Get moving in 2025 and celebrate the great outdoors with us.



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"DNR News"



Nov. 1, 2024

Contacts: Michelle O'Kelly <[email protected]> (Auto Show 5K and Run for the Trees: Happy Little Virtual 5K), 517-899-5211 or Emily Grant <[email protected]> (Lumberjack Pancake Run), 313 396-6891 

*Gear up, get moving in the new year! *

"Three fun 5Ks in early 2025 celebrate Michigan's great outdoors"

Runners at Auto Show 5K

Mark your race calendars! Celebrating the great outdoors and honoring Michigan’s history are part of three 5K run/walk events organized by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in the new year, and you’re invited to join the fun.

Registration is open for the:


* Detroit Auto Show 5K [ [link removed] ], Saturday, Jan. 11, along the Detroit Riverfront.
* Lumberjack Pancake Run [ [link removed] ], Sunday, March 23, featuring both 5K and mile distances.
* Run for the Trees: Happy Little (Virtual) 5K [ [link removed] ], which encourages participants to walk, run or roll anywhere outdoors April 19-27.

“We’re so excited to help bring back the Detroit Auto Show 5K in early 2025, and we’re equally as thrilled about having two additional 5K events in the following months that also raise awareness of our state’s beautiful landscapes and how we can help celebrate, honor and protect these spaces and places,” said Michelle O’Kelly, fund and resource development specialist for the DNR’s Parks and Recreation Division.

Here’s what you need to know:

Detroit Auto Show 5K

Auto Show logo 2025

The DNR, Detroit Auto Show and Friends of the Outdoor Adventure Center are teaming up to bring back the Detroit Auto Show 5K [ [link removed] ] at 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, at Huntington Place in Detroit.

The route travels along the Detroit Riverfront, with the start/finish outside the doors of the Detroit Auto Show. All proceeds from the event will help update the exhibits at the DNR’s Outdoor Adventure Center. More details:


* Tickets to the Detroit Auto Show (public days) can be purchased at a 25% discount through the 5K event.
* Adult tickets will be available for $15 ($20 at the door), senior tickets for $9 ($12 at the door) and kids tickets for $7.50 ($10 at the door). Auto Show ticket sales end Dec. 15 to allow time for pickup.
* Early packet pickup will take place Friday, Jan. 10, 4-6 p.m. at the Outdoor Adventure Center. Participants receive an Auto Show-themed long-sleeve shirt, bib and finisher's medal.
* Race day packet pickup will take place one hour prior to the race start time at Huntington Place.
* Awards will be given to the first place overall, and first place for each age group thereafter. 

“We look forward to another great run with the community as we mark the opening of the celebrated Detroit Auto Show and support the great work of our friends at the Outdoor Adventure Center and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources,” said Detroit Auto Show Chairman Karl Zimmermann.



Lumberjack Pancake Run

Lumberjack Pancake Run Logo 2025

It’s time to channel the flannel! The Lumberjack Pancake Run [ [link removed] ] – consisting of the Flapjack 5K and Silver Dollar Mile Sunday, March 23 – has expanded to become a four-day festival of fun and flannel starting March 20. Activities include:


* March 20: Join us for Senior Brunch and Learn: Your Michigan State Forests with Cheryl Nelson of the DNR Forest Resources Division.
* March 21-22: Explore hands-on education tables and visiting partners, including a cross-cut saw demonstration with specialists from the historic Belle Isle Saw Mill, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. both days. Join us the evening of March 21, 6:30-9 p.m., for the Plaid Tie Dinner, an evening adventure for those 21 and older.
* March 23: Run or walk the Flapjack 5K (starting at 10 a.m.) or Silver Dollar Mile (beginning at 9:30 a.m.) and re-fuel afterward at the Lumberjack Pancake Run and Pancake Breakfast. Wear your finest flannel apparel or sport your best lumberjack beard – prizes will be given for best attire. If family and friends want to join the pancake breakfast, extra food tickets are available for $5 each.

The 5K takes place along the Dequindre Cut in Detroit – an out-and-back course that is flat and fast – with parking available across from Milliken State Park and Harbor. The race begins at the Outdoor Adventure Center, 1801 Atwater St. in Detroit. You'll get a custom medal, lumberjack buff, OAC entry and a pancake breakfast.



Run for the Trees: Happy Little (Virtual) 5K

Happy Little 5K montage 2025 white background

Take part in the April 19-27 Run for the Trees: Happy Little (Virtual) 5K [ [link removed] ], an event that started in Michigan and has expanded to include tree-planting efforts in nine other states.

You’ll receive a Bob Ross-inspired T-shirt, medal and bib as a thank-you for your continued support of tree plantings. (Thanks to past participants for helping select this year’s race design!)

Walk, run or roll your way to your designated finish line – you pick the pace and the place, anywhere outdoors! Participants should tackle the 5K anytime April 19-27, which is when Earth Day (April 22) and Arbor Day (April 25) take place.

“This virtual race is a perfect trifecta: people being active and spending time outdoors, celebrating their love of trees and honoring legendary artist and outdoor enthusiast Bob Ross,” said O’Kelly, who serves as Happy Little Trees race director. “We are incredibly proud to be helping expand this positive impact across the United States.”

Race packets will start shipping March 1. To guarantee shipment before the race, please register by April 1. Online registration closes April 15.



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*Note to editors:* Accompanying images are available below for download. Caption information follows.


* Auto Show 5K [ [link removed] ]: The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Detroit Auto Show and Friends of the Outdoor Adventure Center are teaming up to bring back the Detroit Auto Show 5K [ [link removed] ] at 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, at Huntington Place in Detroit.
* Lumberjack Pancake Run [ [link removed] ]: The Lumberjack Pancake Run [ [link removed] ] – consisting of the Flapjack 5K and Silver Dollar Mile Sunday, March 23 – has expanded to become a four-day festival of fun and flannel starting Thursday, March 20.
* Run for the Trees [ [link removed] ]: Run for the Trees: Happy Little (Virtual) 5K [ [link removed] ] is an event that started in Michigan and has expanded to include tree-planting efforts in nine other states.

 


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