NHFD 5K (New Haven - 2021 - 5K)
139 Mile Drive
I love inaugural runs. I don’t know how many I’ve been to without running numbers, but it’s been at least half a dozen. Sometimes I even love inaugural runs that don’t give out much information due to the suspense of what great unknown things could be waiting. I found the NHFD 5K on RunningInTheUSA.com. It was a very cheap 5K that would take place the morning of New Haven’s fifth annual “Family Day.” I love runs that are tied to festivals. They give our family a lot to do. It was listed that there would be finisher medals and refreshments at the end of the race and that the course would go through downtown New Haven. The starting location was near the railroad tracks downtown.
I had not run a 5K in the shape of a right triangle. Main Street, Clark Street and Haven Ridge Road almost made a right triangle if it wasn’t for Main Street bending slightly and not being completely straight. I am still going to call the NHFD 5K course a triangle in this blog.
The triangular course in New
Haven was an odd 1.27 miles. I say odd because no number of loops equaled
3.1 miles. It was not clear how many times we had to repeat the
triangle.
I looked at my
running app and tried to judge how many loops I needed to run when I saw the
first loop’s distance. I wasn’t sure if it was a short or long
course. I decided to go with the three loop "longer than a 5K" option. I figured that if I ran over, at least I would run a full 3.1
miles. I ended up running 3.43 miles which is really odd to me. 1.27 three times should have been 3.81. The finish being in a slightly
different area than the start did cut the last loop a little, but I didn't think it was
that much.
The best part of the
course was the portion of Main Street that had vendors and artists lining the
road for New Haven’s Family Day. They were very supportive every time
participants came by. Many walked to the outside of their booths to clap
for us. Two ladies in particular shouted words of encouragement and I got
their picture after the race.
Most of our course
scenery was New Haven homes. The coolest landmark on the course was the
New Haven Schools Administration Building. It had the New Haven water
tower next to it. I made a black and white version of the
administrative building photo I took because it was so cool. A second
awesome running landmark was Haven Place Park. It is across the street
from Haven Place. Haven Place put the 5K event together as a fundraiser
for the New Haven Fire Department.
Other than the Family Day vendors, the New Haven School Administration Building and Haven
Place Park, the course was a lot of homes on roads that had steady inclines here
and there. When I looked at a Google map after the run, I saw we had run
by New Haven’s Centennial Cemetery. I did not notice the cemetery from
Clark Street while I was running. The graves did not start right next to
the road and there were trees, but I still don’t know how I missed it.
I don’t have many
pictures of the NHFD 5K course because I did not continue to take pictures past
the first loop. It was the same scenery three times and I used it as a
break from picture-taking.
The finish and start
line were not marked, not even on the ground with chalk or washable spray
paint. We started as a group gathered in a designated area and finished
by running past run staff standing out in a spot a few hundred feet from where
we started.
I liked the triangle
loop but couldn’t understand why the course couldn’t have branched out through
the cemetery or a neighboring street for some extra mileage. Race staff
should have been able to map out a 1.55 mile loop. I got the impression
no one checked course mileage. It felt like race staff just came up with
a cool path they liked and went with it.
Like a good old,
“It’s close enough.”
….Except it was not
close enough.
Lack of volunteers and multiple ways to cut over on side streets made the course very easy to cheat on had people wanted to. It is something race directors need to be mindful of. Cheating is no
longer isolated to half and full marathons. It sadly happens at all
distances.
I am glad there were
Macomb County Sheriffs at the first two intersections we had to make right turns on. There
was no course signage or course volunteers at the NHFD 5K. There were no sheriffs at the third right turn by the start and finish area. Due to the odd loop
distance the course could have went straight past the finish and come back to
get accurate mileage. That possible option confused me even after I had viewed
a course map prior to the race. I was expecting 1.55 mile loops and
therefore, second guessed where I needed to go when the loop ended up being
1.27 miles. I made the choice to run the loop again based solely on other
runners ahead of me doing it. That’s usually a safe bet to make in
racing.
…Except for
one time at a race in my hometown. ^_^
Swag:
I received a generic black and white bib with no shirt. Even though the run was only $20, I have received shirts from $20 runs numerous times. There have only been a handful of runs I have not received a shirt at. Most shirtless runs have given other kinds of swag out. I've gotten hats, neck gaiters and even socks before.
