Swartz Creek Chocolate Run (Swartz Creek - 2022 - 5K)
Swartz Creek Chocolate Run Photos
93.2 Mile Drive
Registration:
My original Milestone City 175 got messed up in the month of April. It was originally set to be Avoca. The rental car Jason spent an hour researching and reserving to get to Avoca ending up becoming a refund and a three-day rental credit for all the issues that arose. I found the Swartz Creek Chocolate Run because it was an inaugural run and reminded me of the Burton Hot Fudge Run. Swartz Creek is very close to Burton. Registration mentioned seven chocolate stops on the course and hot chocolate at the finish line. It was a race with a later start time of 10am which would help with travel. They had a great course map posted online.
I was a little
concerned that only the first 100 registered participants received finisher medals. I always reach out to race directors to ask
what their numbers are before I register for races with medal caps. Another interesting note on the registration
page was that the course crossed main roads and would only be shut down for runners
if they reached 150 participants. I have
not seen a race base road closures on number of participants before.
Packet pick-up was under
a large white tent in the parking lot of the Centerpiece Plaza in Swartz
Creek. There were six volunteers wearing
Swartz Creek soccer gear in red, white and black. I met the race director I had been emailing
about the run. I told her in an email I
would be the one taking a lot of pictures on race day. She realized who I was when I asked to take
the registration table’s picture. Everyone
was very nice and helpful at packet pick-up.
Winds were very strong and kept blowing the registration tent around. Jason decided he wanted to run with Bean and
registered at the last minute. He didn’t get a shirt, but he did receive a finisher
medal and all the pre-race, course and post-race chocolate treats.
Course:
The Swartz Creek Chocolate Run course was a street course that winded through main roads, businesses and neighborhoods of Swartz Creek. I misheard the race director say the run started inside Great Lakes Smoothie Co. and was shocked and excited. We ended up starting right outside the smoothie shop and went west down Miller Road.
The first of five course chocolate stops was setup outside Courtyard
Manor. They had pecan turtles, coffee
truffles and Godiva dark chocolate ganache hearts. The ganache hearts were great.
I was surprised when arrow signs told us to cross Miller Road with
no police to stop traffic. I had missed
the note about roads only being closed if there were more than 150 participants. I sped up when I saw the group of runners
ahead of me stopped waiting for the light to change. I knew it was going to go any second and I didn’t
want to miss my chance. I made it to the
light just in time to keep running across Miller before the crosswalk light
ended.
The second chocolate stop was at Carriage Plaza soon after
crossing Miller Street. It had 8oz chocolate
rebuilding strength drinks from Creek Nutrition in Swartz Creek. The drinks were delicious and even came with
a small straw. I had a hard time
carrying everything after the second chocolate stop and an even harder time drinking
the chocolate drink while running. I
kept stopping to take sips. Chocolate
was spilling all over my coat and phone.
We turned left into the plaza parking lot and went up a small hill into a neighborhood. Jason told me the hill by the plaza was one of the harder areas for him. It was a steady incline going up into Swartz Creek neighborhoods.
There was a good amount
of turns before we got to the third chocolate stop at Syring Elementary School. All turns on the course were well marked with
signs.
The Syring Elementary School chocolate stop had chocolate sea
salt caramels. The sea salt caramels
were my absolute favorite of all the chocolate treats. I’ve always loved chocolate caramels. We were handed the sea salt caramels instead
of picking them up from a tray or bowl.
I was able to throw out my almost empty rebuilding strength chocolate
drink at the elementary school chocolate stop.
After the third chocolate stop I ran through more Swartz Creek neighborhoods saw a cool yellow and orange fire hydrant, a beautiful huge Forsythia shrub, an amazing Weeping Cherry Tree in full bloom, a decorative wooden well and some awesome Swartz Creek street names.
The fourth chocolate stop was by the entrance of the Swartz
Creek High School. There were three
volunteers at a table, two sitting and one standing. They had two open Hershey Nugget bags that participants
could grab a chocolate out of as they passed.
It was the only chocolate stop I asked to take a picture of before I
continued on.
After getting a chocolate nugget I ran past the Swartz Creek High
School Football Field and Athletic Center, the Swartz Creek Special Education Baseball
Field, a cool speedboat, an amazing home with a fairy garden and giant tree frog
statue in long grass and a lawn full of yellow daffodils.
