When I saw that the Detroit Women’s Half Marathon/10K/5K was scheduled for September 15, I knew I had to do it because it fell on my birthday. Of course it would be fitting to celebrate my birthday by running a half marathon. I enjoyed running this half around Belle Isle in 2018 and decided I was due to run it again. I earned a free race entry through Epic Races by volunteering for a couple of their other events this summer and chose to apply it to this race as a birthday gift to myself.

I was training for a marathon the last time I ran the race and used it as a training run at marathon pace. Since I’m not running a fall marathon this year I spent much of the summer thinking it would be nice to target a half marathon and try to really race it but that just hasn’t panned out. The heat has been tough for me and I’ve failed to do much speed work. I had a solid race at Crim several weeks ago where I covered a half marathon between the 10 mile and 5K so I hoped I might have some speed for this race. However, my right hip has bothered me since Crim. For the last few weeks I’ve run a day or two then taken a day or two off. I’ve finally gotten back to the core/strength workouts that I neglected most of the summer but my hip hasn’t gotten any better. I only ran one mile in the few days leading up to this race and hoped backing off would help.

I felt a bit jittery once I got to Belle Isle on race morning. I’ve made it through a couple of longer runs recently but have felt the discomfort in my hip. I hoped I’d hold up well enough to get through 13 miles. After I collected my packet and made a bathroom stop, I found my friend Lisa which helped distract me from my worries. It was very cool that Lisa came out to run the 10K so we’d have a chance to catch up and I could hang out with her for a bit on my birthday.

We jogged a warm up mile 20 minutes before the race and half a mile in, it was obvious that it was going to be a warm day. It was around 60° first thing and there was enough humidity that it wasn’t exactly a refreshing 60°. It was a beautiful, sunny morning and there are very few spots along the race course with any shade so I knew it probably wasn’t going to be an easy day.

After a short fun run for kids, the half marathon and 10K runners lined up together. I still had hopes that I might have some speed so I started fairly close to the front. I left a big enough gap for faster people to fill the space in front of me but not many did.

I found myself starting behind a 10K pacer who would be aiming for a 7:43 pace. I hadn’t planned to start that fast, but also figured that if I had pulled it off at Crim, maybe I could pull it off again?

I managed to stay in the 7:40s for three miles and then it was clear that I wasn’t going to be able to maintain it. I was aware of my hip but at least that didn’t bother me so much – it was the warmth that got to me. I knew that it would have been wise to start behind the 8:00 pacer and I basically settled into that pace for the next several miles.

There was a turnaround point during the second mile where the half marathoners went out a little further than the 10K runners which helped them get ahead for a bit. Eventually I came up behind Lisa and got to chat for a brief moment. I told her that I wished I could be done with the race when she would be rather than going out for a second loop!

It was fun to see a bunch of people from Infinite Multisport Triathlon Club volunteering at an aid station near the end of the first loop. I knew a couple of the people but didn’t catch their attention the first time through. Still, Joe Burns happened to catch me in a couple of his photos!

I was already pretty tired after the first half of the race and hoped I would hold up for the second half. I ran 8:10 for the eighth mile and 8:08 for the tenth, but hovered around 8:00 otherwise. When I reached the out-and-back stretch around the eighth mile, I could see that the 8:00 pacer was gaining ground on me. After a couple miles I could hear him running a few steps behind me. I didn’t want to slow down, but it became a bit of a mental game knowing that he was so close. I kind of wanted him to get in front of me so I could just concentrate on trying to keep up. With a couple miles to go, he did pass. One of his friends who must have paced the 10K came back and joined him so I had two people to follow. It was kind of them to encourage me as well.

Once again, I tried to get the attention of people from my triathlon club at an aid station and caught Joe at the last second for a high five. It gave me a little burst of energy when I really wanted to be done. It was also a nice bonus when we made it to the “caramel mile” near the end where I grabbed a couple pieces of candy that I stashed in my pocket for later.

The pacers were awesome and definitely helped keep me going. I wasn’t doing much talking at that point but I really appreciated them. They picked up the pace a bit in the final mile and I was able to make the push with them. We came in for a strong finish under 1:45! My watch had the course a little short of 13.1 miles which helped bring me down to an official time of 1:42:39. I was definitely happy with that.

I made sure to thank the pacers and got some photos with them and a couple of other runners they had helped. Having someone to follow when I was struggling made a huge difference.

Lisa was waiting at the finish which I also appreciated, especially since she had about an hour to kill before I was done. She told me that I was first in my age group and I was thrilled!

Since I officially jumped into a new age group I was kind of hoping I could pull off an age group win. Thanks to a speedy woman in my age group taking the masters win, I was able to claim that top spot. I usually don’t get too excited about my birthday, but moving into the next age group had me feeling unusually celebratory this year. The sole source of my excitement was knowing that my qualifying time for the Boston Marathon would get easier by 10 minutes…at least for 2025. The day after the race it was announced that a record number of people had applied for the 2025 Boston Marathon and that the qualifying times would be adjusted for the 2026. I had been excited about the prospect of aiming for a 3:50 qualifying time going forward, but now it will actually be 3:45. The same thing happened when I moved into the 40-44 age group, so I’ve been chasing a 3:40 time for years. At least I will still get those five extra minutes!

Lisa did a great job in the 10K, placing second in her age group and seventh for all females!

I got some pancakes, an egg and cheese wrap, a cookie, and some sparkling water which I enjoyed by the fountain while I caught up with Lisa.

Eventually my stomach started to get angry so I parted ways with Lisa. Before she left she gave me an awesome gift of some cookies from Detroit Cookie Company!

Because this was my third and final race in Epic’s goddess series, I was due to collect some bonus goodies. I did the Mother’s Day 5K & 10K in May plus Tri Goddess Tri in June. Two races earned me a pair of sunglasses, and all three earned me a necklace from Rebel Nell.

As if that wasn’t enough, I was able to select a prize for my age group win. I went with the hat and came home with a LOT of swag from this race!

I caught up with photographer Greg Sadler before I left, but the heat and my angry stomach started to bother me enough that it was time to go home. Hard efforts often seem to bother my stomach afterward fairly often lately and it was kind of a bummer to feel kind of miserable for a chunk of the day. Fortunately I recovered enough to enjoy some of Lisa’s cookies and go out later for a birthday dinner.

Once again, Epic Races provided a great race day experience. I have another race on the schedule with them next month when I plan to run the Ann Arbor half marathon. In the meantime, it’s time to deal with this hip issue. My 16-week training plan for my four-race adventure at Disney World starts next week. I know I can’t start marathon training when I’m already hurting. I plan to take a week off of running and I will really hope that’s enough to deal with this latest injury.

– Janet

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