As for finisher
medals, they had plastic medals laying out on their registration table after I
finished. The medals said, “Winner” on them and had red, white and blue
lanyards that snapped together. It was stated in registration they would
have finisher medals. Even though I do not think overall winners should
receive additional age group awards, I do believe age group winners should
receive finisher medals. I only received an age group medal.
The finisher medals
were very cheap. They looked like something out of Oriental
Trading. I still liked them because I like everything, they were
different and no matter how fancy the item is, it holds a strong memory for
me. If the run’s budget was tight I think ribbons would have been better
than the medals they had for participants. I don’t think most adults kept
the plastic ones.
I was hoping I would get a shirt so I would have a race logo/design. There was no Facebook page or website for this run. It was hard to find an event logo. I did finally find something I could use on the fire department’s Facebook page.
All participants received assorted
plastic Hawaiian leis at the awards ceremony.
They were “laid” out
on a table after the awards ceremony concluded. ^_^
Race staff
were very nice and gave all five of us leis. They had a lot of extra
leis. I didn’t get the theme of the leis and how it tied into the run,
but I still thought they were really cool. The leis were completely unexpected and one of those "great unknowns" of runs that leave out information I mentioned at the beginning of this blog.
Restrooms:
There were
Porta-Johns in-between trees near the fountain. They were very close to the start and
finish in a great spot for any participants that needed a bathroom
stop on the course.
Food:
The was an orange
water jug that read, “5K + Volunteers” with cups to fill with water.
Glasses of water were not pre-poured. There was a box of older bananas on
the same table. The food could have been presented better. I didn’t
take anything. One additional table would have helped a lot.
Awards:
Registration didn’t
state anything about awards. I noticed three very different medals laying
on the table between the plastic finisher medals. There was a first,
second and third place medal and they were beautiful. The designs were
great, they came in Olympic colors with really large professional lanyards that
had the place written on them. Overall medals were given to the first
three participants to finish the 5K. There were not separate awards for
male and female. I was somehow the third-place overall finisher with only
two men ahead of me and took one of the amazing medals home. I love the
medal but I think there should have been awards for both male and female.
They could have cut it down to only first and second place overall with such a
small race. I’m not saying that because I would have gotten first place
had they done that. I’m suggesting that because more female runners could
have placed.
Anyone that knows me
knows third-place is my favorite place.
The awards ceremony for the overall medals was quick with an even smaller group that gathered. Race staff handed out each finisher medal to participants after overall medals were given out, instead of at the finish line.
Timing:
There was no official timing for the NHFD 5K. It’s okay for a run not to have a timing company to save money. I’ve seen that done a lot at smaller runs. The times I’ve been to runs without official timing there was still a clock or stopwatch running and usually popsicle sticks or notecards handed out at the finish line. Almost all of those runs still had official results that were written down and then put into an Excel sheet etc.
At the NHFD 5K
there was no timing at all. I emailed the race director twice asking if
they had results and received no reply. I don’t know why they had
bibs. Maybe there are results or maybe there were results and
they didn’t keep them after the race. Either way, I will never
know. It is a tad frustrating. I do like to have some kind of
official result from different cities as a log of where I have been. For
New Haven, it looks like I will have to rely on my MapMyRun results and map.
City Notes:
New Haven is a very small village in Macomb County. It is almost a true square (minus the eastern side) totaling 2.53 square miles in area or roughly 1.55 miles long on each side. I use the word “city” as a general term. I try to use accurate terminology when I get to my “City Notes” section.
The Salt River runs through New Haven. New Haven has its
own school district. New Haven High School is a nice looking school.
New Haven is home to
the Grand Trunk Western Railway Company Depot that has a very similar
Italianate style to the Smith’s Creek Railway Depot in Greenfield
Village. In 1954 passenger trains no longer made stops at the New Haven
depot. By the 1990’s the depot became officially out of use. Thomas
Edison was on the train route that stopped at the New Haven, Michigan
depot. He sold newspapers and snacks to train passengers. Mickey
Rooney took the same train ride through New Haven in 1940 while he was playing
Thomas Edison for the movie “Young Tom Edison.” It was a very exciting
day for the village of New Haven when Mickey arrived. The Grand Trunk Western
railway depot is still in its original location from 1865 and has since been
restored as a village museum.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Haven,_Michigan)
(https://lostinmichigan.net/old-depot-new-haven/)
Haven Place opened its doors in March 2015 as a non-profit community center in
downtown New Haven. Haven Place offers free classes that include piano
and sewing lessons, holiday themed craft days, home school hang out days and
bible studies, to name a few. Haven Place hosts many after school
tutoring sessions and puts on a variety of community events. One of the
coolest events I found on their website was their “Ladies Pamper Me Day.”
