Solstice Run Was Hilly But Fun

Great Tech shirt from a great event.

I will definitely do this race again.  Today was the 2010 Solstice Run in downtown Northville, MI.  I’ve heard of this run for years but never made it a point to try it.  After today, I’ll add it to my list of annual events for several reasons.

The shirt is almost reason enough.  Not your ordinary cotton T-shirt with 37 logos on the back.  No sir, the Solstice shirt is a cool, moisture-wicking technical shirt with bright colors and a plain back.   

The course was beautiful.  Running the first half-mile on the oval horse-race track of Northville Downs was different and then heading into the beautiful neighborhoods around downtown made it a very scenic run.  Lots of great older classic homes and streets then several newer subdivisions of McMansions made for a nice mix. 

Hot pizza at the finish was a nice surprise. The only other race I remember having hot pizza at the end was the February Winterlaufe in Frankenmuth.  I needed it more there than in the heat of June but it hot the spot today just the same.

Placing 5th in my age division was a nice surprise also.  I didn’t run my PR for this division but it still got me closer to a medal than I’ve been in many years.  Maybe the hills of this race keep some of the fast old guys away?

Now for the downside of this nice race – the HILLS.  I expected a couple of inclines but did not think every other half-mile we’d be fighting to maintain a pace up a steep grade or a long incline.  There are no hills near my home so I never do hill training and I noticed that today.  But, I focused to maintain my pace on every uphill, and tried to gain ground on the downhills.  Apparently it worked because I had consistent times at each mile checkpoint and beat my Oak Apple time by a minute.  Considering Oak Apple was  a flat, fast course, I’m happy with the Solstice time.

I’ll be back.