Soul Crusher

Soul Crusher is a fall trail race in Crystal Lake, Illinois, with a start line set deep in the park rather than beside the parking area. Runners should allow about 30 minutes just to walk to the start, following pink flags along the path before they reach the starting line. The race offers 5-mile and 10-mile options, which means one or two laps of the same rough loop. Jeff Lenard designed the course, and the event describes it as the toughest 5-mile loop in the Midwest. The route is entirely on unpaved trails, starts around 942 feet of elevation, and is built more for suffering than speed; Lenard jokes that runners may swear his name afterward. There is no prize money, so the field is there for the challenge itself, with course records held by Jason Ming, Alyssa Robinson, and Lily Medina. The event has been around since 2021.