For $20 women got a hair style, facial, makeup, their nails done and a
massage. Other fun community events put on by Haven Place include Karaoke
nights, outdoor movie nights and Euchre tournaments. The Haven Place mission is,
“To promote unity
and create opportunities for our community to grow and strive.”
(https://www.havenplaceinc.org/index.php/about-us/)
City Sign:
I found two city
signs in New Haven. The first one happened to be right next to the start
of the race in downtown New Haven by Fountain Park. I was able to get a
city sign picture before the race started, something that is very rare for
me. I thought we were done with city sign pictures until we passed a much
newer city sign on the way home at the corner of Gratiot and Main Street in a
large grass area. It was a tad challenging to take a picture with, but we
made it happen. We’ve been in worse city sign predicaments. The
first city sign was nice with the flag pole and fountain in the background but
the metallic color of the letters blended in with the bricks. The second
New Haven city sign was amazing! It looked new, had great stone work, the
official seal of New Haven, great colors and a fantastic design.
Other Awesomeness:
New Haven’s Family
Day was amazing!
I am adding another
rating category, “Post-Race Activities” to my ratings area below starting
with New Haven. If a race does not have activities or a festival, I will
not mark them negatively. I will write N/A for those events. Runs are not expected to have
things for participants to do afterwards, but it is a lot more fun if they
do. As for some kind swag, post-race food and timing, those things are expected
at races.
Family Day kept
Jason and the kids busy while I ran. I got to run past them once due to
the course loops. When I finished running I went over and played games
with them. They had a golfing game and multiple variations of cool ball
toss games. The kids got prizes for scoring that included candy and small
toys. Luke got a really cool truck.
For the first time
ever the kids got to go on trampoline bouncers. We’ve seen them at fairs
before, but they have always been quite pricey for the short time kids
get. In New Haven, all kids activities were free. It was
awesome! Will didn’t get on the trampolines. He was a little
scared. Luke and Ryan went on the trampolines multiple times.
There was a giant inflatable water slide and bubble area on the grass. All three kids spent a lot of
time on both. I got some great screaming faces flying down the water
slide and bubble goofiness.
A petting farm was setup across the street from the kids games. We met pigs, a male and female turkey, a pony and a
crazy haired chicken. We got to see the animals being unloaded from their
trailer in the morning. The animals looked a little cramped in the
trailer. I felt bad for them. I don’t raise farm animals so I don’t
know for sure if that was okay. They were still nice animals to meet and
greet.
The kids made chalk drawings before we walked to see all of the festival vendors on
Main Street.
We got a free
crocheted dish towel from a local church. I can never have enough of
them. It was an amazing gift. When the church asked us to stop by
for worship I don’t think they were expecting us to say we lived two hours
away. It was a funny moment and they were very understanding nice people.
All the kids took
turns at a Bean Bag Toss. Luke was the only one to successfully land a
bean bag in the hole and was given a $10.00 gift card to Five Below. It
was a very generous prize. We went to Five Below in Battle Creek a
few weeks later. Luke bought a hilarious fabric shark head and a s’more
maker with his gift card.
We stopped in some
booths but did not purchase anything. The kids were starting to get cold
in their wet shirts. We passed a “Thrivent” tent. They had
backpacks filled with school supplies they were going to raffle off at the end
of the day. We loved the idea but Jason told them it would better for
locals from the community to enter. The Thrivent team offered to give us
all shirts instead. I couldn’t believe the level of generosity in New
Haven. It was unbelievable. They had sizes for all of us and the
best part…
The shirts were dry
for the kids and SO soft!
They were made
of the world’s softest cotton. They said, “Live Generously.” I
loved everything about them. I think they gave them to us because they
felt bad we didn’t want to enter the backpack raffle. It was extremely
kind. We took a picture with the Thrivent group before we left.
