Red Wolves XC Pride 5K (Mattawan - 2021 - 5K)
Registration:
I wanted to register
for another 5K following my mom’s birthday 5K in Marshall so I could still get
an “official” run in and possibly a new city after our 5K walk. I wanted to stay closer to home. There are a bunch of cities west of Kalamazoo
that have really cool names. Mattawan is
one them. Paw Paw and Gobles are others. I was really excited to find the Red Wolves XC
Pride 5K in Mattawan on Sunday August 29th.
Registration was
$25. The run description said there were
shirts and age group awards. I
registered Luke for the $15.00 one-mile run.
The race description had a lot to say about how much the event helps the
Paw Paw Middle School Cross Country Club.
The club trains boys and girls together regardless of age and ability in
hopes to instill a passion for running that reaches beyond competition and
helps build character, friendships and health.
The club even has a four-year-old running group that has grown in
numbers since its beginning.
Packet pick-up on race
day was a little walk through the woods to the Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery
building. There were tables set up near
the entrance doors. I was running much
later than my “normal late.” The 5K had
already started. The volunteer staff were
great. They held my shirt for Jason so I
could take off immediately without it. They
were very kind and told me starting late would not be an issue. They were also wonderful in getting Ryan
registered for the one-mile run with minutes to spare. He decided at the last minute he wanted to
run with Luke.
Course:
When I started late
I ended up going the wrong way onto the trails.
I went right at the fork after leaving the starting arch and ran a good
600 feet before volunteers told me I was heading the wrong direction. You can see the mess up on a zoomed in
version of my MapMyRun map in my album.
MapMyRun seemed to think we started and finished in water. I think the app was a little off with GPS in
Mattawan.
The 5K course went
around the fish hatchery ponds twice.
The second loop was a little shorter than the first loop. The scenery was amazing the entire race. The course was mostly compacted dirt from truck
paths. Most of the time the path was
very wide, in a few areas it became narrower due to overgrown grass.
I didn’t see any fish in the ponds while I ran. It was nearly a clear sky day with a beautiful sun. Tripping hazards were well marked with orange spray paint.
My two favorite parts of the course were the
long cattail grass areas and when the finish line arch came into view across
the water. There was an area where we
ran parallel to M-43 near the end of each loop.
I didn’t pass that many other runners on the course. There were a few groups of volunteers
stationed closer to the start and finish of the course. Volunteer groups were very large at the Red
Wolves XC Pride 5K.
The end of the
course was the path I had taken at the start of the race when I had gone the wrong
way. It all made sense to me when I saw it
again coming from the right direction. I
liked the grass hill finish back at the hatchery.
Swag:
Luke and I received gray
cotton shirts with the run logo on them.
The logo was a black shoe print with the race name inside. Ryan got a youth size run shirt even though he
registered for the one-mile run at the run.
They had a lot of extra shirts left.
It was awesome. No finisher medals
were give to participants.
Restrooms:
There were nice indoor restrooms available inside the Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery building for participants and their families.
There was also one Porta-John next to the building outside.
Food:
There were two large folding tables set up with post-race food feet away from participants coming across the finish line. The table facing the finish line had seven packs of cookies that included chocolate chip, M&M and sugar. Next to the cookies were donut holes in chocolate, powdered, cinnamon and peanut flavors. The last thing on the sweet table were bunches of bananas.
On the second table that
made an “L” with the sweet table there were more bananas, gala apple bags and Double
Dark Chocolate Nut Kind bars. They also
had 28oz bottles of White Cherry Powerade and water bottles in a cooler on the
ground. Powdered donuts are my favorite
kind of donut. They haven’t been easy to
find in recent years. I took two of the
powdered donut holes. They were great
with the White Cherry Powerade. Luke
could eat the kind bars and fruit and he loved the Powerade. Ryan was excited about cookies and donuts. Race staff let Jason and Will have donuts too.
