Detroit, Michigan
Sunday, October 16, 2022
Marathon #22.
Why Detroit? I have been asked several times what led me to choose the Detroit Marathon. Last November I was looking online at Chicago Marathon. I wasn't committed to Chicago, but definitely interested, and they have an easy guaranteed entry as they had a very generous qualifying time for age 50+ of 3:35. Then I learned registration had closed out two days prior. OK, like I said, interested but not committed. So let's look for something similar: relatively flat, a marathon I hadn't run before, October timeframe, low probability of hot weather.
Detroit showed up on my online searching, and looked pretty interesting. Not only relatively flat, but pretty neat that it crossed into Canada for several miles of the race, was relatively inexpensive (Chicago $230 vs Detroit $95 earliest entry), and had reasonably priced direct flights to Providence. I procrastinated until the entry price increased to $130 (still not bad) and by then decided to drive out and back so I could visit family in Ohio and Michigan as well and just take my time driving back. This would be my first marathon in my retirement era, so no rush to return home. Detroit it is!
Expo. Matthew accompanied me and would be running the Detroit Half. The day before the race, after visiting my 88-year old aunt and my cousin and his wife in Ohio for lunch, we took the short drive to Detroit and checked in at the highest building in Michigan, the Marriott Renaissance. We were on the 23rd floor (out of least 70 floors!) The expo was decent. The expo size seemed right given the size of the Detroit Marathon. Not huge like Boston, not tiny like Sugarloaf Marathon. Had dinner in the hotel, as they were featuring a marathon pasta dinner special and there was no wait to get seated.
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| Our hotel, the tallest building in the State of Michigan |
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| From the back of our hotel, looking across the Detroit River into Windsor, Ontario, Canada |
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| Kind of neat that the hotel do-not-disturb hanger and keys today was emblazoned with the marathon logos. |
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| Waiting in line at the expo. You had to show your passport to check in, as we'd be crossing an international border, and there were US Border Patrol agents mixed in with the volunteers checking IDs. |
Race morning: Set the alarm for 5am, and fortunately only woke up twice during the night. Had my usual pre-race oatmeal, with granola and cranberries, yogurt, half a bagel, OJ, and lay back in bed until 6am (race start 7am, just a few blocks away). Stretched and dressed, including warmer clothing I would be checking in and needing post-race, as it was 39°F. The wild card was how long the line would be for the bag check, as it was atrocious at Philly, but here was quick and simple, with I think just 3 people ahead of me (as opposed to a few hundred at Philly). Warmed up just over a mile, and had plenty of time at start without having too much time sitting around now stripped down to a singlet and short shorts. Got into my corral "A", which was the first wave, two minutes after the wheelchair start at 6:58am. The race organizers played both the Canadian and American national anthems, which was both appropriate and pretty cool. Once the wheelchair racers started, we could move up, and I was in about the 5th row.
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| View of the floodlit finish line, just as we were dropping off our gear check bag and heading towards the start |
As usual, while waiting for the race start, I looked around at the shoes of runners near the starting line and as usual, nearly all were carbon fiber shoes. This time was my first time personally wearing them (NB RC Elite v2) at the marathon. I had long eschewed carbon fiber, not knowing if it were a fad, and not wanting to gain an "unfair" advantage, but the reality is running shoes improve over time and these are the standard now, not the exception.
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| 1926 Boston Marathon winner: Johnny Miles of Canada (2:25:40) |
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| And the shoes he wore in 1926 Boston Marathon! Yikes. |
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| 1954 Boston Marathon winner: Veikko Karvonen of Finland (2:20:39) |
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| And the shoes he wore in 1954 Boston Marathon |
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| And finally, the modern carbon-fiber shoes I wore in my 2022 Detroit Marathon. Can you imagine wearing either of the above shoes from 1926 or 1954? I certainly can't. Running shoe technology has changed dramatically over the years, and it only makes sense to adapt to modern shoes worn in modern marathons. That's my justification. |
I enjoyed the two national anthems, but what I did not enjoy was the rap music being played at race start. I suppose to each his own. I did later learn it was by Eminem, who has Detroit roots. OK, so I get it, but how about Michigan's own "Kid Rock" and the song "All Summer Long" describing Michigan? Or the legendary Detroit-raised Bob Seger? But I digress ...
