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| Stadium View |
Late last week my family and I signed up for the Big House Big Heart 1 mile run/walk combination. I would have liked to have done the 5K, but I thought we had a conflict until the week of the race and had not trained for the 5K. We also did the 1 mile walk in October 2011.
At 6 am Sunday morning when my daughter woke me up because of the rain, I was starting to regret our decision. We fell back to sleep only to wake up at 8a to the sound of thunder added to the rain. My daughter is petrified of storms and is convinced we’re going to lose power. At this point, I wasn’t even sure if they would run the race in a thunderstorm since they had halted a game this season in the stadium due to thunder and lightning. I checked the Big House Big Heart website but found no information on weather. So I shifted to my trusty Twitter & found posts by @RunningA2 that the 10k race had started. I wasn’t the only one questioning the race status since I had several searches find this blog for Big House Big Heart weather and variations.
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| Finish Line |
Fortunately the thunder stopped and the rain started to clear around 9a right before the 5K, so we prepared to attend the 1 mile run/walk, making accommodations for the weather. We packed towels for afterwards and Ziploc bags for our phones, wallets, keys, etc. We also decided it was just a mile and to forego the running sneakers in case the rain started again and just walk. My daughter wore Crocs and I wore backless sneakers. Of course, the weather was clear for the entire 1 mile walk and we would have been fine with sneakers.
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| Ready to Race.. yes she ran in a dress |
I am super proud of my daughter. She ran the entire 1 mile race (well, once she got enough clearance from the crowd to start running). I only made about half the race due to lack of training and bad shoes. My husband and my sister ran with her. My sister had already run the 5K and used her running watch to track their 1 mile run. My daughter was running at a 10 minute mile pace for most of the race. She forgot to turn the time off when they finished, but it was only at 12 minutes when she did shut it off. Next year, we are talking about training and all of us doing the 5K instead of the 1 mile.
I was fully expecting to be sore when I woke up from running in bad shoes, but I am not sore. I really do need to get back into training to run. Unfortunately, my daughter was sore this morning from running more than a mile in crocs. (She and her friend did sprints on the field after the race).
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| The worst part of the race… the climb up the stairs to exit afterwards |
The 1 mile race was well run and organized. The course started in the opposite direction as the 2011 race. With Stadium Blvd being closed, they were able to use part of it for the 1mile race this year. I feel like we ran a shorter distance on the concourse which helped with non-race traffic flow and also opened the course up more since you weren’t as constrained in space. There were plenty of refreshments for after the race. There were water bottles on the field. However, this year the food was moved off of the field and was at the exits from the stadium to the concourse. We exited the stadium at the northeast corner of the end zone and there was no food lines. Most people were exiting by the north west corner and there were lines for food.
When my parents and sister arrived for the 5K, there were lots of crowds and people arriving. The line to park in the Pioneer lots extended south on Main Street past Scio Church Rd. They ended up parking in the neighborhood near Allmendinger Park. When we arrived for the 1 mile, there were lots of people leaving and we were able to park in a University lot on E. Hoover Street near the north end zone.
For 2013, our goal is to all compete in the 5K. Even in the 5K there are plenty of walkers. I walked the Dexter-Ann Arbor 5K a few years ago and may try to run it this year. I really encourage families to participate in the Big House Big Heart Race. The race proceeds are split between ALS Research at UM, the UM Cardiovascular Center, and Mott Children’s Hospital. In addition, you can gain sponsors to support many local charities.
