50 Races

My friend Staci has a goal to run 50 races before she turns 50. When she told me about this goal it made me curious to see how many races I had done so far, and when I counted them up I realized I was really close to 50 myself! This then led to a huge discussion with my running friends as to which races actually counted as races because I wanted to make sure whatever race ended up being my 50th was a really good race. Up until about a month ago, my 50th race was planned to be a 5k in the cemetery where my grandparents are buried. I kinda had my heart set on it until my running friends convinced me that I could PR at a super flat and fast 5k in Elsie. So I did that race… and now my 50th race will be the Crim coming up in a few weeks. And I’m at peace with this because most of my running friends will be there, so it will be a fun celebration.

All of that being said… this post is meant to highlight ALL FIFTY of the races I have run. (Well, all 49 – the 50th is yet to come!) I am going to attempt to rank them from best to worst AND try to keep this as short as I possibly can. A bit difficult, but CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

1. Detroit Free Press Marathon, 10/16/16 – As of right now, this is my best and favorite race. Running a marathon was such a huge accomplishment. I experience so many emotions during this race, but at the end when I crossed that finish line I was not the same person that I was when I had started.
2. Go the Extra Miles for Covenant Kids Half Marathon, 4/24/16 – My first half marathon and my first race with Staci! Such an amazing experience and felt so accomplished after hitting this huge goal of mine. After the race Staci asked if I wanted to run the Detroit Marathon with her and I just laughed. Yeah. Laughed all the way until October when I totally did it with her…
3. Elsie Dairy Dash 5k, 7/15/17 – I wasn’t planning on doing this race. In fact, like I said above, I didn’t want to do it because it would mess with which race ended up being my 50th. But Paula and I were convinced that we could not only PR, but finally get the sub 30 minute 5k that we had both been chasing for years. We DID it. This race was what made us “Robin & Lily” and part of the “Sub 30 Club!”
4. Sanford & Sun Sprint Triathlon, 7/29/17 – My first triathlon! This race was years in the making and at times I never thought it was possible. The swim was terrifying and at this point is keeping me from ever doing another one, but the rest of the race was just tough. When I crossed that finish line I couldn’t stop smiling! It helped that my best running friends were all there and that it was also my 30th birthday! I could not think of a better way to have rung in my 30s!
5. Kensington 10k, 7/31/16 – The first race I ran with Matt, Paula and Crissy – three of my best friends! I really hate 10ks, but did well at this race because of the awesome company. It was also the first time I went to BFD and I met Matt’s friend Scott. Oh! And it was my birthday weekend! So many good things.
6. Capital City River Run Half Marathon, 9/18/16 – This was my second half marathon, and I ran it mostly on my own. I ended up with an injury which was scary considering I was only a month away from my first marathon. However, it was a comeback race for a few of my friends, and it was my friend Matt’s first marathon. It was an awesome day!
7. Crim 10 Miler, 8/27/16 – I did not run this race to get a PR, I ran it to have fun! I met some of my closest local running friends at this race and we had an amazing time hitting all of the fun spots along the race course.
8. Winterlaufe 8k, 2/4/17 – The night before this race was one of the most fun pre-race nights I have ever had. I ran with my friend Christine who helped push me to my sub 60 minute 8k! We had a huge group of Michigan Runners at the race. My hubby and his friend Mark walked their first 8k which started Ken’s journey to getting fit!
9. BARC Freeze Your Fanny 5k, 1/21/17 – This was my first race with Staci since our marathon together. We wore coordinated outfits, and it was adorable. While I did not get a PR, I did get 2nd in my age group! My first age group award ever!!!
10. Silver Bells in the City 5k, 11/19/16 – I got bib number 729 (my birthday) and was determined that I would get a PR. The course was short, but I kept running past the finish line to get an official 5k – and I got my PR! It was an amazing day spent with friends and I met so many new friends that I had been talking to online in our running group for so long!
11. Mid-Land 10k, 11/6/16 – This still stands as my 10k PR (I have an unofficial PR from a training run with Matt, but this is official!) and was a great race with my friends Crissy and Brittany. I wasn’t even planning on doing it but they peer pressured me into doing it, and it ended up starting a tradition of “jumping” pictures.
