Great experience going to my first Detroit Grand Prix. This was downtown around the Ren Cen…read morebuilding and not Belle Isle. We sat in Grandstand 8 and you have to wait for the track to be "cold "to cross; since we were late for the first race we had to wait until it was over to get to our seats. However our seats were awesome.

Motor City Half-Marathon (formerly U.S.-Only Half-Marathon) became my excuse to return to Detroit…read moreMichigan in the fall. Part of the Detroit Free Press Marathon which I have ran in the past as well as the International Detroit Free Press Half-Marathon. The Motor City Half-Marathon course runs only through Detroit rather than both Detroit and Windsor, Ontario Canada. It is the perfect option if you do not have a passport which is a requirement to have in order to run the Marathon or International Half-Marathon. For the health & fitness expo, we were required to pick up our bib number and t-shirt from Huntington Place, which is the 16th largest convention center in the United States. I never have the interest in staying long because I always just want to tour downtown Detroit sites like Monument to Joe Louis, and Philip A Hart Plaza. And besides, the expo was very congested, and I personally do not do well mingling within congested areas that involve maneuvering around individuals. But moreover, even with that, I did not once stand in any long lines due to how organized everything was. And for that, I thank the volunteers of Detroit Free Press Marathon very much! With the uncertainty of how my legs will perform, I had to dig down going into this run being that I ran the Chicago Marathon the previous weekend. I have been a runner long enough to know that as long as I am mentally strong, there is not anything that can break my spirit. The morning of the event, I had Victory (feat. The Notorious B.I.G. & Busta Rhymes) stuck in my head which I honestly have not listened to in years. It was the perfect hype up song prior to me making my way to the starting line. I had the luxury of sleeping in due to the Motor City Half-Marathon starting at 10:30 AM; three hours after the start of the Detroit Free Press Marathon, and International Half-Marathon, so there was no excuse in getting 7 hours of sleep before the run. The run course, I must say, was relatively flat with only one slight incline on course. The only battle I dealt with mentally was telling myself to keep my pace underneath an 8-minute mile, even while feeling a slight pain in my left ankle and in my left hamstring which went away as I ran along the course. In those times, I eased my run pace and sort of glided because there were still miles ahead. I had to remind myself to be patient and take it mile by mile because I will eventually get to that finish line at some point. I cannot remember any portion of the course that did not have any spectators on it, even with there being a few events attached to the Detroit Free Press Marathon which were identifiable by the color of the bibs. Along the course, each mile was marked, and there were plentiful hydration stations featuring a combination of Gatorade followed by water; both were identifiable by cups given by volunteers. And the volunteers working those hydration stations were cheerful and supportive of all runners. It made my day to hear my runner nickname, "The Gazelle" being cheered at several points along the course by either spectators or volunteers. The cheers gave me a boost in energy as I acknowledged the person in the form of either raising my hands, throwing up the number one or peace sign, or even yelling "Yeah!". Highlights for me along the run course were running downtown Detroit, seeing Comerica Park (Home of the Detroit Tigers baseball team) during the earlier portion of the run, and sights of MotorCity Casino Hotel which is such a beauty! Chit Chatting with a run couple around mile 6 took my mind off the run and was yet another thing that kept me on pace. The couple wore matching American flag shorts and off-and-on received cheers of "U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!" which I totally adored. It is things like that, that make the United States of America such a great place to be born in. As for the swag, the Detroit Free Press t-shirt was gray with the event name written on the left breast and Detroit 13.1 with 24 printed in the image of the Ambassador Bridge. I loved how the bib matched with my orange HOKA Clifton 3 run shoes, and cute donut print ChicknLegs running brand shorts that many could not take their eyes off of, tehehe. The finishers medal featured the Spirit of Detroit monument on it, with the Ambassador Bridge behind it. I am so grateful to add yet another finishers medal to my run medal collection, a collection that goes back to 2007 when I initially started running. With my inactive Garmin 305 GPS watch on my wrist, sparkle in my eye underneath my sunglasses, and donut print run shorts by ChicknLegs on, I took on this half marathon.... and conquered it! Yes, I would surely run the Motor City Half-Marathon again because it is yet another excuse to revisit Detroit. ~Gonna run 'til I don't jiggle. ~ Thomas G

My first 10k! And one of my favoritest races I've ever run…read more The course was awesome--it winds through the streets of Dearborn, through Henry Ford Community College, DOWN A HIGHWAY ON-RAMP (how bad-ass!), and through some beautiful wooded paths. There were definitely some slightly hilly portions, but nothing that I was going to let stop me. The race shirt was also awesome--an ugly-as-sin technical tee that's become one of my go-to running shirts. I have to admit I also fell for the goofy, poorly executed Martian theme. Random dudes in black suits a la Agent Smith would pace the edges of the course at points. Once, someone in a terrible $3 alien costume popped out of some bushes. The mile markers were Martian-themed. All in all, it was charmingly kitschy and delivered some laughs during the race. I'll be missing this race this year since I moved away from Michigan, but if I ever have a return visit that coincides, I'd happy run the Martian 10k again! (Pro tip: There's a 5k, half marathon, and full marathon course as well, so you can choose your poison based on your combined insanity and fitness level.)

