Race Info:
Join us at Delco Park for PetFest, benefitting Miami Valley Pet Therapy Association.
Active Living
What To Know Before You Go: Wagner Subaru Outdoor Experience
The Wagner Subaru Outdoor Experience, presented by Huffy, is this Saturday, Oct. 7 and Sunday Oct. 8 at Eastwood MetroPark. With nearly a dozen activities to try, live music, competitions, demonstrations and more, it’s best to plan ahead to maximize your experience during the festival.
To ensure you have the best experience possible at the Wagner Subaru Outdoor Experience be sure to consider the following:
Free camping: Camping at the Subaru of America Campground is free and on a first come, first served basis. Campers can begin to set up at noon on Friday, Oct. 6 and can stay through Sunday, Oct. 8 at 5 p.m. Groups should pre-arrange camping plans by emailing [email protected]. A limited number of pop-up campers is also available.
Campers should park and register before they unload and set up camp. Be sure to register for your chance to win a camping stove. Read the Subaru of America campground rules and learn more about the area’s amenities.
Be waste-free: According to A Greener Festival, waste generated by festivals amounts to 53,000 tons of waste each year, about the size of 450 blue whales. A conservation agency, your Five Rivers MetroParks asks that festivalgoers plan ahead to keep the Wagner Subaru Outdoor Experience waste-free.
Here are just a few simple steps to take to ensure you are prepared to party with us waste-free:
- Bring a reusable water bottle and pint glass: Visitors will be able to fill up their water bottles at multiple stations at the event. Those who wish to grab a beverage from the Great Lakes Brewing/Fifty West Brewery Beer Garden should remember to bring a pint with them, too. Pints will be available for purchase at the event, as well. No single-use cups will be available at the Wagner Subaru Outdoor Experience.
- Locate waste stations on the festival’s map: Can’t find a trash can? That’s by design at the Wagner Subaru Outdoor Experience. MetroParks’ Master Recycling volunteers and Waste-Free Dayton will run waste stations that collect compostable and recyclable items, in addition to items that need to go to the landfill.
- Compost what you can: If you aren’t sure what can be composted during the event, be sure to ask a waste station volunteer. Compost will be collected and sent to the Foodbank, where they will use the compost for their urban gardens.
- Pick up after your pooch: Wherever dogs go, poop may follow. Help make everyone’s festival experience less messy by ensuring you bring bags to pick up after your pooch and dispose of them properly at the waste stations in the trash bin.
Commute green: Five Rivers MetroParks and the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission is challenging you to travel green to the Wagner Subaru Outdoor Experience! Bike in on the nation’s largest paved trail network to enjoy bike parking right at the front of the event. Carpooling and taking public transit are also great options to lessen your carbon footprint.
Need directions? Here’s where to learn more.
Sign your waiver ahead of time: From fishing to ziplining, there are so many activities to try for free at the Wagner Subaru Outdoor Experience; however, many of them require signing a waiver. You can cut your time in line down by printing a waiver and filling it out ahead of time. Drop it off at the information area upon entering the festival to receive a wristband. Download a waiver.
Know before you go: Tips to shrink line time, essentials to bring and more for this weekend’s Wagner Subaru Outdoor Experience
4 Great Reasons to Attend the Free, Dayton Wagner Subaru Outdoor Experience
2023 Walk to End Alzheimer’s
At the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s®, we’re fighting for a different future. For families facing the disease today. For more time. For treatments. We’re closer than ever to stopping Alzheimer’s. But to get there, we need you. Join us for the world’s largest fundraiser to fight the disease.
Grandview Foundation Wiffle Ball Tournament
Welcome to the Grandview Foundation Wiffle Ball Tournament 2023! Join us for a day of fun, competition, and giving back to the community. This event is happening in person on Saturday, Sep 23 2023 at Yankee Park, 7500 Yankee Street, Dayton, OH 45459. Grab your friends and family to form a team of 5 (amateur skill level) and compete against other teams in the wiffle ball tournament. Cost is $50 per team, or $10 per individual.
Not only will you have a blast playing wiffle ball, but you will also be supporting a great cause. All proceeds from the event will support future RAGS programs through the Grandview Foundation.
