Rosebush Independence 5K (Rosebush - 2021 - 5K)

      

Rosebush Independence 5K Photos

120 Mile Drive

Registration:

 

The Rosebush Independence Day 5K caught my eye because of their beautiful red, white and blue medal.  I love medals that have city names on them.  I love holiday medal designs.  The 5K was capped at 100 participants making it a smaller event.  Information on RunSignUp was very to the point with the most needed event information and nothing extra.  There were pictures of the race shirt, finisher medal and course route which were all very helpful and awesome.  Something that stood out in online registration was the color of the run name in the description being red and blue.  All other print was black.    

 

Packet Pick-Up was under a white canopy set up at the Isabella Township Park.  It was stated online that packet pick-up would be by the Firehall which I assumed was the brown building with three garage doors next to the park.  Packet pick-up was quick and easy.  There was an abundance of race staff at their packet pick-up tent. 

 

Course:

The course was a very zig zaggy “S” on top of “S” shape through Rosebush neighborhoods.  It started in Isabella Park with the 5K turnaround at Rosebush United Methodist Church next to Rosebush Elementary.  We took a loop around the park when we started and again when we finished.  By the time I got to the third side of the park loop from the start, the kids were at the playscape waving at me.  I was able to take a lot of pictures of downtown Rosebush as the course route went right through it.  I even got the Rosebush Post Office!  Attempting to get city Post Office pictures became a new thing of mine last year.  

 

Some memorable running moments in Rosebush included: running past the Brown Milling Silos, Rosebush Little League Field, Rosebush Farm Market and under the Isabella Township Park banner near the finish.  It was a 1.55 mile course out and back, but because of all the turning on the course it didn’t feel like the typical out and back course.  I felt like I saw new things on the way back that I missed running to the halfway turn-around point.   Rosebush had a very unique “out and back course.”  It was an extremely flat course that gave a great tour of the town of Rosebush highlighting big landmarks.  Rosebush teased the finish line by having participants run past it and do an extra half mile loop before officially crossing and finishing.

 

The course did not have an aide station and that was made clear in registration information online.  Most of the course was on main roads with an abundance of volunteers.  An interesting fact about the Rosebush course is that it never had a stretch that went longer than a quarter mile before making a turn.  We were constantly changing directions, something that helps me a lot while running.  Seeing new scenery and preparing for upcoming turns helps take my mind off physical fatigue.

Swag:

I got an awesome lightweight blue tech t-shirt with the run logo on it.  Shirts had the same image that was on finisher medals.  The finisher medals were very heavy and even better in person!  The Rosebush medal stands out on my medal rack with its shape and bright white color.  It is the only medal I have that is completely white with colored accents. I love the Fourth of July theme and the rose!

Food:

There were full sized Aquafina water bottles on a table with finisher medals at the finish line.  We were handed medals from a volunteer and told we could take a water bottle.  No food was given to participants at the Rosebush Independence 5K. 

Awards:

The overall female and male runner received gift cards to Runners Athletics in Mount Pleasant.  There were no age group awards. Both overall male and female finished the 5K in under 20 minutes! 

City Notes:

Rosebush is a very small village 15 minutes north of Mount Pleasant.  On Google Earth you can see just how small Rosebush is.  The town is kept up with nice homes and businesses.  The Rosebush Farm Market is exceptionally amazing.  Roz’s Diner caught my eye as a cool historic brick diner on the corner of one of the main intersections in Rosebush (E Rosebush and Mission Road).  I did some online research and found out the building had previously been a bank.  The diner was a dream of Chris Blair and named after his mother who passed in 2007 after battling cancer for years.  I love that Chris and his family are fighting to keep small villages alive and flourishing.  Small towns are the heart and soul of Michigan and America.  I love running in small towns, learning the unique traits of different small towns and meeting small town locals.  It’s amazing to be able to say I’ve been to so many villages and cities in Michigan.  My family and I always try to stop in and eat at restaurants, visit farmer’s markets and buy from local shops when we go to runs to support and keep small businesses running.  Sometimes you start to lose hope that large corporations will be the death of the little guys.  I really hope that is not the case for the future.

