Hobbiton Beer Run 2020 Photos 161 Mile Drive Michigan’s most dangerous city is not a major metropolitan area of Detroit or Flint.  It’s a small town nestled on Lake Michigan on the southwest side of the state, 50 minutes from South Bend Indiana.  In 2017 Benton Harbor reported 2,200 violent crimes per 100,000 people (22 per 1,000 residents) which included three murders.  48% of Benton Harbor’s population of 9,944 were homeless in 2016.  Since 2017 Benton Harbor has shown a steady decrease in violent crime. We drove out to Benton Harbor on a Thursday evening.  It was a different day for a run to take place.  The benefit of a mid-week run was getting the weekend off.  The last time I had a weekend off from running was during the lockdown.  I’m not big on beer runs but I liked the “Hobbit” in Hobbiton Beer Run, the shirt design and the proceeds going to Benton Harbor library.  I was also excited to get Benton Harbor on the city list.  The Hobbiton Beer Run was very simple.  It had no ti

   Fun on the Farm 2020 Photos 34 Mile Drive RF Events is my second favorite running company.  I really enjoy their races.  They are the only race company I know of that give points for buying races. RF points can eventually get participants free races.  I got The 2019 Bigfoot Snowshoe Race free with RF credits.  RF Events got hit really hard in 2020 cancelling 14 of their events.  They normally have big turn outs.  They have a lot of trail events.  I got an email about a pop-up RF Event in Gregory called “Fun on the Farm.”  It was RF Events putting themselves back on the calendar after months of cancellations with a new inaugural event in one of my favorite areas.   Like Holland, I once again found myself spending more on a 5K than I wanted.  Fun on the Farm had everything “a la cart.”  Medals and shirts for the event were add-ons.  It was an interesting way of pricing out the run.  I have had to add shirts on for an additional fee a few times, but never a medal.  I love medals and sh

  Albion Forks 5K 2020 Photos 70 Mile Drive The Albion Forks 5K, the third race in the #RunAlbion series took me back to a familiar 5K course.  It was a course I struggled with in June. I was told the course was the same with a minor change of not running through the Albion College campus.  A theater group was rehearsing outside on campus so we had to stay on streets circling the campus.  There were two women in front of me when we approached the turn we’d normally take onto campus grounds.  The first woman went straight (the right way) and the second woman started yelling, “Wrong way!”  The volunteers smiled and told the woman going straight she was okay.  We had a good laugh.  I’m glad the one runner was looking out for the other.  I know I’ve gone off-roading a few times during runs without anyone telling me. Now that I’ve run the Albion series twice I can say that they bring a wonderful balance of familiarity and surprise to their events.  Their course gives participants a huge var

  Holland Haven Marathon 2020 Photos 179 Mile Drive On March 21, 2020 I ran my last in-person running event at Huron Meadows Metro Park in Brighton.  I was not aware at that time I wouldn’t run again in person until mid-June.  I think we all had hope things would return to normal quicker.   I kept running as long as I could and started running again as soon as I found events that were back on.  Every runner’s time away from running events during this pandemic varies greatly.  I know many that haven’t been back in an in-person race since March.  The pandemic break was longer than my pelvic bone and ankle fracture recoveries in 2018.  It was a tough time for me.  We went to State Parks A LOT to be out in nature.  Exercise and Vitamin D help boost immune systems.  In person running events have an energy that you can’t get running alone in a neighborhood or park.  It helps me to have a sense of community and to be around other runners.  I run faster, do better and enjoy running more when I

  Manitou Trail Run 2020 Photos 188 Mile Drive The 2020 Manitou Trail Run was my replacement for the Labor Day Bridge Run.  We came back home after staying Friday night in Big Rapids.  We spent both Saturday and Sunday night at home and drove to Roscommon Monday morning.  The run had a late morning start at 10:00am.  We did not have to wake up super early.  I originally had a job on Labor Day but it was cancelled.  I wrote my Houghton Lake family to see if we could see them after the run.  With less than 24 hours’ notice I received a second job on Labor Day.  It caused us to come home right after the run.   It was really sad, but it’s the unfortunate nature of my job.  We stayed up north long enough to visit the city of Roscommon before we left.  I just wasn’t able to see my Houghton Lake family.   The drive up on Labor Day was beautiful.  I love the section of 75 when the expressway separates with trees in-between.  I always knew the family cottage was close when we drove up north and

   Tustin Uplift 5K 2020 Photos 198 Mile Drive The Tustin Uplift 5K was a small town run that supported Uplift Pine River.  Uplift is a non-profit organization that gives food to students in need on weekends.  I got an email from the race director a few days before the race apologizing for a printing error that made their race shirts more purple in color.  I was really excited about the mishap.  The race staff was beyond accommodating.  They offered participants ten-dollar refunds if they wanted to return their shirts. I originally planned Tustin as a three-day Labor Day weekend trip.  I registered for the Manitou Trail Run in Roscommon on Labor Day.  Roscommon is minutes away from my family’s cottage in Houghton Lake.  It was a great substitute.   I was so happy to have a Labor Day run after the Labor Day Bridge Run got cancelled for the first time in 62 years.  I was really sad.  It ended an incredibly long streak of a tradition that so many Michiganders love.  I was starting my own