White Dog Trail Run 2019 Photos 169 Mile Drive 2019 Inaugural White Dog Trail Run. West Branch, MI. YMCA Camp Timbers. Where to start....I love inaugural runs!  I love TRITOFINISH. They are my favorite race company.  I don't get to do lot of their races because they are based out of Saginaw County and I am not a triathloner.  It was great to see the team of TRITOFINISH hard at work again.  Gaylord was the last time I ran a TRITOFINISH course.  I saw the TRITOFINISH trailer when we pulled into Camp Timbers and took a picture next to it just like I did in Gaylord before my first half marathon. Luke and I checked in and got our super soft white performance t-shirts and bibs.  I got my favorite number 23 for the first time!  I’ve always wanted to be runner 23.  I use the number “23” for runs that don’t have bibs and chip timing when I make homemade bibs.  We got to the run early and used the spare time to admire the woods, lake and surrounding area by the finish line.  We saw a lot

   The Great Pumpkin Run 2019 Photos 38 Mile Drive The 2019 Great Pumpkin Run was another huge event!  It's done all across the country in the Fall every year.  They had 2,767 participants in Hartland alone!!! 😱😱😱 Spicer Orchards was listed as the "Detroit" Great Pumpkin Run with the city listed as Fenton.  I got excited about running in Fenton.  Jason has awesome family there.  When I looked at our GPS the morning of the run, the cider mill did not look like it was in Fenton.  The mailing address was Fenton but Spicer Orchards was actually in Hartland Township. I had to do some research.  I ended up confirming Hartland as the city.  Hartland was still a new city which was great. There are a handful of awesome runs to do in Fenton in the future.  I was very sick and hadn’t run all week prior to The Great Pumpkin Run.  When we got to the orchard I was told I hadn’t registered for the Tough Pumpkin challenge.  I asked if I could register and they said they were out of pu

   Quarry Challenge 2019 Photos 30 Mile Drive The 2019 Quarry Challenge had an awesome dinosaur theme!! I wrote in my 2018 race feedback that the blow-up dino was critical and that they could expand with dinosaurs. We were sad to find out they didn't do the fossil hunt this year and that there was no after party at the library.  :( This was Luke's first intense run down two hundred feet of gravel and he blow us away with his time! The kids had fun doing their own mineral extraction while they waited for us. The course signs were hilarious. They go down as the best inspirational signs of all time. I love the, "Running makes the ground feel needed."  ^_^ Jason got some great Quarry shots. We not only took a photo with blow-up dino this year, we got on the giant bulldozer as a family! Blow-up dino climbed up too, it was epic. The race director from Run Thru Hell got cheered on as the last finisher. He was amazing. He is a veteran. I got first place in my age group by som

   Big Foot Small Print 2019 Photos 24 Mile Drive  The 2019 Big Foot Small Print Trail Run in Whitmore Lake took us to Independence Lake County Park, a park we had never been to.  It was a great trail run supporting the Huron Valley Humane Society.  I ran by two awesome dogs!  It was a gorgeous night.  I've never seen such good root identifying spray paint on a course.  Every single root on the trail was painted, no matter how small.  The run itself was a lot longer than a 5K.  I had a feeling when I got to the corn field it wasn't going to be .10 or .15 over.  It was a half mile longer!  They had an amazing very long grassy finish line.  Luke got lost but found his way back to the finish. We were worried when we didn't see him minutes behind me. He told us he got scared too.  The trail turns were tricky.  It was a night run and the sun was setting as we finished.   There were fun facts about animals and exercise out on the trail.  I tried to take a picture of all of them. 

