October 16, 2016

Spectating at the Detroit Marathon

I was SO excited today to go to Detroit and cheer on the runners for the marathon (and half marathon). My sister-in-law, Becky, came over at 6:00 this morning to head to Detroit with me. We really didn't have an agenda, other than to go to mile eight (just outside of the tunnel that comes back into the U.S.) and cheer on the runners.

We were going to park at the casino, which is where I always park because it's free--but they were charging $40 for parking!! That is crazy. We ended up finding a nearby lot for $20--still crazy, but I guess only half-crazy.

The weather this year was MUCH different than last year. Last year, it snowed at the starting line; and this year, it was nearly 70 degrees! I actually wore a t-shirt and was very comfortable--and I wasn't even running. It was great weather for spectating, but probably a little too warm for the runners and walkers.

We took the People Mover to the tunnel, and found a good spot to hang out for a few hours. The hand cyclists started coming through just as we got there, so our timing was perfect. We got out our cowbells, and watched as the runners started coming through.



One thing I noticed right away was that the bibs were smaller than last year, and because of that, each persons name was too small to read. I always like to cheer for people by name, so it was awesome to have names on the bibs! But, since they changed the bibs, I couldn't read the tiny lettering. Bummer.

We were watching for my brother, Nathan, who was running the half-marathon. He'd told me he was going to "take it easy" today and just run whatever pace felt comfortable. We finally were able to pull up his name on the tracking app, and his "easy pace" is apparently about 7:40/mi--haha. He was pretty easy to spot, considering he was wearing short American flag shorts, patriotic socks, and nothing else ;)


I was also on the lookout for a few other people: my cousin, who was running the full; the parents of a couple of my cross country kids; and a couple of readers who said they were going to be there. I ended up seeing the parents of my cross country kids, but missed the others, unfortunately.


We stayed there until a little bit after the 6:00 pacer came through. Then we headed over to the finish line to look for Nathan. The sidewalks around the finish line were CRAZY--so many people. It was impossible to see the finish, and it took us what felt like forever to get to the spot where we were planning to meet Nathan.

We chatted with Nathan for a while, and then Becky and I headed to Redsmoke for lunch. I got my "usual" of a Caesar salad with pulled pork. It was delicious, as always!

Meanwhile, our new furnace was being installed--and the guys finished it just as I got home. I'm so relieved not to have to worry about the furnace constantly going out during the winter. This winter is supposed to be harsh, so it'll be nice to have a reliable furnace.

Well, tomorrow, Jerry and I are heading to NYC for the night. I'm looking forward to it!

3 comments:

  1. I was watching from approx. mile 6 in Windsor. I noticed that the bibs were harder to read. I would have missed my son and son-in-law if they hadn't run up to give me a hug. (They had an idea where I would be.) My daughter was third leg in the relay so she might have been close to the area where you were watching. The weather was wonderful although it was very wet for the later finishers. It was a good morning.

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  2. What a fun outfit for race day -- how can I find a pair of american flag shorts? lol

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  3. I was half crazy! My first 1/2 and I finished in under 4 hours! You are someone's blog that helped me train...I'm down 30lbs and 70 from my goal! Thanks for sharing your VALUABLE knowledge!

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