Tom Dobrez and Brent Bachus, organizers of the Hidden Gem Half Marathon, came to the June 11 Heather Hill Civic Association meeting to speak with the residents of Heather Hill about preparations, what to expect, and volunteering. 

The race will be held on Sept. 6.

One of the biggest changes they mentioned was the route, which had to be adjusted because the usual route along Lawrence Crescent will be unavailable as the village continues its flood mitigation project. 

Coming from Flossmoor Road, runners will continue south down Heather Hill Crescent and east into Polly Lane going past Heather Hill School and north towards Douglas Avenue. 

The runners will continue north to Hawthorne Lane and then east back to Flossmoor Road. 

With many streets planned to be blocked that day, Dobrez encouraged people to park outside of the neighborhood that night since Flossmoor Police do not ticket the night before the race. 

They also encourage people to support the runners, with some neighborhoods having themes and wear costumes or decorate their blocks. 

Going into volunteering, Bachus said they are a registered 501c4 nonprofit, which Bachus said is because of community relations, and give money they make back to the communities and districts. 

Because of local sponsorships like the University of Chicago Medical Center and Flossmoor Station, the organization was able to raise in excess of $50,00 annually, Bachus said. 

Dobrez said in the past, organizations they have collaborated with in the past give their time and volunteer and are given around $500 to $1,000 toward their organization after helping with the race. 

Bachus went over volunteer positions, what they do to help and support runners, and where to sign up. 

After Dobrez and Bachus concluded their discussions, the meeting transitioned into talking about subgroups to sign up for, including Youth and Education, Beautification, and Neighborhood Watch.  

People gathered in groups where they gave introductions and brainstormed future goals. 

The Community Watch group had concerns about speeding and lights at night and produced goals of recruiting more people in the community and the possibility of streetlights. 

The beautification groups talked about goals such as cutting overgrowth at the neighborhood entrance and creating a list of preferred contractors for things like landscape maintenance and minimizing fraud. 

The youth and education group talked about developing relationships with schools and teachers and investigated why some local education programs are no longer at Heather Hill. 

Information to volunteer for the Hidden Half Gem Marathon can be found on the official website.