Cinco De Mayo (Manitou Beach - 2022 - 5K)
56.2 Mile Drive
Registration:
My registration for the 2022
Cinco De Mayo run in Manitou Beach was done by my friend Ginny in person at the
race while we were on the way. I decided
the morning of the Cinco De Mayo run to go to the race. I wanted to run with my friends Ginny and
Amber in Hillsdale Saturday night. I was
too tired, the electric car was depleted and most importantly, I knew the
family needed and wanted to relax. I
still missed not seeing them because I enjoy running with friends.
It was our anniversary weekend
and my gift to Jason was buying him “Mayor of Hell, Michigan” for a day. Jason knew we were driving somewhere near Ann
Arbor Sunday morning, but did not know the exact place. I thought that waking up for a run would help
us make it to Hell on time. Hell didn’t
officially open until 11:00am which gave us plenty of time to drive 20 minutes
south to Manitou Beach for a 9:00am 5K start.
I ran the Manitou Beach 5K last
year for the first time as part of my city quest. I didn’t know Ginny and Amber yet. Registration was the same price of $25.00. Registering the same day should have cost me
$30 but for some reason they kept it at $25.00.
I was very thankful. I texted
Ginny when we were on the road and asked if she could fill out a registration
form for me. She knew almost all the information
she needed. I got the information for
the check from her and filled it out in the car. All I had to do when I got to Manitou Beach
was hop out of the car, give race staff the check and write a quick
signature. I joked Ginny could have
forged my signature for me.
I met Ginny in Nutrition Beach
where I picked up my packet bag and shirt.
I was able to hand everything over to Jason before the start of the run. I felt terrible when I made Ginny and I miss
the group shot of all participants they take every year under the giant “Lakeview
Shops” archway. I love being in that
picture. It’s an awesome yearly memory Cinco
De Mayo race staff takes
Course:
The Manitou Beach 5K course is
essentially a square once participants head west down Manitou Road. It was the exact same course I ran in 2021. The course has some steady inclines. It is on main, mostly country roads. It takes you by Tibbs Park, a cow farm, local
Manitou Beach businesses and Devil’s Lake at the beginning and end.
The finish line is the most
unique aspect of the Manitou Beach course.
It is on a loop and instead of running straight to it, the course has
participants run down the other side of the loop and back up to the finish
line. Running the loop puts participants
closer to Devil’s Lake and makes for an extra supportive finish area.
Swag:
I was so lucky to receive a race
shirt registering on the day of the race.
I was extra lucky because 2022’s Cinco De Mayo shirt was one of my
favorite running shirts. I love comedy
and it isn’t often I get comedic race shirts. I love the catch line of, “Nacho
Average Runner.” It goes well with the
Cinco De Mayo theme and is hilarious.
The shirt was a tad big because I had to get a large, but I still think
it’s great. It’s a nice thick cotton.
In a small plastic bag I got a
coozie from Foundation Realty, a “Buy One Get One Half Off” at the Sandbar Café
with an expiration date of May 30th and a Fun-Size Protein Bite from
Herbalife Nutrition. The protein bite
surprised me it was so good. I am going
to be ordering more. It was the crunchy
salted caramel flavor.
Restrooms:
Nutrition Beach and the Manitou Beach Boathouse Art Gallery are
next to one another and both have great restrooms that participants can use
before and after the Cinco De Mayo race.
I went into Nutrition Beach last year and the art gallery this year. It’s very nice to have spacious and clean restrooms. Cinco De Mayo has a great setup with their
start and finish area in the heart of Manitou Beach next to businesses.
Food:
Just like last year, Manitou Beach had a lot of fruits at their
finish line. It’s a fruity post-race
experience. There was a big box of
bananas, several bags of honeycrisp apples and Cutie tangerines. They had full sized water bottles from a company
I had never heard of called Clover Valley.
There were many boxes of assorted Chewy granola bars including peanut
butter and chocolate chip.
In addition to the food on tables at the finishing chute Nutrition
Beach has special smoothie flavors for participants among their many other
amazing smoothie flavors and every participant received a “Buy One Get One 50%”
off coupon at the Sandbar Café.
Awards:
There was an awards ceremony this year following the race. Last year age group awards were given out as we crossed the finish line. I had enough time to stretch on the back porch of Trends Salon and Spa before it began. I like when I can get my stretching done before an awards ceremony. Everyone gathered in a circle in front of the Lakeview Shops archway. Awards were announced next to the finish chute tents. The mic was a great volume for everyone to hear. Ginny and Amber were getting drinks at Nutrition Beach when Ginny’s name was called for second place in her age group. Her medal was waiting for her when she came out and she still got her winner picture.
I loved how Manitou Beach took pictures of
every age group winner and posted them on their Facebook page.
