POLAR RUN MICHIGAN BREWERY SERIES (Auburn Hills - 2020 - 5K)
Polar Run Michigan Brewery Series 2020 Photos
38 Mile Drive
One of the biggest milestones, city 100, was originally planned
to be Ludington. A fractured pinky toe
delayed city 100 and Ludington became city 95.
City 100’s second plan was to be Montrose. Montrose had an awesome Frozen Blueberry Run
in December. The run would not only be
city 100 but would also hit another huge landmark, my 150th
run. I thought the second plan seemed
even better than Ludington but then The Frozen Blueberry Run got postponed out
to February. I had to search for a third
back-up city.
Michigan Brewery Running Series was the race company that put on
the first run I missed due to my fractured toe.
Jason ran for me in Livonia at their Supernatural Brewing 5K. I saw on their schedule they had another
brewery run at the Rochester Mills Brewery in Auburn Hills. Auburn Hills was close to home and I knew
what to expect from their races after being with Jason at Supernatural
Brewing. The downside was the brewery
series is not officially timed and therefore does not have bibs. I was hoping for city 100 to be “official.” They also do not always have medals or shirts
for their runs. They do have a table
where you can purchase merchandise related to the series. Needless to say, even though I was excited, I
was let down that the whole city 100 experience may not live up to everything I
had hoped it would be.
The Polar Run was located off the expressway near an industrial
area. The Rochester Mills Brewery was hidden
by Miss Dig’s Corporate Offices. It was
a really nice well-hidden venue. I
checked in and noticed a familiar face from the Commerce City Outrun Hunger 5K
I did with Jason. In Commerce I had
walked back out on the course to find Jason as he finished. I saw a woman finishing with her dog in a
sweater. In Auburn Hills it was the same
woman with her dog and her dog was wearing the same red sweater. I went up to her to let her know I had
recognized them and that I loved her dog.
I got their full story. It was
another amazing weight loss story.
Lindsay and ger dog try to run at as many local events as possible
together. You could tell how much she
loved her dog. I love hearing how
becoming active helps people lose weight.
I checked in with familiar faces from Supernatural Brewing. They had even more Michigan themed merchandise
under their tent this time. Christmas
ornaments and socks caught my eye. Their
black blow-up start and finish arch was in place just feet away from their
registration tents. The weather was
chilly and sunny. It was perfect winter
running temperature. I’ve run plenty of
10K double loops but never a 5K that’s course was two 1.55 mile loops. 5Ks are so short in the racing world most
courses don’t loop them. When I had talked
to the race director through email she had called her course boring and sent me
a picture of the route. It resembled a
“P.” I wrote back and told her it was
perfect since the run was the “P”olar Run.
I enjoyed the course route. It
was all street running out to Lapeer Road past Newcombs Auto Sales and back
past Rochester Mills on Lapeer Road West down to where the road ended. There were volunteers on the course at the
turn onto Lapeer Road and at the turnaround by Premier Acrylics LLC where the sidewalk
along Lapeer Road ended. I saw Lindsay
and her dog three times because of course loops. I smiled and waved every time. It was a great course to run with friends or
family. You could constantly give
motivation as you passed one another. I
wish I would have registered Luke. Due
to the higher 5K pricing of Michigan Brewery Series, I did not.
The race staff was so nice to our family. They gave me Smore’s kits for all the kids
(Luke made a double chocolate Smore). We
went through a self-guided tour of the brewery with Corky. It led us out through their taproom to the
back of the building where there was a huge fire pit being fueled by wood
pallets. We got five chairs right in
front of the fire. They had a lot of
chairs and tables for everyone. The
flames were captivating for quite some time.
I kept seeing people come out of the building with food. I went in and discovered they had a vendor
with pulled pork sandwiches and macaroni and cheese. Unfortunately, I was one person ahead of me
too late for pulled pork. It was cheap
good food and the catering guy was really nice.
I got to admire the back of the brewery where beer packaging takes
place. It was a big facility. We met some nice people by the fire that
inquired about my Michigan running shirt.
They had seen me on the course.
Runners are still often surprised to hear that races are still
happening, even if they are more spread out across the state.
We really enjoyed the warm fire.
At times it became too warm depending on the wind shift. We left the gathering to figure out how we
would get the amazing expressway Auburn Hills sign. I was determined to get it but knew it would
be difficult. The first idea was to drop
me above it and have Jason and the kids circle back around and take the
picture. There was not a sidewalk on the
overpass above it and it was quite chilly, so we scrapped that idea. We decided to pull over near the exit ramp
with flashers and have me hop out when there was a break in traffic. That idea took all of five seconds and worked
out perfectly. Jason was not a fan of it
at first. I was so glad to get the huge
welcome sign on 75 that makes Auburn Hills so unique! We managed to find two other amazing Auburn
Hills signs in our circling around the city to get the giant expressway
sign. I was able to make a nice collage
of the three signs which was really special being city 100. One sign was high and epic to climb up on and
the other involved parking the car and taking a walk across another busy road. I like the “AH” abbreviation on some of their
city signs. Those are my maiden initials.
I had bought tickets for The Magic of Lights with special
Thanksgiving pricing. I remembered that
the show was in Clarkston and had a feeling we weren’t far. We ended up being only seven minutes from the
show at Great Lakes Crossing. We killed
some time before it got dark by getting dinner at Culvers. When we pulled out of Culvers we were right
on schedule for the light show. The
line to get into the DTE Music Theater was at a standstill as we turned right
onto Sashabaw Road. We couldn’t believe
how busy it was. We stayed in line for
45 minutes after getting in line only 30 minutes after the show opened. It was worth the wait. The lights were awesome. The music was great. The show had a great variety of Christmas
themes. They had bathrooms you could
stop at a parking area and use. It was
the perfect end to the day and a great celebration for a huge running
milestone.
Things I take away from Milestone City 100 are:
1. The super creepy house
that looked like it had had a fire. I am
pretty sure it was condemned. It still
had Halloween decorations outside making it even creepier. I would hate to be their neighbor.
2. I got a painted wooden
medal as my swag at this run! Now I officially
have a medal from the Michigan Brewery Running Series!
3. Thinking a change of plans was not going to be as good and
discovering that the Michigan Brewery Running Series and the City of Auburn
Hills were the perfect run and milestone city 100. The bonfire with event participants was
amazing. I bought red and white socks as
a souvenir from the merchandise table under the registration tent. They looked like candy canes and were a good
Christmas running souvenir. I enjoyed
officially meeting Lindsay and her awesome dog.
The light show in Clarkston ended the night perfectly.
4. I loved the magic of Rochester
Mills. It felt like a Christmas
wonderland. I was not expecting the most
Christmas filled place of the season to be a brewery. I’m very grateful for that, especially this
year. It was really cozy with everything
shut down and Christmas music playing.
The music was loud with all the machinery off. It filled the entire building with Christmas
spirit. There was garland strung and a
Christmas tree. It made for great
pictures and video. I will remember it
forever.
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