Riverfront Run Race Report

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Oh my gosh, how much do I love that alliteration? 😀

Last Saturday, my youngest son and I ran a 5K together. For those of you who read my blog regularly, you may remember that last year, we ran the Belleville Strawberry Run 8K together, which was the farthest distance he’d ever run. Although it had been a hot, muggy Friday afternoon, and he was a little upset but I didn’t come right out and tell him that an 8k is actually close to 5 miles 😛 , overall we had a great run, and we decided that we would make it an annual event, just like my older son and I do the Kona Run every year.

That all sounded good, but a couple of months ago, to my dismay and disappointment, I discovered that the Kona race company, which put on both of those races, eliminated both of them this year! 🙁 I was really sad, because the Kona company always puts on great races, and that Strawberry Run was perfect for JJ.

When I broke the news to him, I asked him if he would still do a 5K with me in June. He agreed, and after some research and narrowing of choices, he picked the Detroit Riverfront Run. I love racing in the city when I can, although the logistics of parking usually panics me. But I was willing to brave it for a race that had a medal, a T-shirt, and seemed to support a good cause. (Helping to conserve and improve the Detroit Riverfront.)

I was originally planning on skipping my morning run with my girls, which I have done every Saturday for weeks now, but when I learned they were running at 6 AM, and the race didn’t start until 9 AM, I decided to go ahead and meet up with them, run a quick three, and then head back home to grab JJ. We tend to run really easy on Saturday mornings, so it wasn’t too taxing. Plus, I I knew that JJ wasn’t going to break any speed records, so I figured I could keep up with him.

When we got there about 8 AM, I was amazed at how easy it was to park. They had an entire parking structure available for race entrants, and the best part–it was free! It was also just half a block from the race start/finish. You couldn’t ask for anything better for a downtown race! JJ and I quickly picked up our packets and had plenty of time to walk back to the car and relax for a little bit.

As we walked back, I was astonished to run into a blogger-turned-friend, Meg from Running Just as Fast as She Can. We laughed as we realize that neither of us had any idea the other was running the race. She had signed up fairly recently, and I just hadn’t gotten around to mentioning it on my blog.

After JJ and I pinned on our bibs and put our (huge) shirts in the car, we headed back and waited for the race to start. I found Meg and we chatted for a while until it was time to go. She got a picture of us at the riverfront.

Once the 10K runners were off, it was time to lineup for the 5K.

Before I knew it, they started the race and we were off and running!

JJ told me that his only goal was to not walk. Unfortunately, that goal took a beating within about half a mile, because his shoe came untied. I guess he technically didn’t walk at that point, but he did come to a full stop…in the middle of the road! 😮 When I realized what he’d done, I couldn’t help it: I started yelling at him. For any runners who by chance were there on Saturday and are reading my blog, I apologize that my 11-year-old son does not know proper race etiquette. 😛 I did instruct him that he needed to pull off to the side, out of the way of the runners, for the future, which actually turned out to be about another mile down the way, because the shoe came untied again!

He did really well in the first mile, coming in at just about a 10 minute mile. I had given him my old Garmin Forerunner 220, so he was able to track his pace and distance on his own. In some ways, it was like creating a monster. I had to tell him to stop looking at it every 10 seconds!

On the way there, JJ asked me if I had brought any race fuel. I felt really terrible; I had totally forgotten to get him any Gu or gels or anything! He was really down about that, and because I am a terrible mother, I stopped at a gas station and bought him what I thought would be something similar: Starburst. Yes, yes, I know the mantra: nothing new on race day. But he eats Starburst now and again, and he’s 11 with a pretty strong stomach, so I figured he would be fine.

After we had the first mile, he said, “OK mom, I need my race fuel.” So I gave him a Starburst, and he took it along with some water that I was carrying for him. As you can probably guess, it didn’t take long before his stomach started cramping up. OMG, worst mom ever. He kept running, but he had to slow down, and I felt so bad. Still, he wasn’t going to give up, and he just kept running and doing the nose-in, mouth-out breathing I had taught him.

By this time, we were well into the second mile, and I was passing through very familiar territory: this stretch was exactly the same as a race I had done three years ago, the Hightail to Ale. (Still my 5K PR!) I pointed out some of the sights to JJ as we ran by.

