ART RUN (Montague - 2019 - 5K)
196 Mile Drive
I got another inaugural run in the books with the 2019 Montague Art Run! This run came into being through dad and Sue’s invitation to a weekend trip at The Double J Ranch in New Era, Michigan. They were limited to a few weekends in October and I just so happened to find a run 15 minutes from the hotel on the weekend of October 5th which worked for them. This is how my mind now functions. If we plan a mini family get-a-way or get asked to go somewhere in Michigan I try to find a run near the area. ^_^ Montague only does one run a year that I’ve found and I was able to pair it with a fun mini vacation. Our family is extremely thankful for dad and Sue’s generosity inviting us to the resort over the weekend. We are also beyond thankful that Andrea and Jake could watch Corky Friday night. It helped us out so much! We usually take Corky with us on every run or trip but this time he couldn’t go. The Double J Ranch did not allow dogs.
We got great Mexican food at San Marco's Friday night on our way up to Rothbury with dad and Sue. San Marco's was in Whitehall, the sister city to Montague where the Art Run was being held the next morning. Will was really tired and looked like a ghost in an oversized jacket for half of dinner. When we got to the hotel we played SkyJo and watched Hocus Pocus (a personal Halloween favorite of mine) before going to bed for the night.
We ate a buffet style breakfast Saturday morning overlooking the golf course. I got to see the golf course greens getting cut by a fancy golf course lawn mower. On our way to Montague for the run we got stopped at a horse crossing down the street from the Double J Ranch. The lights go off just like railroads and then hundreds of horses walk from a small containment area at a farm to a massive field where they can run like crazy.
The Art Run was awesome! Montague is a small beautiful Michigan coastal town. It is not directly on Lake Michigan, but it has a lot of water from the White River and White Lake running through town to admire. Montague also has a huge functioning weathervane near the center of downtown. It was so cool!
We picked up run packets at a nice gazebo downtown. Staff were surprised when they crossed off our names and saw our hometown. The run started on a wooden bridge over White Lake. The race staff didn’t have an exact starting point for us. We gathered in a group on the bridge next to spectators. They did however have quite the amazing finish line. I had a little flashback to Mount Baldhead in Saugatuck when I came around the corner and saw a wooden staircase leading up to a big blow-up finish line arch. It was awesome, and not as hard as I thought it would be. The three huge art pieces on the course were beautiful. The butterfly was my favorite overall. I love the name “Lake Spirits" that one was titled. Running near water is always a personal favorite of mine. I also loved seeing the marina.
I did good with my time and I managed to miraculously come in best overall female. I have never gotten an overall female place before. It was so awesome!! I felt so out of shape and challenged to finish. Being sick last week took a toll on me and it’s going to be a struggle getting back to feeling tired but not dead running 27 minute 5Ks. Luke got first place in his age group!! We both received cool art tiles as age group awards. My art tile was white and gold. Luke's art tile looked like Lake Michigan with shades of really pretty blues.
I love the small hometown feel this run had. They had great course marshalls guiding us across intersections without the need for local police. Their photographers were amazing. The staff members that worked so hard to put on this run were so friendly. I am so glad we got to run in Montague! I just need a city called Capulet to run in to make this the ultimate Shakespeare running love story. I was a Shakespeare admirer in high school.
We came back to the waterpark after our morning run and spent the whole afternoon riding slides and floating in the lazy river. We spent time at the arcade, did a Halloween craft and Luke and I rode the mechanic bull!!! The mechanical bull was a huge bucket list moment for me. I've always wanted to ride a mechanical bull. It was like zip lining in West Branch except a lot more painful and not something I want to do again. Once and done for bull riding (fake or real) for me. The water slides at the waterpark were awesome. One was a gut wrenching drop like a roller coaster into what we called, “The Toilet Bowl of Doom.” They had a four-person raft water slide. It was at minimum a 50 calorie burn carrying the massive raft up to the loading dock four floors up from the pool. We all lost weight Saturday. We hadn’t been to a waterpark in a long time. This trip was a treat for all of us.
The Double J Ranch was one of the nicest hotels we have ever stayed at. I loved the equestrian/country theme! The only theme that could top it would be Moose. The décor was great in our hotel room. They had log bunkbeds which made it feel even more like an authentic country escape. The Double J Ranch really had it all, a huge amazing indoor waterpark, rustic cabins, hotel style lodging, an 18 hole scenic golf course, a restaurant, banquet area, arcade, pizza bar and glow golf. That’s just all we saw. It was amazing. I loved tying the Art Run into the trip. Everyone liked visiting Montague. It was a beautiful city with an awesome city sign!
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