There will be plenty of food and drinks available via food trucks and vendors, so bring your appetite (and your wallet!). Get ready for a day full of laughter and friendly competition. Games will be running all day, round-robin style. Schedule to follow after registration is complete. We can’t wait to see you there!
Will You Be Running in The Air Force Marathon?
Friday, September 15, 2023
Wright State University
– Tailwind Trot Starts at 6:00 P.M.
– 5K Starts at 6:30 P.M.
Saturday, September 16, 2023
National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
– 10K Starts at 6:30 A.M.
– Half Marathon, Marathon, & Relay Start at 7:30 A.M.
You may register for the Marathon, Half Marathon, 3-Person Marathon Relay, 10K, 5K, Tailwind Trot 1K Kids’ Run, or either of the Fly! Fight! Win! Challenge Series.
Additional weekend events include the two-day Health & Fitness Expo, Gourmet Pasta Dinner, Finish Line Festival, Award Ceremonies, and After Party.
More info – usafmarathon.com
𝐅𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 at Possum Creek
Great Miami Riverway Half Marathon
COURSE: Start on Water Street in Troy at the Miami County Courthouse. Troy roads to/around Duke Park. Enter the bike path heading north on Adams Street. Pass the Eldean Covered Bridge. Exit the bike path in Piqua. Run on city roads to the finish line near Fort Piqua Plaza. UPDATED 2023 MAP can be viewed at this link:
Dayton Pub Run + Scavenger Hunt
Not only will you have the opportunity to demo some Nike shoes, but be the first to see the ORRRC/City of Miamisburg 45th annual Turkey Trot t-shirt!! AND, donate $5 and enter in our running photo scavenger hunt for NAMI!
We’ll still have those SUPER SWEET door prizes (RSVP and check-in to be eligible and get credit for attending), but those who donate have a chance at winning MORE!
During 2023 attend 4, 8 and 12 regular Pub Runs to earn some awesome prizes and attend all 24 (regular and Lite) Pub Runs to earn a $100 Runners Plus gift card.
All paces and people are welcome, and it’s free to attend!
Underground Railroad Bicycle Route – Great Miami Riverway Alternate
The U.S. Bicycling Route System includes the 51.4 mile long Great Miami Riverway Alternate Route, which provides travelers with the opportunity to experience the rich history of Warren, Montgomery, and Greene Counties by traveling through quaint communities and along the urban riverfront of Dayton. Part of this alternate route connects the river towns and amenities of the Great Miami Riverway.
The U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS) is a developing national network of bicycle routes connecting urban and rural communities via signed roads and trails. Created with public input, U.S. Bicycle Routes direct bicyclists to a preferred route through a city, county, or state – creating opportunities for people everywhere to bicycle for travel, transportation, and recreation. Nearly 18,000 miles are currently established.
You’ll discover hidden nuggets of fascinating facts around every bend. The Alternate Route stretches from Corwin and Waynesville through Springboro on road before transitioning to off-street paved trails for the remainder of the route through Miamisburg, Dayton, and on to Xenia.
Information from https://www.metroparks.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/UGRR-GMR-Alt.pdf
Route Overview
The Great Miami Riverway Alternate (GMRA) provides travelers the opportunity to experience the rich history of Warren, Montgomery, and Greene Counties by traveling through quaint communities and along the urban riverfront of Dayton, an Outside Magazine Best Town. You’ll discover hidden nuggets of fascinating facts around every bend. You’ll travel from Corwin and Waynesville through Springboro on road before transitioning to off-street paved trails for the remainder of the route through Miamisburg, Dayton and on to Xenia. Miamisburg is also proud to be the Sister City to Owen Sound, Ontario; the northern terminus of the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route (UGRR).
The GMRA will lead you over rolling hills and through river valleys while traveling predominantly on dedicated paved trails. The Miami Valley is the home of the Nation’s Largest Paved Trail Network where you can experience over 340 miles of connected trails (miamivalleytrails.org). Dayton is among several bicycle friendly communities and is steeped in tradition with a solid outdoor recreation scene including paddling hot spots such as the RiverScape River Run and the Mad River which are both along the route tucked among several of Five Rivers MetroParks and other public land.