He was in pretty good spirits, despite his stomach pains, and his second mile wasn’t too bad, all things considered, but I could tell he was getting tired by the third mile, in addition to his stomach hurting. He finally had to stop and walk around 2.25. He was so bummed, but I assured him that lots of runners walk, and all that matters is that you finish. We were on the riverfront walkway by that time, which is really pretty cool.

After we came off that stretch of the walkway, JJ could see the finish line, and he perked up. Soon we were coming back to the area where we had waited before the race, and I was so delighted to see who was lining the race course near the end:

Those are middle school and elementary school cheerleaders from Southfield. Aren’t they awesome? They were cheering and chatting and waving their bright sparkly purple pom-pons at every runner is they came by. I’ll tell you what, you just can’t be having cheerleaders enthusiastically encouraging you at the end of a race. It was just the best.  I joked with one of the moms later than I wanted to hire them for all of my training runs. 😉 Anyway, huge shout out to the Southfield Raven cheerleaders for taking time out of their Saturday morning to put on an awesome performance for a bunch of runners. 😀

Just after we passed the cheerleaders, JJ told me he had to walk again. Once again, I could tell he was depressed, but I just kept encouraging him. He started running again soon, with probably only about a third of a mile to go, and then as we neared the end, he got a burst of speed, and he even managed to smile for the course photographer!

Right before we got to the finish line, he sprinted ahead of me, but in doing so, he almost lost his shoe! How he managed to cross the finish line so fast while his shoe was half on, half off, I don’t know, but he did finish–two seconds ahead of me. 😉

Afterwards, we had our banana, bagel, and water, and we just rested for a while before we waited for the awards.

We also found Meg and her friend, and we swapped post-run photo duties.

JJ was disappointed that he didn’t finish high enough to get a medal, but he was fifth in a field of about 12, and I told him that was perfectly fine for a kid who doesn’t really run. His final official time was 32:58, while mine was 33:00 exactly. That equates to about a 10:36 pace, which is perfectly fine for a kid who had stomach problems and almost lost a shoe!

After the race was over, we drove around downtown a bit kill time, looking at the new hockey stadium and the Q line, before we made our way back Downriver (via the detour, thanks to southbound I 75 being closed…what fun!). We had to kill time because the place we were going to didn’t open until 11, and I’m pretty sure the only reason JJ even ran this race was because he was so looking forward to his post-race reward.

After his difficult race last year, I had stopped on the way home and gotten him a Dairy Queen, thus setting a precedence. He discovered that he loves Royal Oreo Blizzards, so I let him not only get another one this year, I let him get a large. (Of course, that’s because I had to have a few bites, too.)

After we got home, we relaxed for a while, and then we biked 8 miles so JJ could go to the local festival. He rode a few rides and had fun with some girls from his class. I just watched and took a few pictures.

I think I’ve hit the age where I’m just too old for festivals anymore. 😉

As far as the race itself goes I would definitely do this one again. I love doing races in downtown Detroit, because our city really puts on a great running party, but I’m always a little put off by the logistics of actually trying to find a place to park and get to the race start on time. (And not getting a parking ticket, because I have gone down that road before!) But the parking for this one was so incredibly easy, and so close to the starting line, it was a non-issue. I also liked that it was well-organized, with T-shirts and medals, and the volunteer support was incredible! They had so many volunteers, and they were all so happy and cheerful and encouraging. The post race treats, though not as good as those at the Kona Runs (hard to top), were fine, it came with a good, solid medal, which is always nice, and they offered free digital race pictures–sweet!  I asked JJ what he thought, and he told me he liked that he had a nice view of the river for much of the race, the cheerleaders were cool, and the local news was there, which I guess is important! 😉 Overall, we were both very happy with the whole experience and, although we’ll miss the strawberry pop-tarts, we’re thinking about making it our “new” annual race.

One thing is for sure, we will definitely be doing more races together, because my sweet little JJ is really becoming quite a runner.

Love that kid. 🙂  Thanks for reading!

2 thoughts on “Riverfront Run Race Report

  1. Meg B

    I really enjoyed that race and have to agree on the volunteers. They were all wonderful! Plenty of cheering from the people on the course and the cheerleaders were adorable.

    Plus, how pretty is the River Front?

    Awesome race report!

    Reply
    1. steph Post author

      I did really like this race and hope to do it again. I’m so glad I got to see you, too! Thanks for coming by to read my report!

      Reply

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