There was a popcorn
popper under the pavilion near the music speakers. The kids went up and got bowls of popcorn
before they ran the one-mile race.
I loved the
post-race food at the Red Wolves Pride 5K.
They had a great variety of vitamin rich food and runner comfort food… otherwise
known as…
…I ran enough miles
to indulge in this donut!
Awards:
There was a really nice awards ceremony after all race distances finished. The ceremony took place following the last one-mile finisher. It was in the large grass clearing between the pavilion, finish line and food tables. We were sitting feet away in the grass and stayed put as they began calling people. I was really surprised they gave out age group medals for the one-mile run. It was a really cool thing to do that I have not seen done before at a race. A mile race is a huge accomplishment. Most mile runs are considered fun runs and not seen as competitive. Run Albion’s Foundry Mile is an incredible example of how tough a one-mile race can be.
The kids were so excited to be in the running for age group awards! Ryan and Luke both got age group awards because
age group categories were, “8 and under” and “9-12.” They had great age groups and gave awards to
all races. I placed in my age group. This was the first time everyone got age
group awards that ran at a family event together. I loved
how volunteers were mentioned after the awards ceremony and called up for a
group photo. It gave them recognition
for their time and help.
Age group medals had
engraved backs. The front had a boy and girl running towards one another with a
group of runners in the distance behind them.
I loved the year and age group division engraving.
Aide Stations:
There was one aide
station near the end of the loop. The
aide station was manned by seven high school aged girls when I passed by
it. They were holding cups of water out. It was a great aide. Participants passed it twice on the 5K course. Loop courses make aide station planning easier. Races can have half as many aide stations on
loop courses.
Timing:
Runner’s Edge was
the timing company for the Red Wolves XC Pride 5K. I’ve raced with Runner’s Edge before, but not
as frequently as I would like. Runner’s
Edge is a very professional timing company that had an amazing setup with their
blown-up finish arch, multiple mats, cones and flags. They go the extra mile to make their start and
finish lines memorable for participants.
Parking their van next to the finish line was a great advertising move
and very practical for setup, take-down, and monitoring throughout the race.
The man from the
timing company at the Red Wolves XC Pride 5K was wonderful. He was enthusiastic for race
participants. I got pictures with him in
the background smiling and raising his hands for Luke and Ryan as they crossed
the finish. He was very helpful and kind
to me when I started the race late.
Runner’s Edge was a great
choice for a timing company and really enhanced the overall racing experience
in Mattawan.
City Notes:
We spent an hour after the race walking through the exhibits inside the fish hatchery building. I didn’t think the inside would be open on a Sunday. It turns out they have normal hours from 12-4 on Sundays. The hatchery may have opened a tad early due to the event. I had no idea there would be so much to see and learn inside the building.
The main lobby had gifts, snacks, fish food
and live fish and turtles. There were
metal fish artistically hanging from a dark teal ceiling and taxidermy fish and
birds on display. I loved seeing the
Red-Winged Black Bird up close. There
was an interactive, “Where the Fish Go” light board and fish clock on the wall. The fish gifts were hilarious! I have never seen fish themed nail clippers
before.
There was a secret hallway in the back of the lobby of the hatchery that took us into rooms full of exhibits about Michigan fish, fishing, fish ecosystems, what fish hatcheries do etc. We learned about “Fish Car” transport and the care that was involved.
We learned about Michigan’s largest Great Lake fish, the mighty Sturgeon
that can live for 100 years. There are
23 Sturgeon in the Wolf Lake Hatchery’s show pond. The largest Sturgeons in the pond were named “Godzilla
Fish” by the kids and were over five feet in length!
We learned all about
the benefits of fish hatcheries, especially in a state like Michigan with so
many bodies of water. It was sad to
learn that the Michigan Grayling went extinct in the early 1900’s due to
logging and fishing. Logging created a
loss of shade, destroyed Grayling eggs on the bottoms of rivers (log slides) and
deposited silt in their habitats. Michigan
was the only place in the world the Michigan Grayling species was found. In 2016 efforts went underway to restore
Grayling back to Michigan using Grayling from the state of Montana. Grayling are beautiful fish with unique fins.