This growing scene has earned Dayton the title of “The Outdoor Adventure Capital of the Midwest!”. Check it out at outdoordayton.com, more on the Great Miami Riverway at greatmiamiriverway.com.
While long distance cyclists on the UGRR have a 51 mile alternate route to experience the rich history along the GMRA; local cyclists can experience a weekend tour by choosing to loop back to their starting point using the Little Miami Scenic Trail to create a 65 mile mini-tour with B&B and camping opportunities at several places along the route.
In addition to the UGRR and GMRA, the region is at the crossroads of several long distance cycling options including the Ohio to Erie Trail and Adventure Cycling’s Chicago to New York City (CNYC) route along with U.S. Bicycle Route 50 and 25.
The Waterways Leading to Freedom
The Great Miami River and the Miami Erie Canal transported goods supporting the farming, mining, and other industries developing in Southwest Ohio in the 19th century but it also carried more than supplies and traveling passengers on their way to see family and friends; it is believed vessels traveling these routes also carried slaves traveling to freedom via the Underground Railroad.
Both the Great Miami River and remnant of the Miami Erie Canal lead into Dayton, Ohio; a town known for many inventions including the first plane, the first cash register, and the soda can pop tab, as well as some local history tied to the Underground Railroad. One such runaway slave that may have used the Underground Railroad to reach Dayton is Paul Laurence Dunbar’s father, who also served in the famous Massachusetts’s 55th Infantry during the Civil War. The emancipation of slaves after the Civil War paved the way for Dunbar to become the first nationally-recognized African American Poet. During his short lifetime, Dunbar would write poems for esteemed magazines like The New York Times and Harper’s Weekly, as well as publish twelve books of poetry, four novels, four books of short stories, and lyrics to popular songs. The house he bought for his mother still stands and is part of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park.
The Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park also is home to the Wright Cycle Company Building, Hoover Block, Huffman Prairie Flying Field, the 1905 Wright Flyer III, and Hawthorn Hill. The Wright Cycle Company Building is the only building remaining of the Wright Brothers prior bicycle shop business before they invented the airplane. Hoover Block showcases the Wright & Wright, Job Printers location that published the Dayton Tattler, which was written in Dunbar’s early days as a writer specifically for the African American population in Dayton.
The first plane to fly, the 1905 Wright Flyer III, is located at Carillon Historical Park. It is the only plane to be recognized as a National Historical Landmark. Carillon Historical Park gets its name from the Carillon tower in the middle of the park, which has a set of bells hanging in the top of the tower and played much like a piano roll. Carillon Park is also home to Dayton History and preserves over three million artifacts and thirty historic landmarks.
One such of these landmarks is the Old Courthouse in downtown Dayton. Seven US presidents, including Abraham Lincoln, campaigned here during their bids for presidency. Another place of interest is the oldest building still standing in downtown Dayton (120 N. Clair St.). This building survived the Great 1913 Flood and still stands where it was originally built. There is a placard on the side of the building to indicate where the water crested during the Great Flood. Before the flood though, Samuel Brady, the homeowner during the Civil War, used his home to assist slaves escaping slavery from the South via the Underground Railroad. You can see the stark difference in architecture between homes built in the 1800s to the stylized condos next to the building now.
Another abolitionist that lived in the area was John Harries, an Englishman Brewery owner in downtown Dayton, was also an abolitionist and helped many escaped slaves using the Underground Railroad. Although his building does not exist anymore, his grave can be found at the Woodland Cemetery. Additionally, Marcus Junius Parrott is buried in the Woodland Cemetery. Parrott served in the Ohio State House of Representatives as an abolitionist and he was instrumental in making sure Kansas achieved statehood as a slave-free state just as the Civil War was beginning in 1861.
Between an Ocean and a Glacier: The Geology of the Miami Valley
As you connect to the Great Miami River Trail via the Great-Little Trail, you’ll see that the Miami Valley has many flat landscapes, but it also has rolling hills and steep valleys. The landscape that you will climb and descend was created by two different geologic time periods in Ohio’s history.
