Run for Your Lives 2020 Photos 237 Mile Drive Ludington was originally set to be city 100.  I thought Ludington was a fantastic city for the significance of the 100 milestone.  I had heard nothing but good things about it for years.  Unfortunately, my fractured toe set Ludington back to city 95.  Ninety-five was still a cool number and the best part was I still got to run the race.  I didn’t miss it!  The drive to Ludington was a little chaotic.  We got a late start in the morning.  Luckily, the kids slept for the entire drive out.  We couldn’t stop for anything and I made it with just minutes to spare.  My friend Lyndsay had gotten my registration packet for me which helped a lot when Jason dropped and ditched me.  It was almost a duck and roll situation out of the car.  It was so nice to run with a friend even though we were in different races.  The speech given before the race was funny and heartfelt.  The Ludington Running Series has had to cancel every other run they had schedu

   Halloween Hustle 2020 Photos 38 Mile Drive The week before Halloween I decided it was time to test the healing of my toe out on a run.  I had been eyeing Halloween Hustle emails from Hanson’s for weeks.  I loved their skeleton finisher medal.   My original goal was to be at Ludington in-person on Halloween but being cooped up and more stagnate then usual was getting to me.  I had walked a lot to test my foot out and had no issues.  I am a big believer in trusting your gut.  A doctor may give you a set time to heal but that doesn’t mean it’s that back and white.  Healing times can be shorter or longer.  I told Jason I would stop if I felt any pain.  I was still worried something may happen out on the course. When we pulled into Freedom Hill we saw the set-up for the drive-in movie in the field across from the parking lot.  I had debated paying for it during my registration.  I decided not to incase bad Fall weather cancelled it.  Movie tickets were non-refundable.  I figured we could

   Timber Trails 2020 Photos Jason and Luke came to my rescue again with my healing toe for the Timber Trails 5K in Grand Ledge.  Luke took my place this time.   The plan was to register Jason the day of the run.  Unfortunately, we were told onsite registration had closed just minutes before we got there.  The run had an open start from 9:00am to 10:45am.  We arrived at 10:00am.  Jason ran anyway without an official number.  Luke and Jason took off together into the woods.  It was a perfect Fall day with beautiful scenery.  It was Jason’s first trail run.  The colors of the trees were amazing.  I went for a walk with the kids and Corky.  We followed their course until we found a path that went down wooden steps to water.  It looked really cool.  We had never been to Fitzgerald Park before.  It is the most beautiful park I have been to in all my Michigan trail running.  The Grand River winds through it.  You can take trails that are abundant with sedimentary rock formations.  The sedi

   Will's Run 2020 Photos Will's Run caught my eye on Running in the USA because of it's name.  I thought of our Will.  I read about the race and was deeply saddened about the circumstances behind it.  A 10 year old boy had tragically passed away less than five months after getting a brain stem tumor diagnosis.  Will Goodale had dreams of becoming a police officer, loved lemon heads, sports and driving his dad's golf cart.  He was a little boy with a big heart and personality.  He was the only child of his parents Shane and Ronda.  The loss of an only child is exceptionally devastating.  Instead of letting their grief consume them Shane and Rhonda created the Will Goodale Memorial Foundation.  The foundation holds the annual Will's Run that began in 2019.  Proceeds from the run are given as scholarships to two students enrolled at Michigan Police Academy so other kids can fulfill the dreams that Will had of becoming a police officer. Run events in general help a lot

   Supernatural Brewing 5K 2020 Photos It was extremely difficult coming to terms with the fact that I had an injury that would keep me away from running for six weeks.  I was very frustrated that my everyday actions caused a toe fracture.  I would have rather fallen tripping over a root while running a trail.  It made it even harder knowing that my 100 city goal was going to be put on hold after months of planning and being so close.  On the positive, it was a blessing that I went two years free of injuries.  I am very thankful for that.  Trying to figure out what to do with the runs I had booked for October was a troubling decision.  I wouldn't be able to get refunds but deferring races to 2021 was an option for some.  Jason offered to run in my place. The Supernatural Brewing 5K was part of the Michigan Brewery Running Series. I choose it because it was so close to home.  It's nice to get breaks from long weekend traveling.  We've driven by Supernatural Brewing for years