12. Crim 10 Miler, 8/22/15 – My first ever Crim and my first ever double-digit mile run. I went with my friend Michelle, who did the 5k. This race got me really hooked on running, and not long after I found my running group, Michigan Runners.
13. Cedar Point Millennium Force 5k, 6/13/15 – This was a huge comeback race for me! For one, it was my first Cedar Point race, huge bucket list race for me. But it was my fastest 5k in quite some time, and a huge improvement from my disappointment at Chip River Run… from 43:19 to 36:23!
14. BARC St. Patrick’s Day 5k, 3/19/17 – The first and only race that I ran entirely with my husband Ken. It was tough because it was after I had already run the 8k for the Irish Double, but I loved running with Ken. He ended up getting a PR and we had a great race together!
15. St. Mary’s Bee Healthy for Life 5k, 6/27/15 – I ran this race with my boss/friend Lance and we were supposed to run it together, but he sped off ahead of me. His speed helped push me to an AWESOME PR though!
16. Run for Your Heart 5k, 9/12/15 – Another race ran with my friend Lance. Once again, he pushed me to finish strong, and once again – a 5k PR!
17. BARC St. Patrick’s Day 8k, 3/19/17 – This was the first year that I ran the Irish Double – first the 8k, and then the 5k two hours later. The days leading up to the race I was trying to figure out how I wanted to tackle the race, since Ken was only running the 5k. Did I want to take it easy on the 8k and try to PR the 5k? Or did I want to push to PR the 8k and then run the 5k with Ken? I did not think I could get a PR in the 8k because I was running alone… but I did!
18. Race 4 a Reason 5k, 10/25/08 – The third race of three 5ks in a row the first year I ever ran. I did really well at this race, but then my running career to a huge break.
19. The Chip River Run 5k, 4/20/13 – The first 5k I ran without stopping, and the first race I ran with my friend Maggie.
20. Cedar Point 5k, 6/10/17 – This year I went with a different group of people than my previous two Cedar Point 5ks and we ended up going for the whole weekend. Not only did I have a kickass 5k race with my friend Jenny, but I got another PR – I rode every single roller coaster in the park during that weekend.
21. CMU Miles for Medals 5k, 10/11/08 – My first 5k, ran with my friends Heather & Michelle. My original goal for this race was to finish in 45 minutes, and I finished in 36:29.
22. Mardi Gras 5k, 2/18/17 – I was not planning on running this race, but when I told Ken about it, he wanted to do it – so we did. And good thing because he ended up getting 1st in his age group! He ran/walked with my friend Jenny and it was his first “legit” 5k.
23. Volkslaufe 5k, 7/4/17 – My favorite part about this race is that it was another race I got to run with my hubby. I had originally planned to run with him to get him a PR, but then everyone kept pushing me, telling me that I could get one. I didn’t end up with a PR, but Ken did – just one minute behind me!
24. Freedom 5k, 4/29/17 – I had my eyes set on a PR for this race and asked my friend Nick to run me in for the finish. I ran with my friend Christine and we pushed it for my PR. It was a very challenging course, but I still did it! And I placed 3rd in my age group!
25. Fifth Third River Bank Run 25k, 5/13/17 – This was a tough race, both physically and mentally. I had trained hard for this race but when I realized how much my friend Crissy was struggling, I decided that I wanted to run with her. For me, it was a PR no matter what, because I had never run that distance before. We learned even more about each other throughout that race and we finished, hand in hand.
26. AIDS Run/Walk 5k, 10/1/16 – This was my friend Kirsten’s first 5k, so I ran the race with her! It was so awesome to see her finish her first race and to hear her say, “I can’t wait to do that again!”
27. CMU Homecoming 5k, 10/8/16 – My last race before my first marathon. I took it nice and easy and got to run with some of my running friends. It was awesome to run the same course as my first 5k again 8 years later, and my time improved by two minutes!
28. The Mud Dogs 10k, 3/15/14 – My first 10k! It was FREEZING, but I finished in under my goal of 1:20:00.
29. The Little Foot 5k, 6/14/14 – Ended up with an awesome PR at this race, but the course was short. It was a fun race with my friend Michelle up by my parents and we were able to enjoy some time with them afterwards.