The home stretch of the 5K was back out on a sidewalk along Miller Road, 700 feet to the finish at the Swartz Creek public parking lot next to Against the Grain Hair Lounge. There was one final chocolate stop (fifth station) before the finish outside of Against the Grains. They had a table set up with full size Hershey bars and bags of assorted bite size chocolates (Kit Kat, Reese and Hershey Kiss). I was handed a full-size Hershey chocolate bar.
At the finish line there was double chocolate
coffee and salted caramel hot chocolate from Fireside Coffee Co. I took a salted caramel hot chocolate cup and
went back to see Jason and Bean finish.
They had an amazing sprint finish. A 5K is a warm-up for Bean. She had insane amounts of energy left after
crossing the finish.
All in all, the Swartz Creek Chocolate Run course had a little bit
of everything with elevation changes, turns, main road intersection crossings and
plenty of business and residential scenery.
The five chocolate stops on the course would check off their station on
bibs when participants stopped to take their chocolate treats. Great Lakes Smoothie Co. and the hot
chocolate finish line were on bibs as two additional pre-race and post-race
chocolate stations to be checked off for a total of seven chocolate stops.
About 80% of the course was in neighborhoods and provided participants sidewalks and streets as options to run or walk on. It was not a crowded course. I was alone for the last half of the 5K. I looked behind at one point and saw no one on the road. My favorite part of the course was running by the Swartz Creek High School Football Field.
I was not fond of crossing a major intersection
without volunteers or police present. Regardless
of race numbers, someone should have been directing traffic. A slightly different 5K path that did not
cross Miller Road could have been done.
The majority of the 3.1 miles of the chocolate run course was on the south
side of Miller Road. Four of the five
chocolate stations and almost all of the amazing scenery was on the south side of
Miller Road as well. Next year starting
and finishing at the public parking lot may be better for the Swartz Creek Chocolate
Run. It would not take away from the
course. Participants could go down Fairchild
Street and circle Swartz Creek Middle School to make up lost mileage. Great Lakes Smoothie Co. could still be a pre
and post-race hangout.
Swag:
I received a very
nice comfortable white tech shirt with the cool chocolate run race logo. I loved the race logo. It had half of a large soccer ball with “5K”
inside of it. Chocolate Run was
underneath the ball in milk chocolate color with a dripping effect. The “0” of 2022 was a splash of chocolate. One of the soccer ball’s hexagons looked like
a chocolate covered cherry. I don’t know
if that was intentional or not, but it was awesome.
Bibs were very
detailed with the run title in red above participant numbers. Seven small pictures were below the number. They
included, Great Lakes Smoothie Co, Creek Nutrition, a blue butterfly, Swartz
Creek Soccer, a chocolate ganache, a piece of a chocolate bar and Fireside
Coffee Co. Pictures could be checked off
with a sharpie by each station a participant stopped at. I didn’t know about the “checking off” until
I was on the course. I missed getting
the pre and post-race stations. Jason surprised
me when he said he didn’t stop at all the stations and only got two crossed off
his bib.
All participants
were able to get Swartz Creek finisher medals. Medals were small and extremely
high quality with solid black lanyards.
They had a similar logo to the shirt with the soccer ball appearing to
be floating in chocolate instead of floating above dripping chocolate letters. I liked the smaller size medals. They were unique, heavy for their size and
well made. I am so glad Jason got a medal
after registering too late to get a shirt.
Race staff had updated the RunSignUp page making an announcement that race
shirts had officially sold out days before the race.
Restrooms:
Course restrooms
were fantastic. They were inside Great
Lakes Smoothie Co. I love runs that utilize
sponsor restrooms indoors. The restroom
was very spacious and clean. At the peak
of the line before the race started, I waited less then three minutes to use
it. Indoor restrooms are especially great
for our family. It’s amazing to have
nice bathroom facilities before a long drive home when you have three little
kids.
Food:
Great Lakes Smoothie Company provided perfect sized 8oz smoothies in PB Chocoana and Naranja Colada flavors to participants before the run began. The Naranja Colada had orange juice, pineapple, yogurt, coconut and white chocolate in it. I grabbed a Naranja for myself and a PB for Jason.
Five chocolate stations were on the course with assorted small pieces of chocolates. One station had rebuilding strength chocolate drinks.