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| Pretty decent course map. From the start, we run west to Ambassador Bridge, cross into Canada, run about 4 miles in Windsor, Ontario on the south shore of Detroit River, and then re-cross into the US using a tunnel. --- This map also reminds me of a middle school trivia question: Going due south from Detroit, what is the first country you cross into? It's Canada of course (you all knew that, right?), but certainly not intuitive, as you might think Cuba or a central American country. |
Start to Canada (Mile 3.5): This was my second marathon that started in darkness, the other being Park City in 2007. With Detroit being so far west in the Eastern time zone, sunrise and sunset are almost an hour later than back home in Rhode Island. The crowd surged forward at the start, but as we were running on a pretty wide boulevard, I went to the right and ran in the right-most lane so that I wouldn't be jostling back-and-forth for position.
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| Miles 1 - 8: border crossings |
One benefit of running in the darkness was that I didn't realize until later that this was one of the least attractive sections of the course, as we were in a run down industrial kind of area. As we made the turn towards the Ambassador Bridge about two miles in, the area became floodlit with bright lights and flashing lights from all the US Border Patrol vehicles. Making our way up the ramp to the bridge, we went past many Border Patrol agents who seemed laser-focused watching the runners, and checking that 1) we had a bib affixed to our chest, and 2) we weren't carrying any kind of backpack. Although the legal requirement was to carry a passport when crossing the border, after reading numerous posts that indicated as long as runners satisfied the two above conditions, they wouldn't stop you so being a scofflaw was a chance I was willing to take (i.e., not carrying my passport).
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| Marathon & Half-Marathon start in the dark |
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| Very early miles in the dark (one of the many free photos provided by event) |
At about Mile 2.5, we start the one-mile long, 130' climb up the Ambassador Bridge. My pace for the first two miles was a little fast at 6:07 and 6:04, but then naturally slower in Mile 3 with the bridge climb at 6:19. As I climbed the bridge, I passed many wheelchair athletes. I was relieved to reach the apex of the bridge, as one of two climbs for today was done and a long downhill awaited me. It was also really cool looking into Canada and seeing the orange glow of the impending sunrise.
Canada (Mile 3.5 to 7.5): It was fun now running downhill into Canada towards the cheering throngs. Both border crossings in Detroit (the bridge and the tunnel) were completely shut down to runners only. It is amazing to me that the two countries agreed to close not one, but two international borders to vehicular traffic for runners only, with the next nearest border crossing about an hour's drive away. But I'm glad they did!
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| While I did not stop or slow to bump fists with the dancing sharks at the top of the bridge, they did give me a smile (Detroit Free Press photo) |
As we run through the Canadian customs closed and unmanned booths, an announcer on a loudspeaker shouts "Welcome to Canada!". Just beyond that we encounter the largest and most supportive crowd of fans of the whole race, with the possible exception of the finish line. I can't speak for every runner, but for me, I find crowd support to not only energize me but also help the time go by. My target pace is 6:15 - 6:20 for at least 20 miles, but I have to discount Miles 4 (6:27) and 5 (6:00) as they contained a significant portion of uphill and downhill on the bridge, respectively.
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| Just after coming off the bridge into Canada Almost sunrise now; starting to get light out |
While we run about four miles total in Canada, the best two miles were on Riverside Drive right along the water. To my left were nice waterviews, and to my right nicely kept homes. For these two miles (Miles 6 & 7), I ran 6:13 and 6:09.
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| Along the river, on Riverside Drive, Windsor, Ontario, Canada --- Just after sunrise; feeling really good |
At Mile 7, we entered the tunnel going under the Detroit River and returning back to the US. We spent about one mile in the tunnel. Unlike the bridge crossing, I didn't care much for the tunnel. It was immediately warm once you entered the tunnel. We had plenty of room as we could use all lanes. About halfway through the tunnel (presumably at the US border), one lane was blocked with a number of US CBP (Customs & Border Protection) agents, who similar to at the bridge crossing were intently observing runners trying to cross the international border.
