Big Foot
Always held on Memorial Day, the Big Foot race has been going on in Dansville for longer than I've lived here (over 30 years). It got it's name from a big foot sighting that occurred sometime before 1979 (when I moved here). Someone put up a big foot crossing sign on the state highway M-36 just west of town and painted big footprints on the road. They were still there when I moved here but have since been paved over.
I found out years later that a friend of mine rented a gorilla costume and went out to scare some friends on a hayride, and that's how the big foot sighting occurred. He got scared himself when he almost got caught by a cop. He kept quiet about it and then the rumors started.
When I first started doing the Big Foot race, it was 5 miles. The course stayed the same, but the distance was changed to 8K and a 5K option was added probably in 2002.
My Big Foot Races, Dansville, Michigan
| Date (Memorial Day) | Distance | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989-05 | 8K | 43:39 | 08:44 |
| 1990-05 | 8K | 45:50 | 09:10 |
| 1991-05 | 8K | 43:11 | 08:38 |
| 1992-05 | 8K | 40:30 | 08:06 |
| 1993-05 | 8K | 46:30 | 09:18 |
| 1994-05 | 8K | 47:57 | 09:35 |
| 1995-05 | 8K | 42:41 | 08:32 |
| 1996-05 | 8K | 61:00 | 12:12 |
| 1998-05 | 8K | 50:27 | 10:05 |
| 2001-05-04 | 8K | 53:01 | 10:36 |
| 2002-05 | 5K | 33:51 | 10:55 |
| 2005-05 | 5K | 26:33 | 08:34 |
| 2006-05-05 | 5K | 26:17 | 08:29 |
| 2007-05-04 | 5K | 26:10 | 08:26 |
| 2008-05-26 | 8K | 43:21 | 08:40 |
| 2009-05-25 | 8K | 49:22 | 09:52 |
| 2010-05-31 | 8K | 61:25 | 12:17 |
| 2011-05-30 | 8K | 53:00 | 10:36 |
I've done this race more than any others and for a few years it was the only race I did. This race is in Dansville, where I live, and is held on Memorial Day every year. It's practically in my back yard. The whole town has a big party that day and I give up biking and run as a celebration of life.
In 1992 I ran on an indoor track all winter and trained hard. If it had been an easier course I'm sure I would've broken 40 minutes, but I was heavily into biking then and didn't run any more races that year. In 1996 I'm pretty sure I walked it. I think I might just be missing data for 1999, I don't remember missing any years except for when I had the heel spur (2003-4). In 2010 I was out of training and actually ran/walked the race with no training at all.
The race starts at the High School on Williamston Rd, then runs east of town on M-36, then south of Jessop Rd, then west on Dexter Trail, and then back to the school. It's not a fast course; Jessop Rd is gravel with some hills, and Dexter Trail also has a couple of hills, but it's scenic. Sometimes I see deer during training runs on Jessop Rd.