At the finish line there were four
carafes with double chocolate flavored coffee and salted caramel hot chocolate. When Jason finished running he was very thirsty
and asked the race staff if they had water.
I was shocked when they replied they did not. There was only coffee and hot chocolate. I’ve known many races to have specialty
drinks at finish lines, but they always still have water for participants. Water at a finish line is a must and is inexpensive
to get.
There was no post-race
food for participants. Only hot
beverages were provided.
Awards:
There were no
overall or age group awards given out at the Swartz Creek Chocolate Run.
Aide Stations:
Four of the five
chocolate stations on the course had orange portable water coolers on their
tables with cups. Most of the cups were
still in the packaging and water was not pre-poured to pick up. It was good that water was there if
participants needed it, especially since water was absent at the finish
line. The finish line was just across the
street from Great Lakes Smoothie Co. that had glasses of water if needed.
Timing:
The Swartz Creek Chocolate Run was not officially chip timed or gun timed. Participant times were not recorded.
City Notes:
Swartz Creek is named after the small stream
that runs through the town. The creek is
34 miles in length. The town’s post
office was named after the stream in 1842 and the name stuck as the town
name.
In 1986 a harness horse
racing track, Sports Creek Horse Racing, opened in Swartz Creek. The track was open for 29 years until it
closed in January 2015 when it failed to abide by Michigan Harness Horseman’s Association
rules. After the 100-acre facility was sold
to AmRace and Sports LLC in 2018, plans to reopen the track began, but hit
roadblocks. Michigan does not currently allow betting on historical racetracks. AmRace wants to completely renovate Sports
Creek and convert it to thoroughbred horse racing. If they were to succeed, Sports Creek would
be the only horse racing venue left in the state of Michigan. A bill to legalize historical horse racing in
Michigan was passed through the senate in 2019 but got stalled in the
house. It
will be on the November 2022 ballot.
There is an amazing smoothie
shop in downtown Swartz Creek named Great Lakes Smoothie Co. The owner RJ grew up working in the auto
industry from his teenage years until he had a life changing motorcycle accident
in 2018. A hit and run accident left him
a without a leg after multiple infections and 17 surgeries. Luckily, a retired EMT saw the accident and
stopped to help RJ. The timing was a
miracle. The accident changed what RJ
wanted to do with his life. He decided
shortly after to start a new chapter and leave the auto industry. He bought the Centerpiece Plaza and re-opened
Great Lakes Smoothie Co. in March of 2021.
RJ runs 5Ks and loves to wakeboard and wake surf. He hasn’t let anything stop him. His words about what happened to him were,
“Some negative
things can be the best things to ever happen to a person.”
I completely agree.
Now RJ owns a thriving smoothie shop that serves amazing food and drinks. We had lunch at Great Lakes Smoothie Co. after the run. Luke loved his blue curacao lemonade Shark Attack drink with cherry pearls and gummy sharks. I got my first green smoothie, Green Kiwi. It was an amazing Smoothie. I loved that they had a machine that put sealed plastic tops on the smoothie cups. I spill drinks a lot. It really helped me. I’ve only seen snap on lids on drinks.
We ordered grill cheese and a cheese quesadilla
for lunch. Everything had an amazing
presentation and was fantastic. Great
Lakes Smoothie Co. was clean and had great décor. I loved the Black Rifle merchandise available.
I knew Great Lakes
Smoothie Co. and RJ were really special when RJ offered to pay $5.00 to Luke, Ryan
and Will if they helped him move his 5K smoothies to two tables across from his
kitchen. The kids setup the first chocolate
station for participants by carrying his finished sample smoothies across his
shop two at a time. RJ gave them each a
$5.00 bill when they were finished. They
were so excited about their five dollar earnings. They talked about it all day and still remember
it. It was an awesome memory for them.
City Sign:
The second Swartz Creek sign was a block across the street from Great Lakes Smoothie Co. It was a metal archway sign that was the entrance to another Swartz Creek public parking area. Lettering was in gold.
There was an engraved time capsule
below the archway that was sealed on November 15, 2002. It is to be opened 100 years from that
date.
The third Swartz Creek city sign was on the course
route but couldn’t be seen with three large pine trees behind it. It was
an awesome red wooden sign with white lettering. The pine trees behind it were huge! We looked very small in the picture. The sign and three trees were the only thing
in the grass field next to Carriage Plaza.
