Detroit Free Press 5K 2019 Race Report

We ran a 5K this morning! A few years ago, as part of the Detroit Free Press Marathon and half-marathon festivities, organizers created a 5K on Saturday, the day before. We did the race in 2017, and it's since expanded a bit to include a competitive mile beforehand and a fun kids' mile afterward.

We were only doing the 5K, but we got there early enough (competitive mile started at 9 a.m., 5K at 9:30 a.m., and there were special medals for those doing multiple races all weekend) to find a parking spot easily and watch the competitive mile begin. The winner did it in something ridiculous like 4:18, which was LESS time than it took us to walk the block and a half from the start line to the finish line while we were spectating.

It had been pretty brisk in the early morning and we each had an extra layer on, but after watching the winners of the 1 mile we had plenty of time to walk back to the car to leave our fleeces and yoga pants before walking back to the start. The sun was out and there wasn't a breeze, and I knew once we got moving we would be fine. I was wearing long run leggings and a long-sleeved shirt, and a fuzzy ear warmer headband and light gloves, which I stashed after the first water station.

Before long, we were off! We had no time goals for this race, planning only to run steadily and have a good time. About a half-mile in I started hearing yelling and started to get concerned thinking that someone had fallen and people were yelling for help. I about died laughing when I saw this sign:

Woooo!

Amazing! We laughed about this for the rest of the race.

There really wasn't anything notable about the race except that it was a beautiful day and we weren't setting any records. I stopped for water once, my husband stopped to fix a weird sock fold issue once, but we plodded along and had enough energy for a finish line kick. And then we were off to brunch.

We signed up for this race on the very last day to do so online, and I was hesitant, partly because of the price. But this race always gives out excellent swag: A long-sleeved tech tee, medal, and a buff (or whatever the non-name brand name is — gaiter wrap?). I wish more races gave out buffs! I use them all the time as headbands and as light scarves when the temps drop.

High quality swag for Freep races, well worth the registration fees.

It was a great race and a great way to start a beautiful fall Saturday. I hope that I'm in good enough running shape next year that I can do a combo of races and get one of the special medals. Happy fall racing!