1989-2010 Races
I like to run. In high school, I got the nickname 'Road Runner" after the cartoon character, which fit at the time, but not because I did 5K races. It was because of the way I scooted down the halls between classes. In my senior year, I did go out for track and ran the half-mile. A mile was too long for me then, or so I thought. I was never very good, but I improved a lot during that one season.
When I started doing bicycle marathons, running became a form of cross training for me. It helped me keep my weight down and was more fun to do in cold weather than biking. Over the years I've done lot of races, and even come in 1st in my age category a few times, usually because there weren't very many in my category, especially when I hit 60. There are not too many people still racing at that age, but the ones who still do are usually pretty good, so if I come in first because I'm the only one in my category, I feel pretty good about that. It says something for my durability.
I've always considered myself a biker who liked to run. But a couple of years ago I ran so much I started thinking of myself as a runner who liked to bike. That's when I wrote my fourth novel, The Cherry Red Pumps. Below is a list of most of the races I've done over the years.
My Past Races
| 1989 - 2005 | Race | Location | Distance | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989-05 | Big Foot | Dansville | 8K | 43:39 | 08:44 |
| 1990-05 | Big Foot | Dansville | 8K | 45:50 | 09:10 |
| 1991-05 | Big Foot | Dansville | 8K | 43:11 | 08:38 |
| 1992-05 | Big Foot | Dansville | 8K | 40:30 | 08:06 |
| 1993-05 | Big Foot | Dansville | 8K | 46:30 | 09:18 |
| 1994-05 | Big Foot | Dansville | 8K | 47:57 | 09:35 |
| 1995-05 | Big Foot | Dansville | 8K | 42:41 | 08:32 |
| 1996-05 | Big Foot | Dansville | 8K | 61:00 | 12:12 |
| 1998-05-01 | Mason Run | Mason | 5K | 31:52 | 10:16 |
| 1998-05-25 | Big Foot | Dansville | 8K | 50:27.0 | 10:05 |
| 1998-10-03 | Fall Fun Daze | Clarkston | 5K | 26:31 | 08:33 |
| 1998-11-27 | Fantasy 5K | Howell | 5K | 28:20 | 09:08 |
| 2000-08-18 | Howell Melon Festival | Howell | 5K | 29:54 | 09:38 |
| 2000-10-01 | Dino Dash | East Lansing | 5K | 29:37 | 09:33 |
| 2001-05-04 | Mason Run | Mason | 5K | 29:51.2 | 09:38 |
| 2001-05-28 | Big Foot | Dansville | 8K | 53:01.1 | 10:36 |
| 2002-05-27 | Big Foot | Dansville | 5K | 33:51.4 | 10:55 |
| 2005-05-30 | Big Foot | Dansville | 5K | 26:33.3 | 08:34 |
| 2006 | Race | Location | Distance | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-04-05 | Journey for Sight | Lansing | 5K | 26:19.4 | 08:29 |
| 2006-05-05 | Mason Run | Mason | 5K | 25:53.5 | 08:21 |
| 2006-05-29 | Big Foot | Dansville | 5K | 26:17 | 08:29 |
| 2006-10-01 | Dino Dash | East Lansing | 5K | 26:19 | 08:29 |
| 2006-11-12 | Burg Run | Laingsburg | 5K | 26:01 | 08:24 |
| 2006-11-24 | Fantasy 5K | Howell | 5K | 26:28 | 08:32 |
| 2006-12-03 | Fiesta Marathon | McAllen, TX | 5k | 26:20 | 08:30 |
| 2007 | Race | Location | Distance | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-04-14 | Delta Twp Library Run | Lansing | 5K | 27:13.2 | 08:47 |
| 2007-04-29 | Komen Race for the Cure | Lansing | 5K | 26:43 | 08:37 |
| 2007-05-04 | Mason Run | Mason | 5K | 27:00 | 08:42 |
| 2007-05-20 | Capitol Bancorp for JA | Lansing | 5K | 27:36 | 08:54 |
| 2007-05-28 | Big Foot | Dansville | 5K | 26:10 | 08:26 |
| 2007-06-01 | Cooley Law Race for Education | Lansing | 5K | 26:26 | 08:31 |
| 2007-07-07 | Max's Race | East Lansing | 5K | 26:25 | 08:31 |
| 2007-07-22 | Ele's Race | Okemos | 5K | 25:52 | 08:20 |
| 2007-08-12 | Leg It For Life | East Lansing | 5K | 27:14 | 08:47 |
| 2007-09-09 | Kellie Sebrell Trail Run | DeWitt | 5K | 27:11.84 | 08:46 |
| 2007-09-16 | Autumn Classic | Haslett | 8K | 43:00 | 08:39 |
| 2007-09-30 | Capitol City River Run | Lansing | 5K | 25:17 | 08:09 |
| 2007-10-07 | Dino Dash | East Lansing | 5K | 25:58 | 08:23 |
| 2007-11-18 | International Friendship TX | McAllen, TX | 10K | 64:00 | 10:18 |
| 2008 | Race | Location | Distance | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-04-05 | Trot for the Troops | East Lansing | 5K | 26:36 | 08:34 |
| 2008-04-12 | Run for Reading | Lansing | 5K | 25:51 | 08:20 |
| 2008-04-12 | Roof of Africa | East Lansing | 5K | 26:37 | 08:35 |
| 2008-05-02 | Mason Run | Mason | 5K | 25:28 | 08:12 |
| 2008-05-18 | BankCorp Run | Lansing | 5K | 25:46 | 08:18 |
| 2008-05-26 | Big Foot | Dansville | 8K | 43:21 | 08:40 |
| 2008-06-07 | Lilac Festival | Mackinaw Island | 10K | 55:37 | 08:57 |
