KANSAS CITY, Mo. — At first glance, The Birthday Run promises a 5K and music party that raises money for charities at Arrowhead Stadium. However, the Better Business Bureau says the event a scam.

To register, the website is connected to a Groupon page. A ticket costs $24, or two for $47. Groupon has since pulled the ads from its site. For runner Cristi St. Onge, that’s the first red flag.

“Occasionally I’ll see things on Groupon for coupons for races and stuff and look into those. I’ll ask people in my running group to see if they’ve ran them or interested in that. Usually no one’s heard of them,” she said.

Every race she hears about, she’ll mention it in her running group to see if it’s legitimate. Jenny Chronister manages races and outdoor events in Kansas City and has a few other tips to vet races.

“Have you heard of the company that’s putting on? Have you heard of this race? Google it. It takes two minutes to Google a race. A lot of times there will be reviews from other cities. Even if it’s not a scam, if it’s a badly run race you still don’t want to be on it,” said Chronister.

The contact number listed on The Birthday Run’s website is out of service. When you can’t reach someone with the race, Chronister said that should be a huge warning sign that something is wrong.

“I like to check out the races before I buy them because I like to see where my money is going, if there’s a charity involved, what charity it is,” St. Onge said.

According to the website, there is a strict no refund police. If you were ripped off, contact the BBB.