RUN THE ROCK (Albion - 2021 - 5K)

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Run the Rock 2021 Photos

11.6 Mile Drive




Run the Rock 2021


There is a lot of time between the Forks 5K in September and Run the Rock in May.  I missed Run the Rock in 2020 and was very eager to make it to the entire Albion series in 2021.  I registered for all three events at once for the great discount of $65.00.  I had no idea our family would be living in Marshall come the start of the 2021 Albion Race Series.  Now we are a quick 12 minute drive down 94 to Albion.  Albion will take the place of my favorite running series in Burton.  It’s sad and exciting at the same time.  I will miss Burton a lot.   They were really affected by the pandemic in 2020.  Hopefully I can still go to a Burton run every few years.  


We have gotten the same great parking sport three times in a row at Albion races.  We park in front of Albion Malleable Brewing Company for everytime.  I am able to walk feet to the start area from our parking spot.  I saw Caroline at the registration tent along with very happy participants congregated and walking around.  There were a lot more dogs this year.  


Albion’s swag impressed me last year.  I didn’t think it could get any better.  This year they choose purple as their color theme.  I make it well known how much I love purple.  I got a series race shirt, medal and pin all in purple.  I was not expecting the series shirt.  It was a great surprise!  The medals once again magnet together this year.  They went with a diamond shape.  In the very center the medals form a cut out Michigan.  It’s absolutely amazing!  In addition to the medal Albion gave me a pin for Run the Rock with a badge to put it on.  


….More unexpected awesome swag!  


Two spots remain for pins from History Hustle and Forks 5K.  I also got a water bottle!  


Post-race treats included huge cookies this year!  They had assorted Gatorade as well.  The Gatorade went great with the cookies.  They had so many different flavors of cookies.  I took a lemon sugar.  They let me have a second cookie before we left. The second became my Saturday morning breakfast.  The lemon sugar cookies were amazing.  They were from a local Albion bakery.  


The course was the same amazing path as always.  I look forward to running it a lot more now.  At first I didn’t know how I would feel about the same course over and over again.  I like the familiarity and knowing what to expect when I run in Albion.  It allows for great self improvement.  Out of all courses to run multiple times Albion doesn’t bother me because it has such a great variety of scenery (including water, my favorite)   


Things I take away from the 2021 Run the Rock are:


1.  My first time running Run the Rock!  The rock in the center of campus was painted like a globe today.  I liked it a lot.


2.  The smiley and heart painted on the Bohm Theater.  The theater is in the first quarter mile of the course downtown.  The smiley and heart were a great way to start the race.  


3.  The sweet dandelion I was given by a girl in front of her house.  She had a handful she had picked and was holding them out for every participant that passed by.  She was on the last quarter mile of the course.  I didn’t see a single person take one.  I took one and thanked her.  Jason tried to preserve it for me in epoxy when we got home but we lost it.  Dandelions are very fragile.  I did get great pictures of it.  The dandelion helped me a lot in that last finishing stretch of the course.  It was such a sweet gesture.  





Location: 400 S Superior St, Albion, MI 49224, USA

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