GOODBYE 2020 HELLO 2021 (Rochester - 2020 - 5K)

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Goodbye 2020 Hello 2021 2020 Photos

41 Mile Drive


Registration:


Registration was very reasonable.  The run was capped at 100 participants due to covid mandates still present.  The race had a unique late afternoon start between 2:00 and 2:20pm.  It’s nice to get breaks from waking up early.  They mentioned a white elephant raffle.  I did not see anything done at the run while I was there.  I was however given one of the Christmas mugs they were using as registration decor.  On site registration was very quick with very nice and enthusiastic staff.


Course:


A straight 1.55 miles down the Clinton River Trail.  It was extremely icy.  The entire course was a solid ice block. I wore YakTraks and still had to run on the side of the path in the dirt because the ice was so thick and slippery.  I haven’t seen ice that thick in a long time.  The trail was very wooded with water views and wooden bridges to cross.  The views were beautiful.  The sunlight coming through the trees and reflecting off the ice came out amazing in pictures.  They had awesome cones with mile signs on sticks stuck in them as well as the mile spray-painted on the ground next to the cones.  We tried to use walkie talkies we had bought the kids for Christmas but they lost single where Second Street parted it’s parallel path with the Clinton Trail.  It was less than a quarter mile when we lost signal!  I bought more expensive walkie talkies that claimed they had a range of three miles.  We were very disappointed in them.  We thought it would be cool to walkie me out on the course while I was running.   Sadly, the walkie talkies had the same fate as the Go Pro and Dimondale.


Swag:

 

I got a beanie hat with the race name and Yin Yang symbol and a locally made cookie with the blue and green Yin Yang.  It looked very Earthy.  I also received an amazing homemade medal.  It had a maroon ribbon lanyard and a wood circle with a smiling poop stenciled on it.  It’s the perfect medal to start 2021 racing.  I love homemade medals.  I love the poop emoji!


Food:


They had a hot chocolate station with whip cream!  I split my cookie with Jason.  The hot chocolate went really well with the cookie.  They also had water bottles.


Awards:


There were no age group or overall awards at Goodbye 2020.  All finishers received the homemade wood medals.


City Notes:

 

I have run in Rochester Hills a few times.  Rochester was a new city for me.  I didn’t realize Bloomer Park was so close while I was running along the Clinton River Trail.  I’ve been to Bloomer Park for Move-It-Fitness events.  Downtown Rochester has an amazing Christmas twinkle light display.  We got to see a little of The Big Bright Light Show, but it wasn’t dark enough to see it at it’s best.  We walked down the street and saw the string lights hanging down from the buildings.  It was incredible how many light strands are used!  I found the nicest bathroom in an office building near town and Rochester had a great Panda Express.  Rochester has a lot of unique shops downtown.  There was a lot of Christmas spirit around us.  We would have stayed in Rochester longer, but we had to get home to setup for Frye’s Rockin’ Eve at 6:30pm.

 

City Sign:


There was a Rochester city sign by the bridge over the Clinton River in downtown and another by Ascension Providence Hospital which is right on the border of Rochester and Rochester Hills.  We got the city sign by the hospital.  It was much easier to stop and take a picture next to.


Other Awesomeness:

 

I saw my good friend Mike at The Goodbye 2020 5K.  He saw me first on the course.  I apparently ran past him without seeing them.  After the run I instantly noticed him.  I have not run with Mike since the 2019 Chili Heart 5K in Saint Clair.  I had no idea he was going to be at Goodbye 2020.  We chatted for awhile.  They had a homemade backdrop with a funny cartoon to take a picture in front of.  Mike and I got in for a picture with Corky!  He came to say “Hi” to the family and held Corky for a bit.  Corky loves Mike.  Mike has had a tough year missing his weekly basketball nights and running events.  He has a strong spirit.  Mike and I have a lot in common.  It was a great start to the new year by seeing Mike. I stretched with Corky after Mike left.  We were the last to leave the race.  We got to watch race staff take everything down and pack up.

 


Rochester Page


Location: 480 E 2nd St, Rochester, MI 48307, USA

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