 

Rosebush is home to Isabella Township Park.  The park has two back-to-back baseball diamonds, multiple playscapes, a very large pavilion across from what looked like a dirt arena.  There were two sets of wooden bleachers facing the arena, bathrooms and a canopy where announcers could stand.  The area wasn’t overally large.  I would like to find out what kind of events are held there.

 

Lastly, Rosebush has a great Facebook group called, “Rosebush Peeps.”  I was amazed at how many awesome things happen in Rosebush from their city sign decorating (I’m a huge fan!) to their food specials, free donut and coffee at Roseland Flowers, updates on amazing gas prices and shoot-outs to people that left their wallets at a business.  Rosebush is an amazing close-knit community that looks after one another and others that pass through. 

City Sign:

The Rosebush city sign was very easy to find.  Rosebush is right off 127.  As soon as you get off at Exit 149 you have less than a mile until you are in downtown Rosebush. The Rosebush city sign is across the street from Hutson Tractor Dealer.  You can see it from the 149 exit ramp.  It looks homemade which gives it a lot of small town charm.  A rose was incorporated for the “O” in Rosebush.  There was a great flower display in the wood garden plot below the sign.  It is well taken care of by the village of Rosebush.  Now that I know locals put holiday wreathes on the welcome sign I will be checking back to see what is done for other holidays if I am in the area.  Luke took this city sign picture while Jason photo-bombed it from the van in the back.

Other Awesomeness:

I was worried and disappointed that Rosebush did not have an aide station for their July run.  After seeing two runners taken away in ambulances in Coloma only weeks back, I have a strong opinion that hot Summer and Spring races need aide stations.  Water aide stations are very easy and inexpensive additions to a race.  Luckily, no one suffered from heat stroke that I saw at Rosebush, and I was once again one of the very last to leave. 

 

After we left Rosebush we stopped at Island Park in downtown Mount Pleasant.  It was an amazing park we spent hours at.  The kids played on the huge woodland themed playscape, splash pad and we went for a walk along the Chippewa River.  The kids had a great photo-opt on a sand bar in the river.  They all made it across but Will had a misstep that caused him to fall into the water trying to jump back.  I got the hilarious incident on camera!  He was upset at first but recovered quickly as can be seen in the following picture on creek rocks with Jason.  It was a great attempt at a jump.  Shortly after I found a mother duck with only one tiny duckling. 

 

We stumbled upon the Mount Pleasant Farmer’s Market on our river walk as we were led back into the city.  Besides the broccoli and strawberries we got, the best part of the market were the murals we got to see on Mount Pleasant streets.  They were beautiful!  I loved the bright colors.  The rainbow diamond pattern at the intersection of Main and Broadway Streets I will remember.  Mount Pleasant had awesome hanging flower baskets in the shape of trees and had kids drawings on their city banners hanging from light posts as you came into town. 

 

As we walked back to the van at Island Park we passed the Isabella County Courthouse on Main Street.  We immediately were drawn to the huge cupola that was on the ground near the parking lot.  It had a judge seat inside it with architecture that was historically captivating.  We learned the original courthouse was finished in 1877 and new county building was completed in 1971.  When the old courthouse was demolished the cupola was saved and put on the property for nostalgia and historical purposes. 

 

I’ve included photos of our maiden voyage with our huge inflatable boat on the Kalamazoo River in the Rosebush album. 

Course Rating: 4.7 Stars

Post-Race Food Rating:  1 Star

Swag Rating:  4.9 Stars

Awards Rating:  3.2 Stars

Rosebush Independence Day 5K Quote:

“Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, and sometimes in the middle of nowhere you find yourself.”  -Anonymous

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