Age group awards were nice gold medals with bright yellow logos
inside. The logo was a pepper shaking
maracas with “Cinco De Mayo” and “Manitou Beach, Michigan.” I love it when race medals have city names in
addition to the race name. Age group divisions
started at “11 and under” and went up to “70 and above” three deep in
categories. They were great categories. I was very surprised to receive first place
in my age group. It felt much more meaningful
accepting the award knowing I stayed with Ginny. Had I ran ahead, the award would have been
tainted for me.
Aide Stations:
There is one aide station
on the Cinco De Mayo 5K course at the corner of Manitou Beach Road and N.
Rollin Highway with two orange water coolers and pre-poured water cups. I took a water and threw it out before I left
the station. Last year the station was
at the same location.
Timing:
Shame Morse from Addison Cross Country was the man behind the
timing at Cinco De Mayo. It was not a
chip timed race. The race was gun
timed. I will take gun timing over no
timing any day, but I prefer chip timing if possible because I believe it is
the most fair and accurate timing in racing. I really liked the red and black start flags
that went quite a distance down the road.
Red and black must be Addison school colors. When we came into the finish chute we were
asked for our bib numbers and our finish times were marked down.
City Notes:
Manitou Beach is
a wonderful village nestled between two Michigan lakes. The village is on the southwest area where
Round Lake and Devils Lake meet. Addison,
Michigan is 2.5 miles from downtown Manitou Beach. Addison girls and boys Cross Country and
Track teams received funds from the Cinco De Mayo 5K.
To be completely accurate Manitou Beach-Devils Lake is a CDP or “Census-Designated
Place.” Manitou Beach is the first CDP I
have run in. I have run in cities,
villages, corporations, townships and even an unincorporated community. I can now add CDP to that list. Michigan has 276 cities which would make my goal
of 450 seem off. The rest are a
combination of the above titles.
Devil’s Lake, the largest lake in Lenawee County (1,300 acres) got
it name for two reasons:
1.
For having a deep gorge in it with no entry or exit.
2.
A Potawatomi leader tragically lost his daughter, a
good swimmer when she drowned in the lake.
Her body was never found. The incident
was thought to be an act of the devil.
Manitou Beach has seen its share of tragedy from its beginning
and through the years. In 1965 two F4
tornadoes came through Hilldale, Branch and Lenawee Counties from Indiana and
Illinois. The severe weather on April
11, 1965 affected six states and took 271 lives. Of those 271 lives, 52 were
Michiganders.
Tornadoes hit Baw Beese Lake in Hillsdale first and at 7:45pm
took direct aim for Devil’s Lake in Manitou Beach. Tornadoes continued into Branch Country
hitting Algansee Township farmlands and leaving nothing left in their
passing. Sadly, most of the deaths occurred
when people came out after the first tornado to look at damage and help
neighbors not realizing a second just as deadly tornado was coming within 45
minutes of the first. At the Manitou Beach
Bible Church 26 people got stuck in pews when the church collapsed. Amazingly, hymnals were undisturbed. Jackson was also untouched on April 11th
but debris from neighboring counties made it into yards in Jackson.
https://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/2015/04/peek_through_time_killer_palm.html
The Devil’s Lake Drive-In Theater opened in 1952 showing faith-based movies to the public. The building and property had to be rebuilt after the 1965 tornadoes.
In the Spring of 2008 as the theater was set
to open for its 56th year, both owners (husband and wife) of the
theater died. Terry passed away April 1st
and Olive less than two months later on May 21st. Terry
and Olive’s family lived out of state and decided to let the theater close permanently. As of May 2021 you can still drive by the theater
site and see the remains of a once thriving drive-in theater.
https://www.waterwinterwonderland.com/driveintheaters.aspx?type=1&id=1245
The Manitou Beach Boathouse and Art Gallery shares a space with the Michigan Gypsy Boutique. Sister stores had a Grand Opening in May of 2017 that brought in 300 people. I love the Michigan Gypsy Boutique. The owner is a wonderful lady. The shop has all kinds of Manitou Beach and Michigan items. There is clothing, home décor, jewelry, gifts and fine art in the non-profit gallery that’s in the back. I have wanted one of the metal flower sculptures since I ran Cinco De Mayo in 2021. I made a promise again to the owner I would be back to buy one and I intend to keep that promise no matter how long it takes. I plan to put it out with our other yard décor.
I was devastated when the owner told me she
lost her son in June 2021, a month after I ran the Cinco De Mayo last year. He died within days of Father’s Day. I love her boutique. I visit it every time I run in Manitou
Beach. I bought awesome socks last year
for the boys. It is a gem of Manitou
Beach, one of the many unique and warm businesses in the village.
