Fruitland Trail Run (Whitehall - 2021 - 5K)
140 Mile Drive
Registration:
For my last July run
of 2021, to put an end to my busiest running month of all time (13 races), I
picked the Fruitland Trail Run because the run was part of a Blueberry Festival
in Whitehall, Michigan. RunSignUp had an
amazing description of the 5K course and festival. Whitehall is the sister city to Montague,
where I ran at the Art Run in 2019. The course
was described as a gently winding path along creek ridges and rolling hills through
pine forests.
(https://runsignup.com/Race/MI/Whitehall/FruitlandTrailRun)
It was a very detailed
and well written description. Registration
was $20 with options for a $8 shirt add-on and $7 blueberry pancake breakfast
ticket add-on.
Packet pick-up was
in the field behind the Fruitland Covenant Church. They had a homemade wood sign screwed into a
shed as a guide for where to go. I had
never seen a packet pick-up sign done that way.
It had serious Home Improvement vibes.
I got to registration right at 8:00am with no time to spare and was told
not to worry or rush. Race staff told me
that they were waiting for all their registered participants to show up before
they started. That decision was very
unique to the Fruitland Trail Run. I was
able to go to the bathroom, which I was very thankful for. The original plan was to run and hold it. I was greeted at packet pick-up by the nicest
two women who let me take a photo of them.
They had a map of the course printed on the table. A map of the course was also uploaded to
RunSignUp.
Course:
The Fruitland Trail
course was one of the most beautiful trails I’ve run on. There were so many trees close together in
almost a perfectly spaced formation. The branches of the pines starting so high up made it into a forest
of trunks. It was a very bright area of woodlands that seemed almost white in color.
There was white sand and saw dust on the trail path in multiple areas. I saw pine needle carpeted areas that
reminded me of The White Dog Trail Run in West Branch and amazing moss balls growing
on the ground. I took a bunch of
pictures of the moss balls towards the finish.
The course was consistently hilly but did not have exhausting elevation changes. It was constantly turning and winding around the pine trees. There were only a few straight-away areas. Trail width was amazing and could comfortably fit two people running side by side almost the entire 5K course. The weather was fantastic. It was a beautiful sunny day. Even out on a trail they were able to setup one aide station with water for participants. It was amazing and I have the utmost respect for the event staff for making sure to have a 5K aide station in July....
...in the woods.
The ratio of runs this
summer not having an aide station has sadly been higher than runs that have had
an aide station. This year I have been
witness to race participants suffering from heat stroke.
The course had great
markings with a combination of signs, spray paint and caution tape tied to
trees. Although our path was mostly through
pine trees, there were areas of more dense oak and maple trees and ferns. It was really interesting running through an
area where commercial logging takes place.
I saw a lot of freshly cut stumps and trees marked for cutting on the course.
My second favorite part of the Fruitland Trail Run was the start and finish in and out of the woods. There was a beautiful sunlit clearing through a nature-made arch. I will always remember it and all the wonderful people waiting on the other side. As soon as I entered the trail after running through start arch, I knew it was going to be an incredible trail that would stick out from the many other trail runs I’ve done.
Swag:
During registration I paid for the blueberry pancake breakfast ticket and shirt in addition to the run. I received both at packet pick-up. The shirt was a light gray cotton with a silhouette of pine trees. The option for a blueberry pancake breakfast ticket was awesome. I wish I could have kept the ticket for memories. The only thing I missed having at this run was a finisher medal. It would have been amazing if they had ordered blueberry themed finisher medals. I got a finisher medal at the Frozen Blueberry Run last year. I love the little blueberry mascot on that medal.
Food:
There was a table at
the finish line with three bags of Cutie mandarin oranges, a cooler and cups
for water and a huge box of Flavor Ice popsicles! I’ve never had Flavor Ice after a run. It was an amazing post-race snack in the heat
of July. The kids got to choose a Flavor
Ice. It was really exciting to them. I count the blueberry pancake breakfast as
part of the post-race food because the ticket was offered to participants
during registration and we were given a 50 cent discount off early bird pricing
($1.50 discount off day of ticket prices).
The blueberry pancakes were delicious!
I love specialty pancakes, especially fruit pancakes. The sausage and orange juice were great
too. Luke got sausage and a full cup of
blueberries instead of pancakes. He also
got snacks from other vendors at the fair.
