Staci Williams's Staging Area

I participated in the challenge (International Half, 5k, and 1 mile) and had a great time in Detroit. The 5k and 1 mile course did not overlap the half course, so it was nice to see different areas of the city. It was very neat to run across the Ambassador Bridge and return through the Detroit-Windsor tunnel. There was great crowd support even for slower runners, which is not always the case. With the exception of the bridge, there was minimal elevation gain. My only minor complaint on the swag is that all 3 medals were identical, with just the distance varied. The challenge medal was a turntable that actually spins!

Overall it was an exceptionally well run race with a fun and supported course. If I was local this would be on my calendar every year.

This was a very well run race. There were ample aid stations offering water and/or electrolytes. There were a lot of entertainment stations located throughout the course. I do not remember the name of the group (perhaps cloggers?) but man those women brought the energy.

I am not a huge race fan, but the theming was great! Runners start your engines, green flags to start, and checkered flags galore near the finish chute. Stopping to kiss the bricks is definitely a unique race experience. The medals were nice, but the shirt was a weird non performance soft cotton (see through material) shirt that immediately went in the donate pile. I wish I would have looked more at the merchandise for purchase, as now I do not have any merch from the race.

Overall a great experience. If I was local I would definitely run this again.

As someone who rarely repeats races, I cannot wait to run this one again. There is ample free parking near the start, as well as the option for race morning packet pickup. The course is fairly flat has varied scenery throughout (neighborhood, boardwalk, trail, etc). There were some parts that were narrow in the out and back, but only encountered minor issues with participants walking multiple people across. The post race party had great food and drink options, but was very crowded with many saving seats. Overall had a great time and will be back to run again (hopefully on a non rainy day).

I ran the half marathon in 2022. The course was shortened to approximately 12.6 miles, and the race has yet to inform participants/make an official announcement, outside of adding comments to those asking on social media posts.

The staging area for the half marathon was dark and did not have any hydration or an adequate amount of restrooms. The race started late, but those in further back corrals had no idea what was going on as the sound system was not set up in a manner that allowed us to hear anything.

There were adequate water stations on the course, but they did not have enough volunteers. I am the back of the pack and still had to wait at some stations for hydration. As mentioned above, the course was measured short starting at mile marker 9. The official results on race day indicated 13.1 miles, but now Athlink results have been updated to 12.6.

It is unacceptable that a race does not inform their participants that the course was shortened. I have yet to receive an email or any communication from Lifetime regarding this matter. I understand that things happen outside of their control, particularly with construction in the city. This was an issue they claim to have been aware of prior to the race via social media comments, but did not communicate prior to or after the event. Very unprofessional. I will not be running this, or any other Lifetime sponsored events.

The one positive is the swag. The medals are comically large, and the shirts were made of decent quality tech material.