Saturday, August 23 was my eighth time running the Crim 10 Mile race in Flint, MI and it’s taken me about a month to write my recap. I raced enough this summer that I’ve written a bunch of recaps and haven’t been motivated to write another while work, marathon training, and life in general have kept me so busy. I also wasn’t super inspired because this race has become pretty routine for me. Still, it was a great day so it’s worth remembering!

I followed the same method that has worked for so many years – I arrived somewhere around 5:30-5:45 and parked in a lot that’s a good half mile north of the race site. I rack up a couple extra miles on race day just going back and forth but it’s probably a good way to warm up/cool down. I was a little earlier than last year when I actually had to wait in line at packet pickup. That wasn’t an issue at all this time and I was able to use an actual bathroom in the building with a minimal wait as well. That line always grows exponentially as the morning goes on!

I went back to the car to drop off my shirt and get my bib and everything ready to race, then I jogged down to the race site for part of my warm up. I made another bathroom stop just to play it safe but the porta potty lines are always long. I still had a good 40 minutes until the race started so I was still okay with a wait of at least 15 minutes. They really don’t have enough porta potties though because the lines get LONG and I’d guess people after me had to wait at least 20-30 minutes. It only gets worse as we approach the 7:00 start. I know now that I have to be extra early at this race to avoid that added stress since I was in line until minutes before the start last year.

I jogged around a bit more to get to an even mile, then I headed to the starting corral. I saw Andy, who I know through Infinite Multisport Triathlon Club and we chatted while we waited. Then we saw our friend Joe who pretty much knows everyone. He said he starts at the front of the corrals and works his way back so he can say hi to all of his friends!

As usual, I wasn’t really sure what kind of pace I could expect to run. It was in the 60s which felt pretty reasonable after such a warm summer. Still, after a mile of warming up I could tell that it was humid and I got warm pretty quickly. I know that I can typically start somewhere between the 7:30 and 8:00 pacers though.

Over 4,000 people ran the 10-mile race so runners go off in waves.

Even with the congestion of the start, I managed to run 7:42 for the first mile. That was a pretty quick start! I usually run the race by feel and glance at my watch now and then to get an idea of what I’m doing. I dropped to 7:31 for the second mile which seemed a little ambitious so early on, but I fluctuated around the 7:30s and 7:40s for much of the race and seemed to be okay with it so I kept rolling.

Three or four miles into the race I came across Carlo, a guy I know from my days working at GM. We were both a part of the Chevy Running Club and it seems like we often run the same pace and usually end up near each other during Crim and Corporate Cup races. It’s funny how we still find each other in a crowd that large. We chatted for a little while until one of my mile splits popped up in the low 7:30s. That typically isn’t “conversational pace” for me and I thought trying to talk while running that fast might get more difficult or I’d pay for it later so maybe we’d chat more after the race.

Even though I run hills around home, the Bradley Hills are always a challenge and seem steeper and longer than anything I run during training. I kept grinding and although I hit my slowest split after that segment, 7:51 wasn’t too bad and I sped up again for the last half of the race.

The community always shows up for this race and I was glad to see some of the regular characters. I never grab anything other than water along the course so I didn’t stop at the “rum water” or beer stops, but the options were available!

Another thing I can count on pretty much every year is coming across my buddy Lee along the course. People who have participated in Crim 30 or more years get an early start and many of them have something on their shirts that says what number Crim it is for them. Lee said he would have a “38” on the back of his shirt so I had been on the lookout the whole time. I think I saw him around the Bradley Hills last year, so eventually when I hadn’t seen him yet I figured I missed him in the crowd. In the last mile or so I finally saw him up ahead! Seeing him so late into the race meant he was having a really strong race so I made sure to cheer him on as I passed.

After running 7:38 and 7:40 for miles seven and eight, I found an extra gear and finished miles nine and ten in 7:24 and 7:04. Once again, I’m amazed that a 7:04 mile can be a big struggle to hit on any random day, but once I’ve “warmed up” with a long race, I can pull that off at the end.

I knew that I was RIGHT on the edge of hitting 1:16:00 and didn’t quite do it – I made it two seconds over. I made it under 1:14:00 one year, and this was actually my fourth best Crim out of eight. That’s okay – it was a solid race and earned me a pretty high slot in my age group! That age group placement was especially important because Stellantis, GM, and Ford form teams to compete against each other in a “Corporate Challenge” at this race. Even a month later I’m not sure how the results panned out yet, but I did my share for my Stellantis team! I believe I will get an award in the mail for my age group but that hasn’t come yet either.

**Update** – About a month after the race my age group award came in the mail. It attaches to the ribbon of the medal.

Soon after I finished I found Carlo and had to grab a picture with him.

I also came across Susy, a woman I met at Stony Creek Metropark this winter when we were both training for Boston. I got a picture with her, then she gathered a bunch of people she knew (who I didn’t!) for another photo.

One of my favorite parts of Crim is seeing SO many friends. For a race that has been going for 48 years, it’s a pretty long-standing tradition for many area runners. Lindsay is one of those friends I see nearly every year.

Don is another friend I can always count on seeing at Crim. I usually run into him in the starting corral and was bummed when I didn’t this year, so I’m glad we saw each other in the celebration area afterward.

I had a granola bar, chocolate milk, and a slice of pizza as I chatted with friends. Another was Ron, the captain of our Stellantis running team.

Last year I decided to change things up and go big with the half marathon challenge by adding the 5K race after running the 10-miler. However, I had an hour and a half in between races, I stiffened up, and I landed myself in physical therapy for months afterward when my hip became a problem following the race. I had a great run but I also may have pushed too much for the one day. I opted not to try that again this year!

It was another fun year of running the Crim and it’s likely that I’ll be back for my ninth time next year!

– Janet

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