Yeti Series (overview)

     The WRC Yeti Series consists of two events. The Hello, Yeti! Trail Run & Klunker Cross happens in November and the Goodbye Yeti, an event with a 5k run/walk/stroll and a kids' half mile, is run in March.  

     Since 2009, the Western Runners Club has made the annual running of the yeti a spring-time tradition. As many as 150 runners, walkers, and strollers have gathered in Parma to chase away the mythic abominable snowman of the Himalayas.

The Real, Not-Made-Up*, History of the Western Yeti

     Scholars have long disagreed about the possible existence of large, humanoid creature known by several names. It's been called big foot, Sasquatch, abominable snowman, and yeti. This shy, probably gentle being was well known among the various native American groups that lived in this region of the country, and was occasionally observed by early settlers. 
     Distinguishing the Western Yeti from its North American brethren is the fact that it hibernates during the summer months. In this way the Western Yeti is more like the yeti of the Himalayan Mountains. Sasquatch, for instance, is known to sleep more during the rainy winters of the Pacific Northwest, foraging in the mountains, but he does not fully hibernate.
    It is often the case that the unique natural characteristics of a location will inspire folk traditions, each spring the Western Yeti must be guided into hibernation. Likewise, each fall the yeti must be awakened, so he may seek food to fill a belly left empty from a long summer's nap.
    As mentioned above, each year in mid-March the Western Runners Club welcomes spring to mid-Michigan through a symbolic chasing away of the yeti. Now, with the establishment of the Klunkercross and trail run, the Western Yeti can be properly welcomed to a new winter season.

     Typical fun at the spring event has included an abominable snowman on a bike, for the runners to chase out of town, as well as various runners dressed in outlandish costumes. The flat, fast course, takes runners through downtown Parma, past churches and party stores, past the feed mill and the fire barn, out along the railroad tracks and past fields ready to be greened by spring's warmth and rain. Along the way, runners will occasionally spy the leftover remains of deer left behind after the Yeti has enjoyed a meal. With one mile to go, the course turns west onto Michigan Avenue for a straight shot back into town and across the finish line.

*Um, yeah. Most of this was made up.