When staying local for the Fourth of July, a fun way to celebrate is to head north (about an hour and 20 minutes for me) to the Bavarian town of Frankenmuth for Volksläufe – “The People’s Race.” This was actually just my second time running the race which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year.

My friend Kristine would be in town for the holiday and I was trying to think of a touristy thing to do with her. Since she studied German in school I thought Frankenmuth might be a fun place for her to see. I knew the race would be taking place so of course that was on my mind too. When I went to the town’s website I saw that Frankenmuth Brewery was offering a rooftop dinner buffet with live music and a view of the fireworks over Cass River the night before the race. I checked with Kristine to see if she would be okay with me heading out early the next morning for the race. I’d basically be done running by the time she would get up so the timing would work out fine. I got tickets for the brewery party, found a hotel across the street, and registered for the race a couple weeks beforehand. I was excited that we had some fun plans in place.

There were a few “up north” traffic slowdowns but the drive wasn’t too bad in the early afternoon on the third and we got to Frankenmuth by 2:30. We went by the wooden bridge that I would cross toward the end of the race and went to explore some of the shops. I got ice cream from Zak & Mac’s and decided to hold off on other treats until we were on our way out of town the next day. It was very hot and I didn’t need cupcakes or fudge to melt before I could get to them!

After walking around town for a bit we checked into our hotel and relaxed until we drove over to packet pickup, which opened at 5:00. There was a bit of a line but it moved quickly, and as I suspected, I found people I knew. Joe and Scott are fellow members of Infinite Multisport Triathlon Club and it was nice to catch up with them.

There was the typical race expo merch plus bounce houses and other activities outside.

After browsing briefly, Kristine and I headed back to the hotel to rest a little more before heading across the street to Frankenmuth Brewery.

It was a perfect night to sit on the rooftop, enjoy dinner while a trio of musicians played, and have an ideal view of the fireworks over the river. The convenience of being able to walk back across the street to our hotel by 10:30 was especially nice too.

The next morning I headed out just after sunrise and did a mile-long warm up jog to the starting area. I saw Joe again and found bathrooms near the finish area that weren’t as busy as some of the other areas.

The 10K was the first race to start at 7:00 so I watched them and lingered around until the announcer welcomed the half marathon runners to line up next.

We took off at 7:15 and started on the grass then transitioned to a dirt path that lead us out to the roads. I’m glad the race started so early because although it was around 60° to start, it was sunny and definitely warmed up. After the first mile we spent the majority of the race running on flat, straight stretches of road past farmland. It was nice and peaceful and definitely not lined with spectators! I DID get to see the Hanson brothers, owners of the metro Detroit area Hansons Running Shops, in the opening stretch.

The roads were somewhat uneven with little potholes and patches to watch for. Seven miles into the race we came to a smooth road which felt amazing after the rougher stretch we’d run prior to that. By that point of the race I was basically on my own for a bit. I had passed some people while those ahead were well off in the distance.

The long, flat roads allowed for some fast running but it only took a few miles for me to feel pretty warm. I was thankful anytime I felt a little breeze or we came to a stretch in the shade, which was a rarity. It wasn’t as hot as it has been for some of my recent runs but it still got steamy and sweaty. I managed to run consistently in the 7:40s for nearly the whole race so I held up well enough.

The race had offered a 20K in the past – 12.4 miles. There are even permanent street signs that mark 1K increments of the 20K along the route. When they switched to 13.1 miles they had to add a little extra distance which explains the short detour around a neighborhood that is nearly the perfect length. That was one spot where I got to see runners heading the opposite direction as I ran in and out of the neighborhood loop.

By the time I made it 9-10 miles into the run the course went from completely flat roads to some hills that slowed me down a little. The eleventh mile was my slowest, then I really started to grind for the last couple miles and dropped just below a 7:30 pace. A bunch of turns kept things interesting as I got back to town after so many miles of straightaways. It was especially cool getting to run through the covered bridge. 

From that point there was probably just over half a mile to go. As I ran up the street toward the finish I yelled out to my friend Joe who would be lining up soon for his 5K walk. I went past the corral for the 5K runners who were about to start and it was nice to hear cheers from some of them. There was a short stretch on a dirt path then a quick turn on the grass to the finish.

I finished the race in 1:41:42 which was a solid time. It was about a minute and 20 seconds slower than my Dexter-Ann Arbor race a month earlier which had been a nice and cool morning. Considering how warm I got during this run, I was pretty happy. I was thankful for a wet towel to wipe my face and wrap around my neck after finishing. I collected a granola bar, water, and some chocolate milk as well.

When I entered the pavilion area I ran into Bruce, another member of Infinite Multisport Triathlon Club. He had run the 10K and we chatted about our races. He looked up my results and it showed that I was second in my age group which meant I would get a stein for an award. 

When I ran the race in 2021 I had to hang out for an extra hour or more for a full-blown awards ceremony. I was relieved to find people waiting in a line to pick up awards at their leisure this time. I had been hoping I might have time to get back to the hotel to shower before checkout time and that wouldn’t have worked if there had been a ceremony. Once I made it to the front of the line I learned that they were only giving out 10K awards at that point. They still didn’t have official results for the half so I hung out for a bit and chatted with people.

In the meantime, the results changed and I found that I was actually first in my age group! I guess it’s good that they waited for official results. The higher the placement the larger the stein. They had a few that I could choose from and one looked like the prize I had collected in 2021 so it was nice that I got to pick a different one. The steins are such unique and intricate awards which is definitely one of the appealing parts of this race. On top of that, I only paid $50 to register for the race a couple weeks beforehand. Most half marathons cost twice as much!

When I was able to collect my stein I headed out immediately to get back to the hotel. It was fun to see the 5K runners go past Bavarian Inn’s water park on their way to the finish.

I had about an hour to spare at the hotel and was relieved I could get cleaned up before we ventured out for lunch. We ended up at the Bavarian Inn where I started refueling with a chicken pot pie. Then it was time to get a bunch of treats. We went back to SugarHigh Bakery for some cupcakes to go. We also got some fudge at Frankenmuth Fudge Kitchen to take home. I needed some kind of dessert to eat before heading home though and chose a nice big cookie from the bakery below Bavarian Inn’s restaurant.

It was nice to actually stay in Frankenmuth this time and enjoy more of the activities and food the town had to offer. Volksläufe is a great race and one that I may have to do more often. There’s no guarantee I will always be speedy enough to place in my age group, but it sure is fun to see friends like Joe share pictures of a large collection of steins from multiple years. It’s something that’s especially cool to display on the bookshelf of awards!

– Janet

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