The Dexter-Ann Arbor Run has been on my radar for years as a race that I might want to try. I think it usually falls on the same weekend as the Island Lake Triathlon so the timing just never worked out. I was listening to Ann Arbor’s 107.1 the Monday before the race and there was a discussion about the Border-to-Border Trail which runs through both Dexter and Ann Arbor. Although the race doesn’t use the trail, the discussion made me check the date of the race again. When I saw that it would take place on Sunday, June 1, I realized I could make it work because the triathlon would take place the next weekend. I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to register for the half marathon and when I mentioned it on Instagram, I learned that several friends would be there too. One of those friends was Lisa, who I know because we are both Picky Bars AmBADASSadors. She lives in Ann Arbor and let me know that the Taste of Ann Arbor would be taking place the same day. That meant I’d get to refuel with food from area restaurants after the race – perfect! The weather looked like it would be great too and I was suddenly looking forward to a fun race day.

The expo took place the day before the race at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor. Since it’s at least an hour’s drive for me, I opted to pay $15 for race day packet pickup. I wasn’t thrilled that I had to pay extra but it wasn’t ideal for me to make the drive two days in a row. I left home around 5am on Sunday morning and had no problem parking in a garage a few blocks from the finish line. I was concerned that downtown Ann Arbor could be busy and parking could fill up, then I found that barely anyone was there. It turned out I didn’t need to be THAT early. I collected my shirt and bib at packet pickup and didn’t really have anything else to do, so I figured I’d catch one of the first shuttle buses out to Dexter. Shuttles ran from 6:15-7:15 and there was a long line of buses ready to go. I walked right on a bus with no wait because I was so early. 

The bus took us to a middle school in Dexter where the start of the half marathon was staged. It was 6:45 and I wondered how I was going to pass the next hour and 45 minutes! I had read a couple of recaps from other runners about their past experiences and thought we’d get to wait inside the school. It wasn’t open and I wondered if we were just too early. Nope – we never got to go inside. I wore long pants and a jacket but I was still pretty cold because it was only around 40 degrees. I hung out by the school for half an hour before I wandered over to the track. I figured that would be the perfect place for a warm up jog before the race started, plus I could sit on the bleachers to get off my feet. I was happy to discover that indoor bathrooms were available by the track too. Lots of people were walking or jogging around the track. Since my feet were frozen I walked a couple laps before sitting on a bench for a bit. Following my usual routine, I ate a Picky Bar an hour before the start and eventually I ran a mile to warm up. My feet still didn’t thaw completely, but by the time I dropped my warm clothes at the gear check and lined up in the starting corral, I felt fine. Being a little cold before the start of a race was a good sign that the temps would be ideal for running.

I ran close to an 8:00 pace for the Pittsburgh half marathon a month earlier, but I was also coming off a marathon at the time and not racing all-out. I still started around the 8:00 pacer at this race but hoped I’d end up faster. Even with the congested start, I ran the first mile in 7:45. I was pretty shocked when I saw that I ran the second mile in 7:25. I hoped it was thanks to some downhill momentum and that I wouldn’t regret it later! It’s funny how that kind of pace feels tough to run for a quarter mile when I’m training, yet it’s magically easy in a race environment. I was still chilly enough when I started the race to wear gloves for a couple miles. The weather really was perfect for some fast racing.

I was familiar with the downtown Dexter segment of the course thanks to running there a couple times prior to the Holiday Hustle race. We had some good spectators along Main Street then worked our way to Huron River Drive, where we ran the majority of the race. I knew it was supposed to be a rolling course and that there would be some hills. The first real climb wasn’t too bad and I just reminded myself that after doing the hills in Boston I should be fine. The climb that came somewhere around 7-8 miles was a bit more intimidating. Still, the downhills helped balance it out and I can’t even tell the difference by looking at my splits.

We ran past a little segment of the B2B Trail, and much of Huron River Drive was lined with trees. It wasn’t conducive for spectators in many spots but I was fine with that. There were little bursts of energy at the aid stations and I just enjoyed running the course. I felt good rolling along in the 7:40s for most of the race. I passed the 10-mile timing mat in just over 1:16:00 and I would have been pretty happy with that had it just been a 10-mile race.

I felt like I could try to pick it up for the last 5K because I was still going pretty strong. I glanced at my watch now and then throughout the race to see what my average was, but most of the time I wasn’t that aware of my current pace – I just ran by feel. I don’t think I was aware that I dropped my pace to 7:24 for both miles 11 and 12. I think we had some good downhill stretches that helped me with that. 

When we turned off Huron River Drive to Main Street, I realized where I was. It was right where the exit from M-14 spits you out onto Main Street to head to downtown Ann Arbor. The race finished on Main Street so I decided I could push for that final stretch. However, that final stretch was a mile long! Plus, I knew there was still one last hill to come. I managed to keep flying until I hit that hill, which is cruelly placed JUST before the finish line. Looking at the detailed info from my watch, I can see that my pace slowed down for the last two minutes of the race. Fortunately I had lots of momentum leading up to that point, but there was a definite slow down! It was nice to finish in the downtown area where spectators lined the street and provided some extra energy.

My official time was 1:40:21 and I was very happy with that. It was four minutes faster than my time in Pittsburgh. Although it wasn’t a PR, it was in the neighborhood of my fastest times. I have only gone under 1:40 a few times and one of those times was only by a second!

I really gave it my all and it took a few minutes to wind down after finishing. As I lingered in the area just after the finish line, I saw my Picky Bars friend Lisa. She had run the 5K and was there with her husband Jan. Although we’ve been friends on Instagram for years, it was our first time meeting in person. We had to get a picture together to show some Picky Bars love.

I got my warmer clothes at gear check then got a piece of pretzel bread and a slice of pizza. I chatted with Lisa and Jan for a while and Lisa discovered that she had been upgraded from third in her age group to second, so she went to swap her award. I hadn’t even checked my results yet and realized I had also placed second in my age group! I went to collect my plaque and we had to take another photo with our matching awards.

The Taste of Ann Arbor had opened by then so we walked over to check it out. We saw the booth for Ann Arbor’s 107.1 and went to check that out first. I knew that morning guy Scott Vertical would be there and I wanted to say hi. After all, it was his interview about the B2B Trail that made me think to sign up for this race! It was nice to chat with him and check out some of the station’s freebies before lining up to buy tickets for food. There were lots of great options!

Most of the places had small enough servings to justify stopping at multiple restaurants. They tended to have a few choices at each booth and we walked up and down the street a few times as I tried to figure out which treats to get. A cookie, cinnamon roll, ice cream, and brownies caught my attention. I’m always gravitating toward the carbs and sweets, especially if chocolate is involved! I DID get one healthier option from Samba Bowls. 

I was thankful that Jan was familiar enough with Cinnaholic to take me to the actual store and tempt me with the REALLY good options. I saved my plain cinnamon roll to take home and discovered an amazing s’mores kind at the store that I had to get. It was SO good. Having a food festival at the end of a race was a dream! It was a gorgeous day for it too. It was great getting to hang out with Lisa and Jan for a couple hours as well.

I just love the half marathon distance and had to look back at my list of races to figure out how many I’ve done at this point. This was half #42 if I include the three that I ran virtually thanks to Covid. I’m also only counting standalone races, not ones that were a part of a triathlon. I’m glad I picked the right time to finally try this race when the weather was perfect. I know there have been plenty of years when it’s been warm, humid, or wet. Now that I know how enjoyable it was, I’ll have to see if I can fit in into my schedule in future years. Especially if the Taste of Ann Arbor takes place the same day!

– Janet 

Follow me on Instagram @janetboltz