Running Michigan

Runners are a tough bunch, but being trampled by a deer is more than most would anticipate. True story, according to Hal Wolfe, the Dexter-Ann Arbor Run race director, who says the competitor got up and finished the race, no medical attention required. Wolfe also recalls the time a runner lost his shoe right as the gun blasted the start of the race, and had to turn against the tide of a thousand runners flooding forward.

Who knows what’s in store for the June 3 running of the 34th annual Dexter-Ann Arbor Run? A true-blue Michigan course, its half-marathon, 10K, and 5K races claim nearly six thousand participants. The long distance runners pass beneath Dexter's cider mill, tread through its quaint downtown then follow the gently rolling tree-lined banks of the Huron River. Finally, an uphill churning of the legs gets them to the Main Street finish in downtown Ann Arbor. Participants like "tradition, the size of the field, and our hallmark, the spectacular course along Huron River Drive," boasts Wolfe.

Many of the hundred members of Ann Arbor's Running Fit 501 group will be on the half-marathon course, under the guidance of Coach Gina, whose company, Two Dogs Running, manages the Running Fit stores’ training program for 26.2 mile marathons and 13.1 mile half-marathons. A runner for thirty years with more than 300 road races unde her belt (including ten marathons), Gina founded Two Dogs Running in 2000 to offer private coaching services and organized weekend group runs. That first year, thirty group members completed the Dexter-Ann Arbor half-marathon. Gina felt, "elated. As each of those thirty people crossed the line, it was like finishing thirty times."

Though Detroit steel rules our roads, more and more people are discovering we're actually more rural than Motown when it comes to geography. Home to more than 50 top running routes, the Mitten State offers everything from extreme trail running to eccentric fun runs to river side loops to world-class marathons. And the most celebrated course is the Detroit Marathon.

Rated seventh in the nation by Marathon and Beyond magazine, nearly 11,000 people ran 2006's Detroit marathon, half-marathon, or 5K races. Taking a look at the event –as much a party as it is a race-- it's easy to see why. Runners weave through colorful MexicanTown, see sunrise sparkle on the Detroit River, absorb the stately serenity of Indian Village as they loop Belle Isle and take in city vistas from atop the arc of the Ambassador Bridge and along the Windsor riverfront. Crossing back into the US via the Windsor Tunnel, the race has the distinction of being the only international underwater marathon mile in the world. Every step of the way, high-energy bands and entertainment serenade them as runners launch into the final push through the partying streets of Greektown.

Despite the ten extra pounds of winter weight, Southeast Michigan produces some fiercely dedicated runners. David Howell, owner of the Total Runner running shops in Southfield and Southgate and an eighteen-time marathoner, says, "Ordinary people can do the marathon if they make the time commitment. It’s a serious test of will, determination, and preparation."

Howell enjoys the convenience and efficiency of the sport. Over the last thirty years, he has put 53,636 miles on his shoes, running trails in the Lake Erie and Lower Huron Metro Parks, and the West Bloomfield rail trail. His favorite event is Flint’s Crim Festival of Races. The flagship 10-mile road race, inaugurated in 1977, is the "most prestigious race in Michigan, from a national standpoint. It attracts some of the best runners from around the world," says Howell. In 2006, a throng of spectators watched as over thirteen thousand people participated.

In recent years, the Rochester-based Hansons-Brooks Distance Project running team has had several members place in the top-20 in the Crim 10 miler. Elite level runner and team member Yolanda Flamino says that in 1999, Keith and Kevin Hanson, coaches and Hansons Running shop owners, founded the team to try to emulate the successful running programs of the 1970s. Top runners from all over the US move to Michigan to train full-time with the team, whose goal is to advance American distance running. The team is now focusing on the 2007 and 2008 Olympic Marathon and 10K trials.

Sweat and desire is what gets the Hansons-Brooks team to the front lines of marathons. The group trains daily in local parks and on trails - anywhere from 110 to 140 miles per week. "In marathon training, even on a short day we’re easily logging 16 miles. It’s what we would call a recovery day," Flamino explains.

Despite the image of the lone runner pounding out the miles, many find real camaraderie in the sport. Coach Gina, who has seen many friendships, and even a marriage, arise from her group runs, says, "Lots of people form their own groups and continue to run together after the formal training program ends. When you’re having a hard time running, you bond with the person next to you, and that carries over into your life."

Friends entering races together can find events catering to all abilities, with distances ranging anywhere from a mile to a full marathon. "People new to races get intimidated and feel out of place. They think everyone is a gazelle, but actually most are average runners, out to have a good time," says Howell.

"On any given weekend there are around four different races in the metro Detroit area alone. To attract runners, you need to have something that catches their attention, such as a street festival afterwards," says Wolfe, whose Dexter-Ann Arbor Run finishes downtown, in the midst of the Taste of Ann Arbor food festival.

Off-road trails put racers in touch with the dirt. On April 28 and 29, the 20th annual Trail Marathon and Half-Marathon will draw snaking lines of runners to the Potawatomi Trail in the Pinckney Recreation Area – home to rocky rolling hills and lake views. Athletes with a tamer experience in mind can tag along in the Road Ends 5 Mile race.

Runners lured by the darkness may try Wayne County’s Lightfest 8K in November to see the holiday light displays streaming down Hines Drive. Those needing nothing more than the light of the November moon will like Ann Arbor’s second annual Night of the Day of the Living Dead 5K race, which commemorates the Mexican holiday. Finishers can eat Mexican sugar skulls and Halloween candy.

Need even more variety? Try a triathlon. "The biggest misconception about triathlons is that people first think of the grueling Ironman race in Hawaii," explains tri-athlete Kenny Krell, founder and co-owner of the Fenton-based 3 Disciplines Racing, which manages the annual Motor City Triathlon on Belle Isle. The June event offers the full 1.5K swim, 40K bike ride, and 10K run, and a scaled down course that Krell says is doable for anyone with some training. "If people are really hesitant to come out, we suggest they volunteer at an event. Once they feel the electricity and see the different types of athletes, 99% of the time they’re in a race within the next month."

3 Disciplines Racing manages 40 sporting events per year in Michigan, and the number is growing. Krell says, "After racing around the country and all over the world, one nice thing I’ve noticed is that Michigan’s Great Lakes present a unique situation. To get a venue like Belle Isle, Grand Haven, Ludington, or Petoskey, you have to go to one of the cities on the ocean. We have some great venues compared to other states."

A race can mean the culmination of years of effort, a chance to beat a personal record, and a festive social outlet, all combined. "Come out and be part of the hoopla. There’s a lot of support," says Wolfe. "If you’re a novice, if you’ve never run, whatever time you get is your personal record. The energy can be infectious - that’s the beauty of it."

FOR A LIST OF RACES, RUNNING ROUTES AND RESOURCES IN SE MICHIGAN, CLICK HERE.

Photographs by Brian Kelly (except as noted)