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| The shirts were actually different shades of blue and the medal sparkles! |
But my husband and I decided at the last minute that we would tough it out and signed up the day before, a few hours before the online cutoff (we wanted the shirts). We’ve never done this race before, so we didn’t know what to expect, and were surprised to see it was the 50th annual running. We figured it would be fun and if nothing else, get us out of the house on a cold New Year’s Eve.
And, sure enough, the weather turned cold just in time for the race. The temperature was 30 degrees (-1 C) but the “feels like” was 19 (-7). There is always a breeze from the Detroit River somewhere on Belle Isle, Detroit’s island park; great in the summer, not-so-great in the dead of winter.
But we bundled up and headed out to the island shortly before 3 p.m. for the 4 p.m. race start. I was layered up in wool socks over running socks, fleece run tights under wind pants, a running coat over t-shirts, a buff, heavy gloves, and a heavy hat. I run cold, so I was actually dressed almost perfectly except my hat could have been a touch more windproof.
There was ample parking and we checked in and got our shirts and bibs easily, showing our online registration QR codes. I can’t believe I did this, but I forgot to grab race belts! So now we have 8 more tiny safety pins to add to our growing collection, lol. Luckily, that was the only snafu of the day. We noticed on our trips between the car and registration that there was quite a bit of ice in the parking lot, which made me a bit nervous. A few people were clomping around in YakTrax or other running shoe ice spikes.
We waited inside as long as possible until organizers finally kicked us outside about 5 minutes before the race started. It was cold! I saw a couple people running in holiday-themed onesie pajamas – genius! I figured we would warm up once we got moving. I don’t remember if there was a horn but before long we were off, right into the wind. Luckily, the course took us around one point of the island but then through the central part, which protected us from getting too cold. There were ice patches here and there but the road conditions weren’t too bad. Honestly, it was so cold and breezy that was all I could think about. I tried to enjoy the scenery of the beautiful island park but mostly I just hunched down into my buff and tried to stay warm.
My husband hasn’t been running at all lately so I shuffled slowly just in front of him for pretty much the whole time. I could tell he was cold and miserable (the things we do for a t-shirt and medal) so I tried to be encouraging without being annoying. About halfway through the course we ran into a friend of ours and those two chatted for a bit. I see how it is, you chat with your friend but not your wife? Harumph. It actually worked out fine because I needed to run around the parking lot once or twice for 3.31 miles so I could have a whole number for the year’s mileage. By the time I was done the guys had finished the race and we headed inside for water and bananas. We didn’t stay long – traffic started clearing out shortly afterward and we were off the island and heading home quickly. We wanted to get back home to warm showers, blankets, and dog lap warmers.
We paid $40 each plus fees for this race, which isn’t out of line with the other 5Ks we do. We each got a nice, long-sleeved tech tee and a fun medal, plus an excuse to get out of the house and do something healthy to wrap up the year, even if it was cold. I’d do it again, but I might hold out for warmer temperatures next time.
All in all, a fun race, fun swag, and a fun way to end the year – not a bad way to say good-bye to 2019.
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