Awards:
There was an amazing
awards ceremony at 9:30am following the run at 8:00am. The timing for the ceremony was fantastic. I’ve been to some runs that have had award ceremonies
too quickly after a run. Not only did every
participant have time to finish, many of us had time to grab our pancake breakfast
and eat it. We finished eating just in
time to head over to the awards ceremony area as it was starting. The ceremony was held at the Chapel in the
Pines, an outdoor area used for sermons and activities at the Fruitland
Covenant Church. There were an abundance
of wooden benches and a great stage with stairs behind it. I love the idea of having church services out
in nature in warmer weather.
The only surprising thing about the awards ceremony were how few people came to watch. I imagine a lot were out enjoying the festival activities and craft fair. Many of the award winners were absent when their names were called. The MC was a hilarious upbeat woman who did a wonderful job making the awards an engaging event. Age group winners got big plastic containers of blueberries and the option to put on a blueberry costume while they stood on the stage for a picture. It was a 50/50 split on opt-ins for wearing the costume. The MC was wearing the blueberry costume and looked fantastic and festive in it.
City Notes:
Whitehall is a true “sister”
city to Montague. The two cities are
separated by the Dowling Street bridge that makes a path over where the White
River ends into White Lake. When I saw
Dogs N’ Suds I thought it was a Whitehall business not realizing the bridge was
the separation. You can look over the
White River and see Montague from Whitehall in many locations. I had to be careful to separate my Montague
pictures from my Whitehall pictures and put them in their perspective
albums. We ate lunch in Whitehall and
then went into shops in Montague. It
felt like the bridge connected two areas of one town. The cities blend together too well. After driving over the bridge multiple times I
started to lose track of which town we were in.
Whitehall’s Dairy
Treat was a great ice cream shop with a patio on the roof where we ate lunch while
admiring amazing water views. We had a great
lunch and an even better dessert. I got a
cupcake sundae. It had a chocolate
cupcake cut in half with ice cream dropped in the center, drizzled with hot
fudge. It was the best sundae! We drove by the ACWL (Arts Council of White
Lake) building. They put on the Art Run
in neighboring Montague in 2019. The
ACWL had very colorful artistic awnings.
Whitehall’s town pharmacy had the same sign design Hemmingson’s in
Marshall has with an orange and navy blue banner in the same font. Whitehall had beautiful flowers throughout
town and an awesome vintage style clock.
We saw a lot of amazing sailboats docked at Whitehall Landing. The Whitehall Public Park had a small stoney beach. It was a very relaxing spot to see White Lake. There were awesome houses on Lake Street across
from the park.
Whitehall has a very
small downtown, a tad smaller than Montague.
It’s a town with changing elevations surrounded by water. The higher elevations in town create amazing scenic views spanning for miles. Whitehall's sister city, Montague, gives double the
experience and fun by traveling over a bridge. Whitehall has some of the most beautiful pine
tree trails in Michigan. The setup the
two cities of Montague and Whitehall have is truly unique and special. There are hundreds of “neighboring” cities in
Michigan, but none I have been to quite like Whitehall and Montague. I am so glad I have now run in both cities
at two very memorable runs.
City Sign:
The Whitehall city sign I found after the run is in need of a renovation. It was in disarray with an overgrown field of grass and weeds behind it, vines wrapped around it blocking some of the letters and peeling paint. I had to move a vine and twist it behind the sign so the city could be read in the picture. It was a very small wood city sign with “Welcome” and “Whitehall." It did not read, “Welcome to the city of…” just “Welcome.” I liked the blue border and sailboat picture on the sign. A Whitehall city sign renovation would be a great community project. A flower bed could be made in addition to a new sign. The sign is located in a fantastic area that has a lot of unused potential.
Other Awesomeness:
We had an absolutely amazing day at the Fruitland
Blueberry Festival after the run. The
kids played on a cool playset, we all got the pancake breakfast, the kids got
to walk through a blueberry harvester, pet rabbits, hold chicks and pet a
pony. We checked out the craft fair and
even though it was smaller in size, they had wonderful vendors. We bought two amazing potion bottles for
Jason’s LARPING (one changes color!), new crocheted kitchen dish clothes and an
amazing crocheted kitchen drying mat. I
wish we had bought two of the drying mats after using them for months. I wanted to buy a rock and sand art piece
that was solidified with clear coat glaze.
