast. Who knew? My thanks to the ample number of volunteers who make this event what it is. S K Ames, IA Thanks for an awesome run! This was my first LHF Race and I'll be back next year for sure. I was getting worried during the first couple miles that it wasn't going to be messy enough, but by the end, I was caked with mud. Good stuff! The beef stew, chocolate milk, hot cider, doughnuts, pumpkin bread and cookies at the end were very much appreciated. B E Milan, IL This is why we ask you not to do this. This is the first letter that I received this year. Hello, I want to apologize for two entries, and hopefully, the results can be changed. Xxxxxxxx xxxxxxx and xxxxxxx xxxxxxx are 2 of my cross country runners. They slept in today, and we had to leave them in Omaha. My friend and his friend said that he wanted to run but didn't have a number. So I let him use the girls numbers. We did NOT win the XX XXXX title, although I would hope that one day we will. Here are the 2 guys names and ages. xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx I'm very sorry about this and hoping it doesn't cause too many problems. Thanks for allowing our kids to participate in this great event! We went to the Black Hills this summer and made our own running camp for a week. We where having a goals discussion around the campfire and I had each of the students tell me which race was the one that they were most proud of and enjoyed the most, about 90% of the kids said that the farms race was it. Thanks for all you do!

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