| 2008-06-28 | Max's Race | East Lansing | 5K | 25:38 | 08:16 |
| 2008-07-18 | Leslie Run | Leslie | 5K | 27:12 | 08:46 |
| 2008-07-27 | Ele's Race | Okemos | 5K | 25:57 | 08:22 |
| 2008-08-03 | Bath Trail Run | Bath | 5K | 27:07 | 08:45 |
| 2008-08-10 | Lansing Legislator Tri-athlon | Sleepy Hollow Park | 500 m swim 20K bike 5K run total |
- - 34:22 1:41:24 |
- - 11:04 - |
| 2008-09-21 | Autumn Classic | Haslett | 8K | 46:11 | 09:18 |
| 2008-10-05 | Dino Dash | East Lansing | 5K | 26:41 | 08:36 |
| 2009 | Race | Location | Distance | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-04-19 | Race for the Place | East Lansing | 5K | 30:31 | 09:51 |
| 2009-04-26 | Komen Race for the Cure | Lansing | 5K | 30:38 | 09:52 |
| 2009-05-01 | Mason Run | Mason | 5K | 29:21 | 09:28 |
| 2009-05-16 | Capitol Bancorp for JA | Lansing | 5K | 27:54 | 09:00 |
| 2009-05-25 | Big Foot | Dansville | 8K | 49:22 | 09:52 |
| 2009-06-05 | Cooley Law Race for Education | Lansing | 5K | 29:08 | 09:23 |
| 2009-06-27 | Max's Race | East Lansing | 5K | 28:08 | 09:04 |
| 2009-07-19 | Eaton Rapids Kiwanis | Eaton Rapids | 5K | 30:04 | 09:41 |
| 2009-07-26 | Ele's Race | Okemos | 5K | 28:51 | 09:18 |
| 2009-08-09 | Leg It For Life | East Lansing | 5K | 31:39 | 10:12 |
| 2009-08-22 | Crim | Flint | 5K | 29:36 | 09:32 |
| 2009-09-13 | Kellie Sebrell Trail Run | DeWitt | 5K | 30:20 | 09:47 |
| 2009-09-20 | Autumn Classic | Haslett | 8K | 47:11 | 09:26 |
| 2009-09-27 | Capital City River Run | Lansing | 5K | 29:26 | 09:29 |
| 2009-10-04 | Dino Dash | East Lansing | 5K | 28:51 | 09:18 |
| 2010 | Race | Location | Distance | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-05-31 | Big Foot | Dansville | 8K | 61:25 | 12:17 |
| 2010-09-12 | Kellie Sebrell trail run | DeWitt | 5K | 30:14 | 09:45 |
| 2010-09-19 | Autumn Classic - road | Haslett | 8K | 49:47 | 10:00 |
| 2010-10-10 | Green Space Trail Run- trail | Mason | 5K | 31:16 | 10:05 |
| 2010-10-31 | Run Through Hell - road | Pinckney | 5K | 30:34 | 09:52 |
| 2010-11-14 | Burg Run- trail | Laingsburg | 5K | 29:34 | 09:32 |
1992 was my best year ever, but I only did one race. I trained hard all winter long, mostly on an indoor track at Lansing Community College, but I viewed myself as a biker then, and running was just cross training so I could bike better. I could run a 7 minute miles on the indoor track (25 laps to a mile). When the weather warmed up I was training on the bike, not running. The race I did that year was the Big Foot race which is a hilly, and partly gravel road course that is not fast and I almost ran 8 minute miles for the 5 miles. I'm sure I would've run a flat fast 5K course in under 25 minutes.
In 1998 I started doing a few other races. I still considered myself a biker, but I'd stopped chasing the Race Across AMerica (RAAM) and was looking for other activities.
In 2003 I got a heel spur and stopped running altogether for a couple of years until I was well enough to run without hurting.
In 2007 I caught the running bug and ran 14 races, eleven of them in the Playmaker's race series (I missed the Race for the Place) and used the races series as setting from my fictional story about Babs Bennett and her lucky shoes (The Cherry Red Pumps).
In 2009 I did every race in the Playmaker's race series.
Because I did so many bicycle marathons, I have no desire to ever do a running marathon. I got it all out of my system. I love 5K races, 5 mile/8K races aren't bad, and I'll even do an occasional 10K. That's my limit.
I can think of a couple of races that aren't listed here because I can't find any data on them. One was the Dart Cancer Run, a 10K in Mason. Another was a 5K trail run in a park near Clarkston (I think it was for the Campfire Girls). These races were all pre 2007 (probably pre 2000) and before posting results on the internet became common. I'm not sure the 1989 Big Foot race was my first one, but it may have been. I've been pretty consistent about doing the Big Foot races and so I'm probably missing data for 1999. I may have forgotten other races.
Trail runs are on cross country courses, generally harder,with unpaved surfaces, a lot of turns, and more hills
Road races have mostly paved surfaces, are flatter, straighter, and usually faster.
Some runs on trails (e.g.Lansing Riverfront Trail) are like road races, paved and flat.
I think the hardest couse I've run is the Green Space trail run in Mason, and the easiest could be Ele's Race, or the Autumn Classic. There are several races that are fast and flat with like those.