BAY CITY, MI — It’s almost time for Bay City’s St. Patrick’s Day races. This annual event is more than just your average road race — it’s a massive gathering of runners and walkers that helps to kick off springtime in Bay City.

“We know as race management because I put on over 20 races a year around the state, that if this race goes off well that we’re in for a good year for other events because this race really gets people in the Great Lakes Bay Region running,” said organizer Andy Brady of Dig Deep Races.

On Sunday, March 19, thousands will participate in 8K and 5K events downtown before the annual Bay City St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The 8K run will kick off at 9 a.m., the 5K run at 11 a.m., and a 5K walk at 11:10 a.m. on Sunday.

Sunday will also be the 50th running of the popular races. The St. Patrick’s Day races were started by Bay City Central track coach Allen Kayner in 1974. He and several other local running enthusiasts started the race after competing in a similar race at Traverse City’s Cherry Festival.

Kayner died after a battle with cancer in 2001. But the Bay Area Runners Club, which he founded in the early 1970s, has kept the race going strong year after year.

The races are presented yearly by a long-time sponsor and partner, Jolt Credit Union.

“To have a partnership with a beloved event in our region that year after year consistently continues to grow, have a tremendous impact on the people and businesses who live and visit Bay City, is inclusive, and generously gives back, we cannot imagine not being involved,” said Bridge Staffileno VP of community affairs for Jolt Credit Union.

The following is a guide for both seasoned, new and even prospective participants looking to take part in the 50th-anniversary celebration:

It’s for everyone

You do not have to be a top-tier athlete to participate in the races. Everyone of all skill levels and abilities is welcome to throw their green hat in the ring.

“The beauty of St. Patrick’s Day races is that it’s not just runners,” Brady said. “We have a walk category that’ll have 1,500 participants this year. And those walkers are coming out to participate to be a part of it, to get out with friends and the community and to just enjoy it.”

A special group called myTeam Triumph takes the races’ inclusivity to the next level. This group uses volunteers called “Angels” to help push people with disabilities, called “Captains,” in wheelchairs through the course.

This race tends to be some participants’ first foray into the racing world.

“It’s the one that people go to because friends convinced them,” Brady said. “They say, ‘I’m not a runner.’ They show up there, and it’s so big, and it’s so much fun that they begin running. They become runners, and they start looking forward to doing events.”

In fact, these races are what got Brady interested in running. Now, he organizes races across the state for Dig Deep.

“This is a race that I did back in 1994 when I got out of the Army, and it was only a few hundred people,” he said. “I swore I’d never run again when I got out of the Army, and some friends convinced me to do this, and I was hooked. You know, I really was; I was hooked.”

Expect a big and fun crowd

This event tends to draw a large number of participants. In the past, the event has seen numbers as high as almost 7,000 participants. This year, Brady is expecting about 5,000 participants after the COVID-19 pandemic put a damper on things the last couple of years, but he’s optimistic that future events will climb up higher to pre-pandemic levels and beyond.

“But we also believe that in the years to come that if this goes off well and we finally get past this pandemic thing, that we’ll be reaching 10,000 in the next few years,” he said.

The race has been popular enough to catch the attention of Runner’s World magazine. The publication named the Bay City races one of the country’s “stellar St. Patrick’s Day runs” in 2018 and 2020.

Don’t forget Saturday’s events

The Bay Area Runners Club will host a fitness expo from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 18, at Bay City Central High School, 1624 Columbus Ave.

A set of children’s fun races are also held on Saturday. Called “leprechaun races”, kids can choose to run a 1/4 mile, 1/2 mile, or full mile. The leprechaun races will start at 2 p.m. at the Bay City Central High School track.

The wee little ones that participate in the leprechaun races will get a race bib and a finisher medal. Those who registered early are also guaranteed a T-shirt.

Adults are welcome to run alongside their little leprechauns and do not need to register, according to the Bay Area Runners Club.

There’s still time to register

Registration costs $28 for the 5K run, 5K walk and the 8K run. The cost is $45 for runners who chose to do the Irish Double, which is a combination of the 5K and 8K runs. It is $8 for the leprechaun races.

But don’t panic if you did not have a chance to preregister for the event. You can still register online before the races start.

“We keep registration open right until race time,” Brady said. “That’s the beauty of technology.”

There’s no guarantee that you will get a race T-shirt if you register now, however. There was a registration cutoff earlier this year for those that wished to guarantee a shirt. Brady said there are extra shirts on order for last-minute registrants, but that there is no guarantee how many they’ll have left or what sizes they’ll have left for day-of registrants.

Race packets can be picked up from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the fitness expo on Saturday at Bay City Central or from 8 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. at the Bay Area Community Foundation Building at 100 Adams St.

Click here for more registration info.

Unique prizes up for grabs

To celebrate the 50th anniversary, the top racers will earn a unique set of prizes this year.

Irish-made shillelaghs will be given to the top three male and female participants as well as the top three ‘masters,’ which are those 40 and over, in each event. The event consists of an 8K run, 5K run and a 5K walk.

The top three overall male and female participants in each age group category will also get to take a lucky leprechaun bobblehead with them. Each leprechaun holds a plaque that signifies what age group the winner competed in and what place they took.

Everyone will take some sort of prize home too. All participants in the 8K run as well as the 5K run and walk will receive special spinner medals.

Those who compete in the Irish Double will receive a second medal as well.

Results can be viewed online after the races and awards, including leprechaun bobbleheads, can be picked up until 2 p.m. at the Bay Area Community Foundation Building.

Click here for more information on the races.

Read more from MLive:

50-for-50? Ted Davenport has been there from the start of St. Patrick’s Day Race

50 years on the run: Bay City’s St. Patrick’s Day tradition ‘more than just a road race’