30. Goodbye One Six 5k, 12/31/16 – This race kept my monthly streak alive, and it was the first race I ran with my friend Bri! It wasn’t my best race ever, but it wasn’t the worst. After the race I went to Matt and Paula’s to celebrate NYE with them – it was a great time!
31. Winterlaufe 8k, 2/7/15 – My first 8k. I was NOT expecting all of the hills, but I did really well, and ran most of this race!
32. Winterlaufe 8k, 2/6/16 – I was so disappointed that I didn’t finish this race in an hour or less because I was SO CLOSE! And I would have totally done it had my shoe not come untied! DARN IT.
33. Go the Extra Mile for Covenant Kids 5k, 4/26/15 – I signed up for this race at the last minute and had to rush to get there and rush to get home to go wedding dress shopping with Jacklyn.
34. BARC Freeze Your Fanny 5k, 1/16/16 – Another good, simple race. Not a PR, but a good race to start off the year.
35. BARC Christmas 5k, 12/19/15 – My first BARC race. Well organized, inexpensive, and accurate! A fun way to get in a December race on my quest for one race per month.
36. BARC St. Patrick’s Day 8k, 3/20/16 – My first St. Patrick’s Day race! I swear that finish line moves… I should have by all means gotten a PR since Winterlaufe is so hilly and this wasn’t icy, but I actually did almost the exact same time. FRUSTRATING.
37. Race for Makeuni 10k, 10/17/15 – A small race in Lansing. This was my 10k PR for a really long time but it annoyed me because it was a short course, only 6 miles!
38. The Mid-Land 10k, 11/8/15 – A legitimate 10k PR for me, but still a disappointing race because I was originally signed up for the half and it should have been my first half marathon. I didn’t train properly and while I was on vacation I got a nasty bug that I couldn’t shake before this. Hindsight is 20/20, of course, because my first half marathon was very special!
39. The Snowman’s 5k, 1/25/15 – A good start to the 2015 racing season, and my favorite sweatshirt from any of the Winter Warriors Races – it has a snowman that says “You call me crazy, I call you lazy!” Darn right! My parents, Ken and my friend Michelle came out to support me, which was awesome.
40. East Lansing Pumpkin Trot 5k, 10/19/08 – This race was the day after the homecoming football game and I learned that beer at tailgate did not equal good pre-race carb loading!
41. Fifth Third River Bank Run 5k, 5/14/16 – Ran the 5k with my friend Michelle and really wanted a PR, but didn’t get one… probably because of lack of sleep and consuming Soft Parade the night before…
42. Cedar Point 5k, 6/11/16 – My second Cedar Point 5k. This year I ran with my friend Heather and we just had a great time running together without pressure to PR.
43. The Chip River Run 5k, 5/3/14 – My first race that I ever ran in the rain!
44. The Ice Cube 5k, 2/15/14 – My first Winter Warriors series race.
45. Bee Healthy for Life 10k, 6/25/16 – I was one of very few people who ran this race (the 10k distance) and it was definitely a struggle. This was the race where I decided just how much I hate 10ks… lol
46. M.O.M. 5k, 5/4/13 – I tried to run the entire race, but that DANG HILL got me. It was my first race since the Homecoming 5k in 2008 that I ran with my friend Heather.
47. M.O.M. 5k, 5/5/12 – My return to running race. I ran this with some of my coworkers. Unfortunately this was a very difficult time in my life and I was extremely out of shape. My official time was 41:40.
48. The Panda Bear Night Run 5k, 8/16/14 – This race sucked. It was my first night-time race and should have been great since it was an out and back on a flat rail trail! I thought I was doing really great, but ended up with my slowest 5k time – 41:49. BUT… it was the first race that I had a beer afterwards and I fell in love with beer after running! Hmm… is that a good or bad thing?
49. Chip River Run 5k, 5/17/15 – Ugh. One of the worst races I have ever done. I was actually signed up for the 10k, but it was hotter and more humid than expected, and I dropped down to the 5k.

WHERE WILL CRIM 2017, MY 50th RACE RANK? We’ll have to see!