Detroit International Half Marathon race recap

Detroit International Half Marathon

Detroit, MI

Race recap for state #13 -- Michigan.  10/15/2017


This race was an interesting one because it started in Detroit, continued over the bridge to Windsor Canada, along the Detroit River in Canada, then through the tunnel back to Detroit.  There was an option to run a half marathon on the same day also in Detroit that remained in Detroit, not crossing over into Canada, but I elected to run the International half as it sounded like it would be fun.

Registration:

Registration for this race was through imathlete.  

 Fee:

I received a bit of a discount through the 50 states half marathon club , so the fee for this race was $70.00 and a service fee of $5.90 for a total of $75.90.  That was a nice surprise. 

The Expo:

The expo was at the COBO center in downtown Detroit.  It was required to show your passport to receive your bib and race packet.   Once I received my packet, (I had gone straight to the expo from the airport) I and my carry-on luggage attempted to traverse through the expo.  I took a picture of the billboard displaying the course map, then started my way through the expo.  It was difficult to make it thorough the hoards of people with my luggage and I became fairly claustrophobic, so I snuck out the side and found some open field to make my way out to find my lodging. 

I am certain the expo was a good one, I just could not deal with all of the people.  I do have difficulty with crowds of people.

Shirt:

The shirt was another long-sleeved wicking, tech shirt.  I believe I now own more long-sleeved shirts than I have ever owned at one time.

Race Day:

The race was Sunday at 7:00am.  We started exactly on time.

The weather was overcast, rainy and windy.  I received an email the evening before the race informing me that the race may be cancelled due to weather and gave instructions on what to do in the event that the race is cancelled in the middle of the race.  They were expecting severe weather and lightning, but we only had some wind and rain... thank God, no lightning.

Race Start Time:

The Half and the full started together and started right at 7:00.  My corral was close to the start, so I was able to hear the Star Spangled Banner and the Canadian National Anthem, sung by the same young man.  It was a nice tribute to the spirit of this race, "two great countries, one great race".  It was still dark at the start.  

Course Map:

The course started in downtown Detroit, then a little loop around the customs area, past all of the customs officers checking that we all had proper race bibs on our shirts.  I did carry my passport, as instructed in the event we were to get stopped.  Then over the bridge to Windsor Canada.

All of these pictures of the race scenery were taken by others and posted on social media.  I copied them here as I do not take photos during the race.

Four or five miles in Canada along the Detroit River, then into the tunnel under the water back to the USA.  I thought the tunnel would be cool, but in retrospect, I think it was my least favorite part of the race.  It was about a mile long and much smaller than I thought it would be.  There was only enough room for two cars to pass through.  There was no sidewalk or easement of any sort.  There was no air condition and no wind.  A few hundred people hot and sweaty in a confined space for about 8 min... and mostly uphill... and relatively steep toward the end.  I had to remove my running hat as I thought I might be overheating.  Not enjoyable, not enjoyable at all.

It was nice to see the US customs and the "light at the end of the tunnel", although I was met with a significant headwind that slowed me down a bit, especially after barely surviving the uphill section of the tunnel. 

Accommodations:

I stayed in a AirBnB again.  It was a simple, small one-room apartment -- studio.  It served its purpose and the location was just 3 or 4 blocks from the start and finish.

Transportation:

Uber ride from the airport to the expo, then I walked to Hard Rock Cafe where my AirBnB was a server.   She gave me the keys as I had lunch.  Then walked to the apartment, and walked everywhere else from there and a Uber back to the airport.

Weather:

I already discussed the weather.  On the course it was just overcast, gray and WINDY.

Race Morning:

Nothing special about race morning.  I walked to the start too early as usual and waited in my corral for the start.

Race:

The race was well organized.  The course was very well marked and contained, particularly around the customs areas.  There were multiple volunteers and race officials that kept order.  There was no confusion about the course direction or where and when or how the races were to split.

Water/Food Stations:

There were plenty of water and nutrition stations.  Every 2-3 miles.  I saw Gatorade and water at EVERY station.  I saw nutrition gels at two stations.  I skipped the first two water stations as I was feeling good and just did not want to get caught in the mess of people.  The next two stations, I had only a sip of water.  I really did not feel like I needed anything until after the tunnel about mile 8 or 9.  I was pretty tired by that point.

Scenery:

The scenery was interesting.  I enjoyed running around the customs loop and over the bridge and along the waters edge.  

Race Entertainment:

It seems like I remember thinking that the entertainment was pretty good for this race, but at the moment I simply cannot remember one of them.  I do remember a very loud speaker playing mostly bass that was located very near a police car and I recall thinking for a significant period of time that the sound was coming from the police car radio.  I was fairly impressed by the output from this vehicle.  As it turns out, it was  a speaker from the nearby DJ.  There was a very nice crowd of smiling and cheering spectators.  One older lady in Canada continually repeated, "You are doing great! You are amazing!"  I said to her, "Thank you for noticing."  She and her friends seemed to get a big laugh out of that.

Finish:

The road leading up to the finish was long and crowded with people cheering and having a good time.  The road past the finish was also long and littered with volunteers  supplying water and chocolate milk and bananas.  I was super hungry for some reason, so I grabbed at least one of everything that I saw.

Bling:

The medal was a nice medal.  I particularly liked the ribbon with the US and Canadian colors.

Misc:

This was a nice race.  It was well organized and everyone seemed to be in good spirits.  The course was interesting and all of the people along the way were nice.  I had a good time.  I felt very good throughout the entire race.  With the single exception of the end of the tunnel, I felt good.  Toward the end, I felt fine, but could not seem to make my legs respond.  I would say go faster, but they did not want to move.  Over all, I did well and felt good about my race.

My race wall is filling up.  It is nice to see pins in several states and so many medals.  From one perspective, I have raced a bunch of races.  From another perspective, I have a terribly long way to go.  One foot in front of the other.  One race at a time.

Next race, Nags Head North Carolina.  The whole fam is going and Valerie and Noble will even run the half too.