For those of you that have never had a chance to run in Detroit let me just say it is an amazing run, full of history and so much hidden beauty. I was very excited when I heard about a new running store opening up in Midtown called RUN Detroit. I followed them on twitter and Facebook and waited patiently for them to open. Detroit is a special place for me, I have fond memories of Boblo and Corktown/Tiger Stadium when I was a kid, grew up listening to my mom and grandparents talk about Belle Isle, and I want my kids to grow up seeing all that Downtown Detroit has to offer. I want the city to thrive and I want the everyone to see the beauty in our amazing city. (That is a ton of "wants") Ok, back to the running store, they announced on social media their Grand Opening would be June 1 and would include their 1st group run. Originally I was planning on heading to the Toledo Zoo but with the forecast calling for thunderstorms so we changed our plans to head there on Sunday and I was able to make the opening.
The store is not a mega store, it has a small selection of clothing and shoes.
Just by looking over them though, clearly quality trumps quantity at RUN Detroit because they had some awesome shoes and clothes. They carry a full line of Nuun, Amphipod, Swiftwick socks and a variety of shoes and clothes from the big brands including Brooks and Saucony.
They have a great selection of hydration/fuel. I was so excited to see Nuun! This will be the closest place I can buy it locally.
RUN Detroit was kind enough to offer Avalon Baked goods, