The Big House 5k Run

Spring finally showed up – which means it’s running season.

I took the entire winter off of running.  I get bored on treadmills, so I used to run outside through the winter – that ended about two years ago when I went for a run one snowy January morning, slipped on some ice and fell.  I should have broken something, but luckily I was just bruised.  That was the end of winter running for me.

This Michigan winter has been a long one, and after about 10 weeks without running I was starting to get really stir crazy (and grumpy!), so I signed us up to run the Trail to the Victors Big House 5K.

We are huge Michigan fans, my husband works for the University, and thought it would be a really run event to run as a family.

You run the course through downtown Ann Arbor, and finish on the 50 yard line in the Big House – how fun is that?!  Plus, 30% of the registration fee is donated to 6 local non-profits to benefit the community.  Not a bad reason to get some exercise.

We ran it a few Sundays ago.  We had to leave the house at about 7:15 and we were all tired, but excited!  My brother Eric met us there.  It was 22* when we left the house…soooo cold, probably the coldest “fun run” I’ve ever done.

Jeremy was nice enough to let me run ahead so I could get in a good run, and he pushed Isla in the running stroller.  It was a little slower than normal because I was weaving in and out of people – there were over 7,000 runners, but I had a great run!

It was one of those rare unicorn runs where you feel the sun and wind on your face, enjoy your surroundings, and feel like you can run forever.  I caught a view of the stadium about 2.5 miles in and thought “whoa, it’s almost over already!?”.

It was so incredible to run down the tunnel with “Hail to the Victors” blasting, and onto the field to finish on the 50 and jump to touch the iconic M GO BLUE banner.  My brother finished just a few seconds behind me.

Poor Isla though, she gave Jeremy a hard time.  She was cold, and tired, and just wasn’t feeling it, so he had to carry her and push the running stroller for the last mile and a half.

Once they crossed the finish, he immediately handed her off to me and she was screaming.  I don’t think she’s a runner – and I don’t think I’ll ever hear the end of it from either of them.  Sorry, guys.

She was fine once we got her warmed up and fed.  She’s also mildly obsessed with her finisher’s medal, and keeps putting it on so she can wear it around the house.

Overall it was a really fun time, one of the most fun running environments I’ve ever been in!  If you’re in Ann Arbor next April and have a chance to sign up for this one, do it.  Check here for more details on next year’s run.

Have a great week!