The bedrock for most of the land between Dayton and Cincinnati was formed during the Ordovician period, 505-408 million years ago, one of the warmest time periods in Earth’s history. During this time, the Miami Valley was more like a tropical sea you’d find somewhere in the Caribbean. Large hurricanes regularly swept the region, causing the sediment stirred up from the storm to settle to the bottom and capped by a layer of mud. This happened numerous times as the continent slowly drifted northward to its current location, creating over nine hundred feet of coarse, fossiliferous limestone and shale. The largest exposed Ordovician rock layer in the world is located in the Miami Valley. After the Ordovician, a big section of what is now the Midwest was uplifted, creating what is called the Cincinnati Arch. This uplifted land was subject to the forces of erosion, and over time the raised area was washed away. This resulted in much older rock being found at the surface, and a complete absence of the younger rock layers.
As the Earth entered the Ice Age about two and a half million years ago, great continental glaciers formed and spread over the region. There have been at least four continental glaciers that have covered the Miami Valley and retreated back to Canada. As the glaciers retreated they left behind piles of gravel and sand creating the hills you are biking through today. Their torrents of melting water also created gorges and filled in ancient river valleys with sand and gravel.
The Great Miami River, named after the Miami Native American Tribe that used to live in the area, winds southward to connect to the Ohio River and is a major asset for outdoor recreation enthusiasts, both in the water and on the trail you are biking on. After an incredibly harsh, cold winter in 1913 a major storm hit the Miami Valley and caused the Great Flood of 1913. As you stand at the Inventors Walk in Riverscape MetroPark in downtown Dayton, you can look across Monument Ave. to a building where a blue wave is painted, symbolic of where the water levels reached in Dayton during the flood. In the aftermath of the flood, the Miami Conservancy District was created and five earthen dams and a levee system were built around the region to prevent another catastrophic flood.
Free Fitness Class at The Arcade
Friends of the Dayton Arcade, The Hub Powered by PNC, and BLC Entertainment are proud to present the second annual Rotunda Summer Fitness Program, “Fitness Full Circle”.
This free event series held in the Dayton Arcade’s Rotunda at 35 W. Fourth Street will occur on Wednesday, August 30 from 5:30 – 6:30 pm. All you need is a mat, water bottle, and yourself!
August 30 – Tone & Stretch with Space Three
**Attendees must be 18+. Each participant will need to sign fitness waivers. Doors open to participants 15 minutes prior to the start of each class. Equipment will not be provided. Always consult your physician before beginning any exercise program.
Fitness Under the Wings: Free Yoga
Space is limited, and advanced registration is requested to secure your spot. Click HERE for more information and to register. Walk-in yogis will be accepted on a space-available basis.
Free exercise mat for the first 5 participants each week.
Bee Active Fun Run/Walk for Dayton Children’s Hospital
Come join us in a run, jog, or walk and help us support mental health for children. The TWIG Auxiliary of Dayton Children’s Hospital (Terrific Women in Giving) has made a new four-year pledge to raise $1 million for Pediatric Behavioral Health Services at Dayton Children’s Hospital.
Fitness Full Circle and it’s Free!
Friends of the Dayton Arcade, The Hub Powered by PNC, and BLC Entertainment are proud to present the second annual Rotunda Summer Fitness Program, “Fitness Full Circle”.
This free event series held in the Dayton Arcade’s Rotunda at 35 W. Fourth Street will occur every Wednesday between August 9 and August 30 from 5:30 – 6:30 pm. All you need is a mat, water bottle, and yourself!
August 23 – SWERK with Whitney Barkley
August 30 – Tone & Stretch with Space Three
**Attendees must be 18+. Each participant will need to sign fitness waivers. Doors open to participants 15 minutes prior to the start of each class. Equipment will not be provided. Always consult your physician before beginning any exercise program.
Tuesday Cornhole League Forming at Eudora Brewing
Standard cornhole rules will apply (read them here), and teams must referee themselves. You must use the throwing bags provided.
To register your team by August 28th pay $50 here.
Middletown Beer Mile
4 beers, 4 loops. Middletown’s one and only beer mile!
August 19th, located at The White Dog Distilling Company on Central Avenue.
21+ only!
Race day registration begins at 5PM inside The White Dog. The race will begin at 6 PM. Each participant is required to drink a beer at the start of each of the 4 loops. The loops will circle around The White Dog on the sidewalk.
Award ceremony will begin at 7 PM inside The White Dog.