City Sign:
I got the Manitou Beach CDP sign or as the sign says, “Village
of Manitou Beach” because CDP sounds extra complicated in 2021. It is a great sign that sits in the grass
median of North Lakeview Boulevard. It
is only feet away from the start and finish of the Cinco De Mayo 5K. It is a white sign with a sailboat and
lighthouse about the lettering. The sign
has nautical themed wood on either side of the sign’s posts and a garden area below
it. I am a huge fan of city signs with
landscaping.
Other Awesomeness:
It was quite foggy on our way to Manitou Beach. The fog was awesome for pictures on the road.
I was very excited to run with my friends Ginny and Amber in Manitou
Beach. It was the whole reason I decided
to come back for a second year. When the
race started Ginny took a lead ahead of me, but I could always see her. She’s ironically in tons of my course photos
which is funny. At the turn onto Rollin’
Highway (past the white truck and red JEEP with three guys) I got a lot closer
to her. By the time we passed the cow
farm I was able to get up beside her and I asked if she didn’t mind me running
with her. For the rest of the 5K course
I ran with Ginny. Her calves started to
hurt when we turned onto Manitou Beach Road and she had to stop and walk. I couldn’t leave a friend, especially if they
were hurting. For me it wasn’t an option
to run ahead. I walked with her on and
off. We had a strong finish that I wish
someone could have gotten a picture of.
My family is usually hanging around the finish line but had taken a walk
back to the car when we came onto N. Lakeview Blvd. I made sure Ginny went into the finishing
chute ahead of me. I wasn’t about to
outrun a friend, even if we had been in the same age group. The reason I signed up for Manitou was to run
“with” friends not to compete against my friends. I had run the previous two days in Albion and
Swartz Creek and welcomed the short walking breaks. It was great to be with a friend. I don’t run in races with friends often.
We didn’t stay around in Manitou Beach because I had to get
Jason to Hell to surprise him with his Mayor for a Day anniversary gift. For years I have been buying him LARPing
gear, knives and swords. They have all
been awesome and made for an impressive weapon wall in our living room. For our twelve-year anniversary I wanted to
do something totally different. I was
reminded of Hell’s Mayor of the Day through a Facebook post. I was shocked when I went online and saw how
much was given for the $100 price. It
was quite the steal if you ask me. I was
even more surprised when my reservation date email was responded to with a, “Yes May 1st is currently open,
please make a payment to reserve the day as soon as possible.”
I had sent the request with only two weeks notice.
The owner of Hell told us he has quite the waiting list to be
mayor currently.
Our day in Hell after Manitou Beach was awesome! Mountain Dew’s party for Flamin’ Hot Mountain
Dew – The Official Drink of Hell was the night before on April 30th. Some may have though May 1st was a
poor choice because of the party and that may have been why it was
available. We loved seeing all the
behind the scenes event take-down and hear neat things about the night from the
owner of Hell. He told us PepsiCo let
him keep the red picnic tables, amazing flames and colorful Hell sign and
re-carpeted his putt putt course for half the cost he would have paid. We got free
leftover Flamin’ Hot drink and chip samples. I have a very low spice and heat
tolerance and I could drink and eat the Flamin’ Hot Mountain Dew and Ruffles. Our day in Hell included:
-
A tour with the owner. We got to see the new ash cemetery opening up
next week.
-
Free putt[JF1] putt golf for the
five of us and my mom and Sean.
-
An amazing lunch at The Hell Hole Bar. None of us had eaten there before. I got the Hell Hole Bowl. It was amazing! I thought the Satan Dog was hilarious.
-
An awesome impeachment ceremony in front of all
Scream’s guests.
Jason went home with a one-of-a-kind t-shirt that only previous
mayors of Hell share in common, a coffee mug from Hell, glass jar of dirt from
Hell, his property in Hell deed and mayor certificates, awesome plush devil horns
and a cool Hell reusable bag.
Before we left Hell, we stopped at my friend Les Hartman's house to grab a bag of beautiful chocolate covered flower Oreos that she had made. It was the last part of my anniversary gift. Les owns "With Love From Hell Bakery." She frequents craft fairs and vendor shows with her amazing bread and sweets. Les is an ultra runner that trains on the brutal terrain of Hell hills weekly. She's an amazing woman.
It was an amazing anniversary for us. We both got to do things that we enjoyed with
one another.
I think it is hilarious that we went to Devil's Lake and than Hell right after all in one day.
Course Rating: 4.2 Stars
Post-Race Food Rating: 4.7
Stars
Swag Rating: 4 Stars
Awards Rating: 5 Stars
Race Execution: 5 Stars
Restroom Rating: 5 Stars
Aide Stations: 4.7 Stars
Timing
Company: 4 Stars
Post-Race Activities: N/A
Cinco De Mayo 2022 Quote:
“True Friendship comes when the silence between two people is comfortable."
- David Tyson.
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