   Dennis Bruck Memorial Run 2019 Photos 39 Mile Drive Emotional. Heartbreaking. Amazing. The family of Dennis Bruck started a run shortly after he passed.  Dennis was riding his bike in Dundee and was tragically hit by a car.  I got a chance to meet and talk with so many of his wonderful family members.  I loved that they have a bike race in addition to the run to really honor what he loved to do.  I was awesome being led and followed by cool motorcycles, some were even playing music!   The course was a very flat square north of Dundee High School.  There was a small stretch of the course with dead frogs.  There must have been a marsh nearby.  It was sad.  We went around a round-about near the finish.  I accidently followed the lead motorcycles west down Arbor Chase Drive.  I was suppose to go south down Ypsilanti street to the finish.  I don’t know how I didn’t see and realize that.   I was behind an awesome girl for 75% of the course.  She started walking and I passed her.  She star

   Run Warren 2019 Photos 34 Mile Drive I didn't feel too good the night before The 2019 Run Warren. I took some Zicam and was very tired in the morning.  Warren was unlike what I had expected.  I had never been to Warren's city center before. It was beautiful. The building architecture was one of a kind and so tall!  They had stretching with music before the run. The music was so groovy and cool!  It made you want to dance.  Fast Dog Timing timed the race.  Their logo is awesome.  There were Jimmy John sandwiches at the finish! They let me have extra sandwiches for Jason and the kids. Subs were such an amazing finish treat!  They had my favorite Turkey Tom.  I got a surprise finish medal!  I didn't remember the website saying there would be finisher medals. We ran through Light Park where we got a few minutes to cool off in the shade of the trees. I wish I could have landed an age group place to help us pay for running shoes. Hanson's gift cards were the age group priz

   Mount Baldhead Challenge 2019 Photos 174 Mile Drive 2019 MOUNT BALDHEAD CHALLENGE!!!! The toughest race I have done. I consider it a half marathon because it was only one mile short and the course was so intense.  I was very worried about my calf from Mackinaw.  I thought about switching to the 7.5 course, but my gut said it was all or go home. The night before the run they had a kids race and gave out their left over ceramic medals from 2018.  They had a huge food tent with all kinds of snacks for kid participants.  I picked up my packet at the kids run from some very nice older men.  After the kid's run we ate at our favorite restaurant in downtown Saugatuck, Scooters!  New food items this visit included: sloppy joe, beef vegetable soup and their FRIED TWINKLE of amazingness!!!  Everything at Scooter’s was wonderful.  We found Peace Tea at a gas station on the way to our hotel.  We bought out all the Raspberry and Peach in their cooler because we have such a hard time finding

   Running with the Devils 2019 Photos 67 Mile Drive There may be a lack of pictures taken in Richmond but that is not an indication of the amount of heart and soul the 2019 Running with the Devils 5K had.  It was an awesome cool course with perfect weather.  A lot of people cheered us.  We started past the fair area and park and then ran by some kind of live demolition derby!!  It was totally unexpected and awesome.  They had an Old Fashioned Fun Days Festival with a carnival.  Right next to the festival there was a great park for the kids to play in.  They pretended they were Ninja Warriors competing in an obstacle course.   Richmond announced its last runners like Belding.  Everyone came together and screamed for them as they came into view in the finish line home stretch. The last female finished with a 5K PR and I told her she was amazing.  That woman is proof that being last doesn’t mean you did bad at all.  They took our pictures for awards.  I was in a group with three other wo

Labor Day Bridge Run 2019 Photos 289 Mile Drive Chris came with us to the 2019 Labor Day Bridge Run!  He had lost 120 pounds! What better way to celebrate. This year since Chris was with me I tried to get over my fear and ride the bus with the runners to St. Ignace. Last year Jason dropped me off and I did not take the bus.  The bus ride was scary as hell.  At least the bus driver was amazing.  We were in the right most lane on the bridge.  When I looked out the window of the bus all I saw was a short metal bar and water.  Chris asked me a bunch of random questions to keep my mind off it.  ^_^  I got to meet the governor again this year, but this time we stepped it up a notch and got a selfie with her.  She has run a half marathon herself!   It started to rain before the bridge officially closed and was so cold.  The run was still great as always.  I thanked or said good morning to every police officer.  They were very nice.  Chris and I made it into the post-run group shot with the go