PACZKI RUN (Hamtramck - 2020 - 5K)
27 Mile Drive
The 2020 Paczki Run was an event I’ve had my eye on for a year. I love running for good food at a finish line. In 33 years I have never had an authentic Paczki from Hamtramck. I have never even been to Hamtramck. I liked that the run started late. We got to sleep in and take our time getting up in the morning. Many roads were shut down around the city. The roads that were still open were almost all one-ways that were very congested with cars parked along the entire street on both sides. The homes in Hamtramck are so close together. You can high-five your neighbor from your window! If one person in Hamtramck had a house fire the whole neighborhood would go down in flames!
I got a really good warm-up walking to the start down a ghost town street. I have never seen so many Pawn Shops within such close range of one another. I was so focused I walked right past bib pick-up. After inquiring with random runners I ended up walking back to get my shirt and number. I made it back into the line-up with only minutes to spare. That’s my signature move now. The Polish National Anthem was awesome. The race director joked about how lengthy it was and told us we would only get a couple of verses.
I ended up getting in line right next to Suzy. I was 95% sure but had to confirm after we took off by looking for her amazing rainbow shoes. I tried to stay behind Suzy but found myself catching up a lot more unlike Winterfest. She was practicing her slower Glass City Marathon pace. I didn’t want to pass her but her, “Go Get it Girl!” lit a little flame inside. I always run really well in races with friends. I really didn’t think I could maintain that speed but I somehow did. I felt really short of breath in the last quarter mile (like I had asthma) but at least the volunteers were screaming out, “Paczki’s right around the corner!!” ^_^ Suzy and I both got beat by an amazing tiny dog. Small dogs have to run so much faster, I could not believe it. I walked around as the un-official dog photographer after the race. There were so many dogs that came out! Dogs love donuts as much as humans.
….it may be argued even more. ^_^
I got a picture of the Paczki race mascot and I got a photo with a beautiful woman in a Polish dress. I saw a lot of amazing outfits and costumes at this run. I didn’t think to dress up otherwise I would have put something together. The donut ladies were my absolute favorite, but hotdog man wasn’t far behind. I was sad I missed Randy, but with thousands of runners it can be hard to find a friend. I could tell how much enthusiasm the City of Hamtramck had for this event. They put on a very engaging and delicious race. There were so many different Paczki flavors at the Paczki finish table! My strawberry Paczki was amazing. It was a very authentic downtown city run.
After I left the post-race party I found my family and we stood in line at a bakery for just short of an hour. Apparently we found one of the most popular Hamtramck bakeries for paczkis. A newsman came and took pictures of the line. I like to drive around and visit places in cities I run in to make it more of an experience. I don’t like to run and leave. When I complete this challenge I want to be able to say I really took the time to explore each and every city I ran in. That’s why we drive around trying to locate city signs. Hamtramck’s was one of the easiest! One of their signs is right off the 75 exit into town. The bakery treats and discount racing pizza slices were fantastic. Luke’s huge Coney Island breakfast was amazing. He loved having that with Crush to drink. Hamtramck has amazing food. That sums up Hamtramck well. It was delicious and reasonable.
Things I take from The Paczki Run are:
1. The hometown pride. Hamtramck shuts down completely for this run and had just over 1,700 runners in attendance.
2. The amazing shirt designs and Paczki finish. The volunteers had hilarious text on the back of their shirts different from ours that read, “Paczki Pusher.”
3. The Frenchie dressed in a shirt, the Paczki loving two tone eyed terrier and the amazing tiny 5K dog. There were so many dogs!!
4. Suzy’s inspiration. Small phrases turned into big motivation and mental endurance. I came in 82nd out of 1022 females! If it weren’t for running, it may have taken me another 30 years to make it to Hamtramck. You never know where your goals, challenges and dreams take you. I am thankful for where they have taken me so far.
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