RUN FOR YOUR LIVES - ( Ludington - 2020 - 10K)

  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 scheduled for this year.  I could tell they were as excited as we were to have Run For Your Lives an in-person event.

The 10K course was mainly flat with some elevation on the trails.  The weather was perfect.  Temperatures were in the 40’s and the sun was shining on us!  The strong winds would come later and not affect the run.  We ran a mile down James Street to Bryant Street where we came to the 10K/5K split.  10Kers took a right and 5Kers went left at the police officer.  After turning right I passed a soccer field.  The sun hit the field in just the right way that made it beautiful.  My favorite part of the course was Cartier Park.  We came in along Lincoln Lake.  We ran through trails and saw all kinds of fall colors on the ground and still on the trees.  There were a few obstacles on the trail.  I jumped over a fallen tree and went around a good-sized dirt pile.  There were arrows for the course written on the dirt pile as if they were telling us to go up it.  It was funny.  Maybe I should have.  The home stretch of the course was identical to first mile of the course down James Street.  This time I was met by a bunch of residents blowing their leaves into the street.  It was awesome.  I tried to get video of it.

The course had no timing mats but there were a handful of race staff waiting at the finish that asked me to verify my number as I came in.  I saw people lined up at the back of a van and a laptop open inside the trunk.  When I got closer I saw amazing age group inserts for the lighthouse finisher medals in gold, silver and bronze.  A lady that had been right behind me in the last few miles was in front of me checking her time.  They told her she got third place and she happened to be in the same age group of 30-39 (the dreaded nine-year age group I can never place in).  ^_^  I was confused when I heard her result.  She had been behind me and we all started at the same time.  I was told I came in fourth, just missing a place by a hair.  After we got our times the runner that got third told me that I took a lot of pictures.  I laughed because I had a feeling with how frequently I was holding up my camera she had probably noticed.  I’ve never been told that before but it was inevitable with my amount of course photography.  I often take multiple shots of the same thing to make sure I get at least one clear picture.

I left the run a little sad that I had run real hard and gotten fourth when deep down I felt like I could have placed.  It was a long run for me coming back from an injury and it meant a lot to pull off the 6.2 miles.  I was in no pain during or after the race.  I have never gotten an age group placing insert and it felt like it slipped right through my fingers again.

I couldn’t find my family walking to the parking lot after the run.  When I called them they were still at a local bakery a few miles down on Ludington Avenue.  Lyndsay was really helpful and gave me a ride to them.  I gave her some cow gifts for her and Seth, wished her an awesome Halloween and left into the bakery.  Jason said it was a must that I come in the bakery check it out and meet someone very cool.

The Ludington city sign was right on Ludington Avenue.  It took some climbing to get up on.  It was a digital sign.  After we got the sign we drove through downtown Ludington to Waterfront Park where we saw tons of seagulls.  It was so windy we couldn’t stay out of the car long.  We took Lakeshore Drive north just short of the Lincoln Hills Golf Club.  The sand dune drive was awesome right next to Lake Michigan.  We found an area to park on the road so I could take some pictures of my medal in the sand.  We got some hilarious shots on the beach before getting back in the car and driving home.  It was Halloween and we needed to be back before Trick-Or-Treating started.  It was too cold and windy to do much else.  I will be coming back to Ludington in the Spring or Summer to enjoy it more.

Things I take from Run For Your Lives are:  

1.  The awesome inspirational signs they put out on the course.  As always, I took a picture of every one of them.  I loved Ludington’s sayings.  Some were serious and some were hilarious.  They were really inspiring.  When I would see a bright yellow sign in the distance I would get excited to read it.  They had 14 total!  There was a sign about every half mile.  

2.  The awesome medal design with the Ludington Breakwater Lighthouse.  It just so happened to be the Lighthouse we saw at Waterfront Park and it was definitely breaking water with the winds.  

3.  Country View Bakery was an amazing bakery.  Jason was right.  We bought breakfast and a few treats to take home.  I loved the blueberry yogurt smoothie in a quart glass milk bottle. I ended up talking with a woman gathering petitions for a long time about life and what was happening in the world.  She was amazing.  We hugged before we left.  In that brief moment life was normal again.  

4.  The MASTIFF in the wagon!!! You heard it right, it was a giant MASTIFF.  He even had a bow on!  His owner pushed him through the course. 

5.  The event staff's communication before and after the run.  They were very helpful.  When I was sent official results through email I noticed that they had me listed in third place.  I didn’t understand and reached out to the team.  I was told someone in my age group was disqualified and they apologized for the error.  Two months later I got an amazing bronze third place age group insert for my medal.  It was so cool!!  I love third place!  The feeling I had after finishing the race came true.  It was my first age group medal insert win.  I love it. 

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