Thrivent is a financial service organization established in 1902 by 500 members
that started a life insurance fund by donating $5-$13 dollars each. Since
it’s beginning it has grown into what Ethispere Institute named, “The World’s
Most Ethical Company.” The Thrivent website has all kinds of financial
tips, articles and ways to connect with financial advisors.
On the way to our
car we stopped at a biker’s BBQ on Main Street and got hotdogs, drinks and
chips for everyone on the ride home. It was donation money to help New
Haven and good food. We were loaded down with so many things from the
festival we barely made it to the car with the biker food.
The kids had made
really awesome sand art when I ran. We had the sand art, t-shirts, gift
card, dish towel, food and drinks and prizes and candy the kids had won leaving
Family Day in New Haven.
Driving to New Haven
was absolutely beautiful! We saw an amazing sunrise. It became very
foggy and the fog didn’t lift until well into the race. The fog made for
some great photography. I cannot remember the last time I drove to a race
with so much fog.
On a very
heavy-hearted note, something happened at the NHFD 5K I have never seen at any
race before. An older gentleman dropped to the ground feet after crossing
the finish line. I had left the carnival games area to take some more
pictures of the starting area and saw him as he finished. EMT’s from The
New Haven Fire Department were able to get to him extremely quickly.
Within minutes they were performing CPR. An ambulance came soon after and
drove him away on a stretcher. His body was limp when he was put on the
stretcher. I saw EMT’s rip his shirt open. By the time the
stretcher got to him six people were kneeling on the ground next to him.
It was a very scary situation and very emotional for me to watch. The
kids were having fun and didn’t even know it happened. I walked back to
Jason in disbelief. I was told the man’s name was Earl and he
was from New Baltimore. I was also told they had gotten his pulse back right as the ambulance arrived. I wrote the race staff a week later asking if he
was okay. I was very worried about him. I got no reply. I
contacted them again when I began writing this blog and received no
reply. I even reached out to my new Strev Strut friend Erika to ask if
she could ask around and see if anyone knew him in New Baltimore.
Finally, after looking at the pictures I had taken of the fateful
moment, I decided to call the New Haven Fire Department and ask what happened to the man
that needed medical care at the 5K in August. They couldn’t tell me what
happened to him but they finally put to rest a worry of mine and told me he had
recovered after having surgery the following day. I am thankfully
for the New Haven firefighters quick response. It saved Earl’s life.
On that note, I
think it is extremely important that every running event have EMS on
site. It doesn’t matter what distance, what season the run takes place
in, trail or road race or how small the event is. It’s like aide stations.
I believe all runs should have them. I feel the same about first
aide. You never know what could happen at a race. Running is
dangerous. You can trip, fall, suffer heat stroke, a heart attack, an
asthma attack….so many things can happen. I have seen runners fall many
times. I have seen an asthma attack occur at a race. I have used
first aide myself. I was once taken back to the start of Run Scream Run
on an ATV. If a race cannot afford to have EMS on site, the race
shouldn’t be held. I know many races have their events without injuries,
but it’s always better to be safe. In Earl’s case, had EMS not been
around, he may not be here today. Sometimes people only have minutes to
be saved.
Although NHFD
5K's ratings seem poor across the board, there was still a lot of heart and
great vision put into the race. It was a first run. First runs are
always a learning experience. The Family Day festival was
fantastic. That really gave the run a boost. I have to be an honest
race critique (the hard part) but I am also a person that loves small things
and things that aren't fancy or expensive. I don't put higher value on
higher value items. I put value on memorable items. Ex.
Finisher medals at this run were cheap, but I still liked them because they
were unique and fun.
Course Rating:
3 Stars
Post-Race Food
Rating: 3 Stars
Swag Rating: 3
Stars
Awards Rating:
3.5 Stars
Race
Execution: 2 Stars
Restroom
Rating: 4 Stars
Aide Stations:
3 Stars
Timing Company: N/A
Post-Race
Activities: 5 Stars
NHFD 5K Quote:
“Never regret a day
in your life. Good days give you happiness. Bad days give experience.
Worst days give lessons. Best days give memories.”
– Lessons Learned Life.
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