Turn, turn, turn (Mile 7.5 to 18): No, I'm not referring to The Byrds' 1965 hit song (you know the lyrics "To everything (turn, turn, turn), There is a season (turn, turn, turn), And a time to every purpose, under heaven").
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| A good song, but not the turns I'm talking about. |
What I'm referring to is that there are 34 turns (of 90° or more) in this roughly 10-mile section! That's a lot of turns!
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| Miles 8 - 18: A lot of turns! |
We came out of the tunnel, and looped through the US Customs booths. Remember how I mentioned it was warm in the tunnel? So what happens now? It feels cold! Not terrible, and not lasting, but cold.
Coming out of the tunnel, I run behind a 30-ish young woman who soon puts some distance on me and pretty much next to a guy named Adam for the next two miles. How did I know his name was Adam? Our names are on our bibs, and for each "Go, Jeff!" that I hear, I also hear "Go, Adam!". I have no idea my actual pace on Mile 8, as I lost GPS signal inside the tunnel, as was foretold to us. Using the next few mile markers, I was able to calibrate how far off my watch was to actual course markers: about 0.4 miles. That's a pretty big gap for only 8-10 miles in, but then I figured out most of the gap was probably due to GPS signal loss in the tunnel and the rest due to my inability to run tangents exactly.
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| Rounding the corner, coming out of the tunnel back into the USA |
Miles 9, 10, 11 splits were 6:12, 6:18, and 6:07. At Mile 11, the half-marathoners turned off and headed to the finish. That included the fast woman and Adam. We minority full marathoners (international half marathoners outnumbered us about 4:1) continued north for three miles of "turn, turn, turn" in unremarkable city blocks where I turned in splits (Miles 12, 13, 14) of 6:14, 6:08, and 6:11. I went through the half in 1:23:03, which might be my fastest ever, but I've also learned the hard way not to put a lot of stock in my halfway split as inevitably I slow down in the those last few miles. But, so far, so good.
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| Mile 9 |
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| Running with Adam for a little ways |
Not having studied the separate International Half Marathon course (there was a separate US-Only Half Marathon, but it started 3 hours later and thus didn't intersect with my own race), I was surprised to rejoin the half marathoners at Mile 14. We ran together on a wide boulevard known as 2nd Avenue, and all of a sudden it got louder and more exciting with more runners, more spectators, and several musicians along the course. About one mile later, pretty much right at Mile 15, we marathoners made a hard left off of and away from the half-marathon course. My Mile 15 split was my fastest on the day at 5:59! Clearly 5:59 is not sustainable for me, and is probably attributable to the excitement of that final mile with the half-marathoners pulling me along.
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| Having bands at certain parts on course certainly helped, including this one at about Mile 15 (Detroit Free Press photo) |
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| We split from the half-marathoners for the second and final time at Mile 15, and it was very clearly marked and announced (Detroit Free Press photo) |
The next few miles (16-18) were in a bit of a depressing area, and a bit depressing to me as well in that it was the first time that there were spots where I saw zero runners in front of me. This is always a concern to me that I will zone out into "No Man's Land" and unknowingly slow down. After running near a wheelchair athlete who had a bicyclist supporting her on either side, I passed the wheelchair athlete and was annoyed that I had to use precious energy to yell out to one of the cyclists to please give me room as I went past. The cyclist did give me room, but didn't apologize. It just seemed wrong to me, and the cyclist wasn't aware of her surroundings (me in this case) as she was babbling to the other cyclist something about her early morning breakfast routine. Ugh. Miles 16 to 18 splits: 6:08, 6:13, 6:10.
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| I did see several dogs along the course. All were leashed and friendly, and often gave me a smile and helped the time pass.
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| Along the colorful Eastern Market section of course |
Dequindre Cut (Mile 19): After the Eastern Market section, we took a hard right onto Dequindre Cut, which is essentially a below-grade bike path. While not quite as energetic as the crossing into Canada, there were a fair amount of spectators here. It was oddly a little distracting to me, because sometimes I would hear spectators cheering from above me and I would look up before we passed under the bridges they were standing on. Fairly flat and fast mile. 6:11.