We bought fish food
and went back out to the show pond to feed the fish and swan before
leaving.
(https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/fisheries/hatcheries/wolf-lake)
Our time in downtown
Mattawan letting our car charge was spent in a more relaxing way than usual…
Resting at the
Mattawan Memorial Park.
I will always
remember the hour we spent doing nothing in the park. The kids played on the playscape. There was an older couple with their granddaughter. I sat on one of the park benches with Jason’s
head in my lap. He got a nice head
massage. With the shade from park trees the
temperature was perfect. I could have stayed
in that park all day. It was an amazing community
area next to the railroad and Moo Moo’s Ice Cream Joint, across the street from
downtown Mattawan.
Downtown Mattawan falls
into the top five smallest downtown’s I’ve been to in Michigan so far. Businesses downtown included the Wildflower Salon,
Halftime Food and Beverage, Bird Dog Restaurant, Murray Street Brewing Company and The
Livery. The village had nice flowers
planted downtown and was quite hilly.
The kids found a base with lights that looked like the old home of a
statue and posed like a statue on it. For
being so small, it was awesome and very surprising that Mattawan had two
electric car chargers.
I love the random things in cities I find that make us stop or turn around to take a picture. In Mattawan that included a blue metal smiley man mailbox in front of the Mattawan Anytime Fitness and murals under the train overpass on Robinson Avenue.
The murals must have been done relatively recently. In a Google 2019 image they are not
present. One side of the mural was the
Mattawan countryside with the Mattawan water tower. On the otherside of the
overpass was the Mattawan wildcat mascot with yellow and blue handprints. The handprints may have been a graduating
class of senior hands or teachers. I am
not sure. The murals were very vibrant
and beautiful with lots of detail.
The last place we
visited in Mattawan was Schultz Farms off 652.
They had a wonderful shop. We got
a punch card, five chocolate milks, ice cream and fruit. I love beeswax candles and they had a lot of
them. Their “Donut Depot” trailer wasn’t
open yet for the season. We were a few
weeks early. When we left Schultz Farm
we drove through a few spots of narrow country roads that got us really close
to trees and wildlife while staying in our car.
Mattawan is a very hilly
scenic village with railways running through it, old charm, and a deep
commitment to upkeep and care of the community.
City Sign:
Other Awesomeness:
I was very surprised that I placed in my age group after running
.15 over the 5K distance. I thought I
was done for when I got started late and then went backwards down the course. My finishing time was a few minutes longer than
it would have been and I still went home with a medal. It was even better that Luke and Ryan got age
group medals with me.
Mattawan was just what I needed to end the weekend after walking
with my mom at Marshall’s Hospitality Classic the day before. I was not expecting to have a field trip-like
day with the family learning about fish hatcheries after running around the
ponds of a fish hatchery. It was the
first time any of us had been to a fish hatchery.
The music at the Red Wolves Pride 5K was amazing. I wish I could get their playlist. It reminded me of the music at Light Up the
Rez. I caught Jason dancing to it a few
times. Everything at the Red Wolves XC
Pride 5K was in a central area in front of the hatchery building making it
extremely convenient and welcoming from the beginning of the event to the end.
Course Rating: 4.8 Stars
Post-Race Food Rating: 5 Stars
Swag Rating: 4.1 Stars
Awards Rating: 5 Stars
Race Execution: 5 Stars
Restroom Rating: 5 Stars
Aide Stations: 4.6 Stars
Timing
Company: 5 Stars
Post-Race Activities: 5 Stars
Red Wolves XC 5K Quote:
“Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land.”
- Aldo Leopold.
Mattawan Page
Comments
Post a Comment