Sunday, September 20 was my third time running the Detroit Women’s Half Marathon around Belle Isle. The fact that I’ve run it multiple times is a sure sign that I enjoy the race! It’s put on by Epic Races and they always do an excellent job. While I’ve concentrated solely on running lately, I’ve been kind of bummed that I skipped out on Epic’s triathlons and swimming events that I usually do each summer. I was excited to finally get back to one of their races.

I ran this race for my first time in 2018 and it was fun to experience an atmosphere that was all about supporting women. It was warm and humid that year and I ran a few miles prior to the race so I was happy to average around goal marathon pace for the day. It was warm when I returned in 2024 and I was dealing with a hip issue at the time but I managed to run it a little faster than the previous time. This year it looked like we’d have to cope with rain and I wondered how I’d fare in those conditions.

I’m in marathon training mode (California International Marathon in December) and had a long run of 14-17 miles on my schedule for the day so a half marathon was a good way to get it done. I ran 18 miles the week before and figured it would be fine to stay on the shorter end of the day’s mileage suggestion and hope that I could push the pace.

The expo took place the day before at Run Detroit but I skipped it because I’d already be in Detroit that evening. It wouldn’t make sense to drive down there, go home, go back that night, then again on race morning. Fortunately race morning packet pickup was available for this race.

While I’d had fun at a baseball game in Detroit the night before the race, my dinner caught up with me at 3am when I kept tasting it and I felt like I wanted to throw up. I didn’t, but I was awake for a good hour and very uncomfortable. When it was time to wake up for real, I snoozed too long and debated if I should just skip the race. Then I thought about how cool this year’s medal was. I usually care more about experiences than medals, but this one was pretty cool and I didn’t want to miss out.

I’m glad that helped motivate me to get up. I had to take medicine for a headache and hoped I’d manage to get through the race without feeling too crappy.

I didn’t leave as early as I would have preferred but I still got to Belle Isle just under an hour before the race started. I spent about 10 minutes in line at packet pickup, hit the bathrooms before there were any lines, then did a warm up jog for about a mile.

The forecast had said that there could be a good half inch of rain during a few hours of the early morning so I was relieved that I just found some puddles around corners but nothing too bad. The rain mostly held off leading up to the start.

There was a short race out to a cone and back for the young kids first. The half and 10K would start next at 8:10, followed by the 5K and 1 mile.

My friend Susy was a pacer for the 5K and I was happy to see her as I waited in the corral.

A woman named Kelly recognized me from last year’s Tri Goddess Tri, where the two of us nearly had a photo finish. It was another fun women’s event from Epic Races and we had congratulated each other on a good race afterward with a high five. It was fun to see her again and she would end up being 4-5 minutes faster than me at this race – no chasing each other down this time!

There weren’t many people willing to line up at the front of this race. The fastest half marathon pacer was aiming for a 7:15 pace which was too ambitious for me. There was a pacer for the 10K who would run a 7:43 pace, but I kind of hoped I’d be faster than that. Several speedy people took off at the start and I was basically in limbo on my own shortly after. 

By that point there was some light rain that stuck around for the first half of my run. That’s why training through the rain is wise – then I’m prepared for it on race day. I actually preferred it over the heat and humidity from other years. I had to be cautious not to slip on any painted lines on the road, but otherwise it was fine. At least the rain was somewhat refreshing. 

I’ve run enough races at Belle Isle to know what to expect there. It’s nice and flat and thankfully wind really wasn’t a factor. Sometimes it can get challenging running one direction around the island. The half basically did two loops of the 10K course plus a little extra, so I had some people around me after the first out-and-back when I caught up to some 10K runners.

That only lasted for a little while before I was pretty much on my own again. As I ran 7:30s and 7:40s, I definitely felt like I was working. Aside from the Crim 5-mile race a month earlier, I really wasn’t used to running much faster than 8:00 miles because the summer had been so gross and slowed me down. I reached a point when I wished I was only doing one loop of the course and questioned if I could keep it up for another.

Although I continued to fluctuate between 7:30s and 7:40s, I felt like I was dragging a bit by the time I hit the eighth or ninth mile. Someone had been running behind me for at least a couple miles and I kind of wanted them to just pass me. I had to work hard to maintain a strong pace without having any kind of crowd to keep me in a rhythm. Eventually the woman passed before we hit the 9-mile marker. I was hoping maybe I could pace off her for a bit, but I felt like I was slowing down as she was speeding up. I was on my own again for a bit, other than crossing paths with some of the 10K walkers in the last few miles.

One thing that kept my spirits up was that even running goal marathon pace (8:00ish pace) would be a solid run for the day. That would be a good workout for my training plan and still faster than I’d run in a while. 7:45 was the slowest I went the whole race so I was doing just fine! 

It was nice to pass a water stop a couple times manned by a few people from Infinite Multisport. I wore my shirt which made it easy for them to spot me and cheer for me! I really appreciated all of the volunteers who stuck it out through the rain.

As I reached the final mile, I started to pass more people from the shorter races. Having people around helped! I pushed as much as I could for the last mile and sped up a bit for a solid finish. 

One of my favorite parts of doing an Epic race is knowing that I’ll see my photographer buddy Greg Sadler at the finish line. I gave him a wave as I approached and he got some great shots of me, as always.

My official time was 1:40:10, with an average of 7:38 per mile. That’s not in PR territory, but that tends to come on nice cool days in the spring or fall. With a rainy day in the 60s coming off some slow summer running, that was a pretty major win. Anything around 1:40 is a good, solid race for me. Plus, it was over two minutes faster than my best time at this race in 2024! 

After a few minutes of settling down, I went to check out the food. I got some pancakes, chips, and a cookie. 

By that point I was coping with being cold and wet and took my food straight to the car before eating anything. I had to swap into warmer clothes first, then I felt better. 

I went back to the finishing area to collect a treat from Playa Bowls next, then I was curious if I would get an age group award.

Results weren’t final and still looked a bit off a few days later. It was clear to me that several women who topped the half marathon results with blazing times of 1:10 had done that for the 10K, not the half! Despite that, I was still listed as first in my age group and had my choice of prizes. I chose a glass to add to my bookshelf of race awards.

The rain had picked up quite a bit by that point so I started to make my way out, but I stopped for a while to catch up with my photo buddy Greg at the finish line first. Between a run in the rain on Saturday morning, sitting out in the rain for a baseball game on Saturday night, and getting more rain on race day, I was done with the rain. I was ready to stay home for the rest of the day and get cozy with my pals Rusty and Butters.

Ten weeks out from my marathon, this was definitely a solid run that reminded me that I do have some speed despite dragging through the heat and humidity for much of the summer. Things are already looking up as fall has arrived and it has cooled down. My runs this past week have felt so much faster and easier. I’m glad I finally saw all of my favorite Epic people again and am looking forward to seeing them again the first weekend of October when I run another half in Ann Arbor.

– Janet

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