Seeking a Lozilu refund?

Racers who signed up for a Lozilu Women’s Mud Run that was canceled can contact the Active.com network by emailing support@activenetwork.com, or calling 877-228-4881 for a registration refund.

Alternatively, they can exchange their 2015 Lozilu event entry for an equivalent entry to an upcoming race operated by The Color Run.

If a participant cannot attend The Color Run, or has further questions, email Active at support@activenetwork.com or contact Lozilu directly at brad@lozilu.com.

Even though Broomfield had no plans to host a popular mud run and obstacle course later this month, race company Lozilu advertised that the event would return Aug. 29 at Broomfield County Commons.

Broomfield hosted the Lozilu Women’s Mud Run there last August. But after last year’s race, city staff decided not to hold the race again “for a variety of reasons,” said Assistant City and County Manager Jennifer Hoffman.

A Lozilu contact notified a Broomfield recreation employee in November that they were selling the company, but recreation was never contacted by the new owner, according to information Hoffman provided.

Broomfield officials never gave it a second thought until an inquiry from an the Obstacle Racing Media blog in late July alerted staff that Broomfield County Commons was listed as a mud run site on Aug. 29.

“A blogger asked if we were hosting the 2015 race” that was listed on Lozilu’s website, Hoffman said Thursday. “That was the catalyst that prompted us to contact Lozilu.”

City staff discovered the mud run information and location published on Lozilu’s website was in Broomfield, Hoffman said.

“We immediately contacted Lozilu staff to remove the Broomfield location and accompanying map and were informed that it would be updated accordingly,” said City and County Manager Charles Ozaki, in an email.

Staff contacted the new owner at the end of July, who said he would remove the event over the weekend but, as of Aug. 4, Broomfield was still listed on the website, along with a map of the 2014 race course, Hoffman said.

The only difference is that the run is not available for registration — when the “sign up” icon is clicked, the user is directed to a Lozilu page that says registration for the race is unavailable.

Lozilu’s mud runs are now canceled nationwide.

Lozilu posted a statement to its Facebook page Aug. 4 saying the company canceled all of its mud runs this year and thanked racers for their “past support.”

“Lozilu has canceled all 2015 runs due to a significant increase in insurance costs and over 50% [sic] decrease in runner participation. Consequently it has been deemed necessary to prematurely end the season. All runners will automatically receive a full refund. Team Lozilu extends a sincere apology to each and every runner for any inconvenience this may have caused you.”

It is unclear how long the County Commons listing was on Lozilu.com, and the company may have received registration fees for the event.

Public comments on mudrunguide.com, a publication that lists thousands of events across the nation, include several reviews from people who said they registered for past Lozilu mud races in other states that have been canceled, sometimes at the last minute.

Some of the out-of-state reviewers said they were waiting for a refund and some were not even informed their race was nixed, until days — or hours — before the scheduled race.

Mud Run Guide has no affiliation with Lozilu.

A permit to host such a race in Broomfield is required of companies such as Lozilu, but staff had not received a request for one, Hoffman said, despite the race posting.

Kim Miller, a spokeswoman with Active.com, through which people may have registered from the Broomfield race, could not comment on the race at hand, but said those who registered for the Lozilu Mud Run can get a refund by contacting Active at support@activenetwork.com.

“As an unaffiliated vendor, we are not able to comment on Lozilu’s plans concerning the management and operation of its upcoming or canceled events. However, we can confirm that we have ceased further processing of all Lozilu event registrations through our site and software,” she said in a statement Thursday.

She did offer a silver lining to the race debacle, though.

Active network has teamed up with The Color Run, touted as the “Happiest 5K on the Planet,” to help registrants affected by the canceled Lozilu event.

Lozilu participants whose events were canceled can exchange their 2015 Lozilu event entry for an equivalent entry to an upcoming race operated by The Color Run.

Miller said those participants should get an email from Active with the details, and the closest Color Run event is slated for Sept. 5 in Colorado Springs.

Several attempts to contact Lozilu were not returned as of press time.

Kimberli Turner: 303-410-2649, turnerk@broomfieldenterprise.com