I ran the 2011 version of this race yesterday. This is my second time for this race. I also ran…read morethe 2008 version. My wife, and her friend , ran the 1/2 marathon. We all had a good time. This is a good race series to get the cob webs off after a winter of being cooped up in a state of semi-inactivity. The course is relatively flat and fast (although no records were in danger of falling from our group yesterday). There were about 5000 people by my guesstimate participating. The martian theme is always fun. We all got a nice technical tee shirt. The expo was well done the day before. There was lots of running stuff and the expo seemed to be well attended both by patrons and vendors. The after race food and water was plentiful. There were more than enough portable toilets at the start/finish area. Now for some things that weren't so well done. This was our first time at this race location. We were unfamiliar with the area and relied on the website for guidance. It said there was plenty of parking at Ford Field (not the one downtown). We followed the directions only to find the road to the designated parking was blocked off. We had to do a U-turn (along with everybody else on the street) and find parking in downtown Dearborn. This proved to be several blocks away in a parking lot that we had to pay for. OK, it was only 50 cents/hour but still.... The announcers lost power at the start of the 10K. I just saw the masses moving forward and figured this must be it. The website advertised drink stations every two miles. This was not an exact science. The first one was shortly after the 1st mile. The next one was shortly after the 4th mile. My wife was disappointed that she didn't bring some water for herself. Bathrooms were supposed to be every 5 miles along the race course. They seemed to be further than this and some were closed. Still, even though it wasn't perfect, we all had a great experience. We'll be back again next year.

Waterford Hills is a beautiful racecourse. It's a great place to run your streetcar, but do not…read moreattempt to bring a race car here. We installed mufflers, plus turn downs on the end of the exhaust pipes to no avail. We were booted after the first session, and black flagged for excessive noise, the first time I really got after it. It really sucks, as the track is actually a lot of fun! Just a heads up to anyone who is actually running a race exhaust system, do yourself a favor, and find another track. There are no refunds, so we spent half a day travel time to get the boot after 6 laps, and no money back.

bummed that the beer tent was gone had my stomach all set for a beer and some nachos. its still…read moremore exciting than staying home and doing housecleaning on a sunday!

March For Babies is an inspiring organization that helps more people than you may even realize…read more With that being said, everyone should feel compelled to donate either their time and commitment to walking, showing their support, or donating an extra $5--pocket change. Almost everyone knows someone who has had a premature baby or one that was sick, and maybe even an unexpected loss. March of Dimes donates 77% of every dollar in programs and research to help moms have full-term pregnancies and healthy babies. The research helps find answers to the serious problems that threaten our babies. We've been walking since 1970, and no better time than now to start! Become a walker and raise donations/sponsors, or just donate some spare lunch money! Come join my team, or help me achieve my goal! http://www.marchforbabies.org/kwenskay Kolten was born early and would have been born much earlier had the doctors and nurses not done everything in their power to keep me pregnant. That was truly one of the scariest times-- knowing that I was only 27 weeks pregnant and in labor. Despite their continuous efforts, he still came a month early...but from their knowledge and expertise, he is a healthy little man!! I work in labor and delivery and everyday a baby is born that was kind of handed the short end of the stick- mom's don't get prenatal care, aren't educated on how to care for a child, and some just don't have the interest. March for babies helps educate women out there for the sake of our children, our future.

Had a blast at the Tough Mudder 5K this weekend. Very well run event and I am looking forward to…read morenext year. I highly recommend taking on this challenge.

I signed up for this event for the expensive price of $420 for myself and my nieces. A week after…read moreregistering, Tough Mudder changed the date of the event to a different week and refuses to offer a refund. My only option is to transfer the registration to next year, on a date and location that hasn't even been decided yet. The smug customer support manager, Mitchell Kenigsberg, signed off his smug email "See you in the mud!"

I signed myself up and a couple of my friends. I was overcharged due to my son being in the…read moreMarines. With constant back and forth (via email) with one of Tough Mudders associates I was finally told that my discount was being processed and a refund of $75.00 was being issued. I received a email and all with the totals and how much was going to be refunded in my account. I have yet to see the refund hit my account after participating in the event months ago. I continue to email and has yet to get a respond. Very bad business and I am recommending that all of my friends don't participate in this event until they get this right.