The sign really stood out in the landscape.
Other Awesomeness:
Having Jason run the 5K with Bean was amazing. It was an awesome part of our anniversary
weekend. The pair did really well. Bean had way too much energy at the finish
line. Apparently, a 5K is nothing for
her. We were able to cheer for Jason and
Bean as they came down Miller Road. An
awesome man in front of Jason thanked us for the support. I always love supporting runners and walkers after
I finish, especially when it’s our family.
We found a Doctor Who Tardis in the back of the Centerpiece
Plaza parking lot. It was full scale
size and a masterpiece. When we opened
it up it was a food pantry inside. What
a cool idea to turn a food pantry into something so fun! Kuddos to whoever made the Tardis. It looked like a movie prop. It was an amazing find.
Luke Deaton from The Michigan Running Foundation had his debut
as a race director at the Spring Fling at Sleepy Hollow State Park in
Laingsburg on the same morning as the Swartz Creek Chocolate Run. I felt bad I couldn’t be at his inaugural race. Every weekend that I run there are a handful
of other runs or new cities I could be in.
It’s hard to choose where to go.
I hope Luke had an amazing day as a race director after so many years
and experience in race timing.
After our lunch at Great Lakes Smoothie Co. we drove to Swartz Creek Dog Park. It was a huge dog park with great dog obstacles. It has two separate fenced in areas. Two dogs came in after us. Corky wasn’t interested in playing but Bean had tons of reserve energy left. I got some hilarious slow motion dog videos that look like a lion fighting scene from The Lion King.
We were all in shock when a giant amazing black and white Piebald Mastiff entered the dog park. The Mastiff was amazing and full of strings of flying slobber as he ran like a horse.
It was a great experience for Bean and
Corky. Corky made friends with the
people instead of the dogs and successfully climbed the wooden hill.
Elms Park is right next to the Swartz Creek Dog
Park. It has a huge wooden play structure
for kids, a small playscape across the street for younger children, basketball
courts, a huge field, a baseball field with stands, a tennis court and a big pavilion
with picnic tables. It also has a walking
path with exercise equipment like I saw in Sandusky, Michigan. The kids had fun there. I ate my chocolates from the race while they
were playing.
After we left the parks we went to find Sports
Creek and Swartz Creek. Sports Creek Racing
was closed. There were signs stating vehicles
that entered would get security checks.
We took a picture of the main sign and turned around. It was too bad I couldn’t get a picture of
the track or grounds. Finding Swartz
Creek proved harder than I had imagined.
We decided to get the creek’s picture by the high school. Luke then hid behind a giant dirt pile and
ran out trying to scare us. My response to
his scare attempt was to play Amber’s “This is Your Night” and film us chasing
after him in the car. The video is pretty
funny.
RunSignUp said there would be a small vendor area after the race
near the finish line area. I saw vendors
setting crafts up before the run started.
The parking lot was empty of vendors when I finished. The wind must have been too strong. That is the only thing I can think of that
would have caused them to pack up and leave so quickly.
I think Swartz Creek did a great job with their run logo design,
shirts, bibs and medals. I loved their
shirts and medals. I think the chocolate
station course was awesome and fun.
There are just a few things I would change for 2023:
1.
Having timing (of any kind)
2.
Keeping the course on the south side of Miller Road unless
road closures can happen.
3.
Having cups of water or bottled water at the finish.
I believe the above changes can
be made without much additional costs incurred.
I seem to have a habit of registering for runs that are not
timed for Milestone Cities. I did that
for Milestone City 100 in Auburn Hills with the Michigan Brewery Running Series. I like runs being timed. It makes the city goal I have more official
and proves I was there. If runs are not timed,
I make a photo of my MapMyRun results from my phone which I use to remember my
time.
Course Rating: 4 Stars
Post-Race Food Rating: 4 Stars
Swag Rating: 5 Stars
Awards Rating: N/A
Race Execution: 4 Stars
Restroom Rating: 5 Stars
Aide Stations: 4.7 Stars
Timing
Company: N/A
Post-Race Activities: N/A
Swartz Creek Chocolate Run Quote:
“Don’t bite off more than you can chew, unless it’s chocolate.”
-
Godiva.
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