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| Mile 18-19: below-grade Dequindre Cut |
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| Mile markers were big and very clear! |
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| Dequindre Cut marathon section |
Head to the Finish (Mile 19 - Finish): After a very slight uphill off of Dequindre Cut, we now embarked on a mostly OAB (see map snippet below) on one of the straightest sections of the course.
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| Miles 19-26: Fairly straight course, with much fewer turns. |
I knew if I could make it through Mile 20 with my splits at or below my target MP of 6:20, I stood a pretty good chance of running sub-2:50. This would allow me to average up to about 7:00/mile for the remaining 10K of the course and still hit my sub-2:50 goal. Barely. My big lesson learned from Philadelphia Marathon is that this computation has to be at the 20-mile marker on the course and NOT 20-miles on my watch. This should be obvious, right? But it wasn't obvious to me just how big of a difference this makes, with the following real stats at Detroit for me:
- 20 miles on my watch: 2:03:29, max average pace from here to finish needed to hit sub-2:50: 7:29! Easy peasy! (but wrong)
- 20 mile course marker: 2:06:17, max average pace from here to finish needed to hit sub-2:50: 7:02 Still should be OK, but not nearly the same buffer
Fortunately, every mile was clearly marked on the course, so from 20 miles on, at every course marker, I did the math in my head calculating what my finishing time would be given a conservative 7:30 pace for the remaining miles. Unlike Philly, I just had to remind myself that the mile splits on my watch every time it beeped meant nothing now and I had to rely on the course mile markers only. I also know from experience that this late in the game, any little mind trick or mental manipulation can help the time pass better.
Mile 20 was a 6:19, and now just because I can probably ease up on the pace doesn't mean that I should. I'm feeling good. How long can I keep going at about 6:20 pace? Three miles, it turns out. Mile splits 21 - 23: 6:07, 6:22, 6:19.
By Mile 24, I'm tired and slowing down substantially now, but I remind myself the finish line is near. At this point in my previous marathon, Philadelphia in November of last year, I was in absolute pain. Real pain. But not today. Sore? Yes. Pain? No. I make note of that as the last few miles tick by. I'm on my way back now on the OAB section, and by Mile 25 there are many marathoners coming at me. Mathematically based upon mileage signs, they are between four and six miles behind me. That makes me feel good and I'm just glad I'm not them being at only mile 19 or 20 now. Mile 24 split 6:38, mile 25 6:54. Ouch. It's OK, as I tell myself I'm almost here and to focus on the prize (finishing sub-2:50 and another PR).
Mile 26: My slowest, but final mile. There are signs at one intersection offering free beer to runners and another sign offering free shots. I wonder if they are both serious as who would really take either in a marathon, especially this close to the finish. I reflected and believe that they are serious and there will be some mid-packers or back-of-the-packers who will imbibe, as foolhardy as it seems to me.
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| Beer (and shots) "to go" with one mile left. No thank you, but I did get a chuckle out of it. |
I am still passing a few marathoners here, who inevitably slowed down from their average pace even more than I have. I keep looking for that final turn off the current road and the short distance to the finish line. Next turn, right? No. So it has to be the turn after that, right? I feel a little dazed and confused after going under a building with resulting very low light, but upon coming out back onto the open street, I can finally seen the turn-off to the finish. Mile 26 was a 7:05 split. After the turn, we have only a block to go to the finish line. Spectators line both sides of that block.
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| Mile 26: Form is breaking down, but I'm here making my final turn, so just hang in there |
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| Final strides |
I crossed the finish line to the roar of the crowd as I see the clock show: 2:50:00. No! How did that happen? Then it occurred to me that the wheelchair athletes started two minutes before the first wave of runners, so that must've been when the officials started the clock. Oh, great, take two minutes off that and now we're talking. But wait, that's gun time, and when the results come out almost immediately thereafter I see my net time is even three seconds less. Sweet!
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| Done! Crossing the finishing line, and reconciling the clock to my watch |
Final result: 2:47:57! 18th out of 2,269 overall. 1st of 86 in my age group. 4th master overall. Results here.
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| I earned this one! |
I am ecstatic! Over the moon, as the British might say. I exceeded all my expectations here. If I die tomorrow, I will die a 2:47 marathoner. At age 58. And you can put that in my obituary.
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| 2:47:57! A very good and very happy day for me! |
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