The artist sold out quick and when I went back she was out for the day. Bounce houses started to get blown up by the
time we were out of new things to do.
The kids went on the bounce houses at least a dozen times. Standing in line to wait killed a lot of time
and allowed Jason and I to rest. The
last event of the day for us was the penny scramble! Watching the firefighters spray the foam on
the grass was just as awesome as the kids jumping in the foam to find pennies. We have never been to a foam penny scramble
before. It was awesome! The kids had an amazing morning in
Whitehall.
I saw blueberry plants for sale alongside the blueberry
harvester. I didn’t have cash on
me. I asked the farmer if he could
hold a plant for me whlie we went to an ATM. I was surprised
when he told me to take the plant and come to the farm later and pay. He told me there were no ATMS close to the church. I was very thankful. They were going to sell out of blueberry plants
at the rate people were buying them. I
forgot to go to the farm after we left the festival. The following week I found the farm’s address
and sent them a check for $15.00. Even though the blueberry plant
was $5.00 at the festival, I felt bad I forgot to pay that day. During the Fall I thought we lost the little
blueberry plant. I brought it inside the
house for the winter and now it has flowers growing. I need to get a second blueberry plant to
cross pollinate the two. I will be planting
the blueberry bush outside in our yard this Spring. It will remind me of the Fruitland Trail Run
in Whitehall and Sodini Blueberries in Muskegon.
We drove by Michigan Adventure leaving Whitehall. The kids were mesmerized by it. We want to bring them back to the park in the
future. Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible
on this trip. We did however get to stop
in one of our favorite Michigan cities…
Grand Haven.
Upon arriving, we wasted no time and went straight to Pronto
Pups for the best boardwalk snack. We
stopped at Captain Custard’s. We love
sitting on the benches or grass and watching boats come in and out of the
harbor. We always see awesome
boats. This time we saw a floating dock
that a group had setup with chairs and music.
We sat in front of the boats, “At Last” and “Running Arends.” I had forgotten the Coast Guard Festival was
going on. We walked by a coast guard
tent with cool coast guard gear. I got a
small box of our favorite chocolates at Patricia’s Chocolates before we
left. While still in Grand Haven we
drove by a Mexican food truck that had roasted corn, walking tacos, nachos and
baked potatoes. We turned around, went
back and got snacks for everyone for the drive home.
Outlaw Roasted Corn was the best!
The original roasted corn was delicious.
I am so glad we went back after we saw it. It’s the random finds like Outlaw that make
our trips extra special.
On the way home we passed through Hamilton, Michigan and found
one of the most well-maintained skateboard parks. Hamilton was a really nice town near Holland. Luke brings his skateboard to every run in
hopes there will be skateboard parks. We
started finding skateboard parks as we traveled and decided with how many we
were stumbling across, Luke should bring his skateboard along. The Hamilton skateboard park was in tip-top
shape with smaller ramps that were easier for Luke to learn to do. It’s always fun watching him skateboard. It takes a lot of skill.
I complimented the MC at the awards ceremony and asked the two
women if I could take their picture. I
was invited to put a blueberry costume on and get in the picture. I was extremely honored. I was not an age group winner at this run. I would have put on the costume had I been. It was awesome to still get the chance.
Out of 60 total participants, 13 were in the women’s 30-39 age
group and seven were in the men’s 30-39 age group. 25% of the run’s participants were ages 30-39. That’s a huge group! Minus the first and last women in my age group,
the rest of us came in within a minute of one another. It was a really close female 30-39 race. I came in seventh place and finished a minute
and a half after the third-place female.
That statistic tells you just how close of a race it was. It was a very hard trail run for me. I think the hills got the best of me this
time. It’s a bummer when I look back at
pictures and see the second-place 30-39 female right in front of me. It makes me feel like I should have been capable
of placing. I know one thing, I would have
loved to win fresh blueberries from a local Michigan blueberry farm. You
can only do your best at any given race. There are so many factors that affect running strength,
speed and endurance.
Course Rating: 5 Stars
Post-Race Food Rating: 5 Stars
Swag Rating: 4.2 Stars
Awards Rating: 4.7 Stars
Fruitland Trail Run Quotes:
“The pine stays green in winter…wisdom in hardship.” – Norman Douglas.
“If you see me running, you
better run too because something’s chasing me.” -Award Ceremony MC.
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