MARK THE BARBER'S POLAR RUN (Sandusky - 2021 - 5K)
Registration:
Registration was $20 until
December 1st and only $25 after.
It was a very reasonable race fee.
Registration included a long sleeve T-shirt. It wasn’t my favorite design but it was for a
very good cause, Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R). O.U.R rescues kids from sex-trafficking with
the help of former police officers and CIA.
Mark the Barber is very passionate about this great cause. Registration also included finisher medals
and a swag bag. Same day registration
was in the main hallway inside Maple Valley Elementary. They had three tables. Two had folded shirts and one had O.U.R wrist
bands, pamphlets and stickers.
Pre-registration was inside the cafeteria. I went to the same day registration table by
mistake.
Course:
The course started on the
Diamond Walking Trail next to the elementary school. The trail was a very large steam engine
shaped path (Google Earth view) that was exactly one mile in length. We didn’t
stay on the trail long. We headed off
into Sandusky neighborhoods. We passed
Sandusky Community Park. Some of the neighborhoods were very wooded. More snow on the ground in the wooded areas
made for great winter scenery. The course was two miles through Sandusky
finishing by running the full Diamond Trail.
Running past the finish knowing I still had a mile to complete was a
little daunting. The last mile was the
most scenic of the course with beautiful sunlit views of a neighboring farm
field through the brush. There was a lot
of cool exercise equipment on the Diamond Trail in vibrant colors. The city of
Sandusky did a really nice job when they made the park in 2005. It’s been upkept well and is very
unique! It even has a sledding hill
inside the walking path. I liked the
course a lot.
Swag:
I received a long-sleeved gray
tech T-shirt with yellow chains above the print: “Operation Underground
Railroad Break the Chain Help End Child Trafficking.” If was the kind of print
that can rub off with enough washes. I
have to be careful. Our swag bag had an
awesome sample of Shave Secret shave oil.
I got an awesome gold finisher medal that had a shoe with wings on it!
Food:
They had a hot chocolate bar
with marshmallows and creamer! I have
taken a liking to creamers in hot chocolates made with water. They had regular sized water bottles and
assorted granola bars (Chocolate Chip and Fruit and Nut) They also had Kar’s Trail Mix packets. Luke can have Kar’s trail mix and really
likes them as a snack. I loved the trail
mix hot chocolate combo.
Awards:
Mark the Barber did his age
group award ceremony from oldest to youngest.
It was the first time I have ever seen it done in that order. I thought this backwards method was
AMAZING! I always try to stay for entire
award ceremonies. I have seen a lot of
runners leave after they receive their awards.
Based on my event observations the younger the participant, the more
likely they are to leave early. Older
runners are a very big inspiration to me.
No runner knows when they will have to stop running. Running is a
double-edged sword. It’s very good for
you, but as my physical therapist once told me, “Running works against your
body.” Runners wear their muscles and
bones out faster. I’ve met many older
runners that do not run any longer due to knee pain and knee replacements.
City Notes:
Sandusky, Michigan, not to be
confused with Sandusky, Ohio is a rural Thumb town mixed with old and new
charm. The two parks I saw were very
large with many amenities. Their library
building was really nice on the outside.
Their VFW Post has an awesome tank out in front with a flag retirement
deposit box that I thought was a red USPS mailbox. Greenwood Cemetery next to Harry’s Body Shop
on S. Sandusky Road has a huge beautiful angelic statue in the center. The cemetery sign is very small. It’s a white rectangle with green letters on
two wood sticks. The Sanilac County
Courthouse is a really awesome building in the center of town. Mortimer Lumber and Sandusky Concrete Supply
were large businesses in Sandusky I got pictures of. They had a nice gated downtown Sandusky sign
that Elk Street Brewing was behind. There
was a huge “Season’s Greetings” sign on the side of the Sandusky Police Department. It was a lot brighter when we left. Sandusky also had a “Take What You Need,
Leave What You Can Blessings Box.” I
love cities that have boxes for those in need.
I saw Mark the Barber’s shop downtown Sandusky with all his awesome
signs. Sandusky had a big gnome like
Alma outside one of their shops. I also was excited when I saw Sandusky still
had a Pizza Hut.
City Sign:
Sandusky had multiple city
signs. We took pictures next three of
them and the Sandusky city sign will be a collage of the three. One was by a huge propane tank!
Mark the Barber is an incredibly
kind and good-hearted man with a great sense of humor. Every year he holds the Polar Run Mark sets goals
for fundraising. If certain goals are
met Mark wears funky clothes (colors and prints) to the run. This year it was leopard print! I have a picture of Mark standing at the start
in his leopard print. I could tell how
much the Underground Railroad Organization meant to him. He took the time to show a short video and
give a wonderful speech before the awards ceremony. He hugged or gave a handshake to every award
winner. I got a chance to talk with Mark
before we left. I even met one of his
sons!
Luke had a scary incident
attempting to run down the sled hill in the center of the Diamond Walking Trail. I didn’t bring sleds. I should always have them in the car in the
winter. Luke thought he could slid down
the icy hill and fell halfway. I didn’t
know what he was doing until it was too late to stop him. Luckily nothing was
broken and with one small dose of Tylenol he was fine for the rest of the day
left with only a bruise.
I met three USA themed woman at
check-in and asked to take their picture.
They looked great! I felt like I
was at the Olympics for a second.
We got Tropical Smoothies on the
way home from the run. ^_^
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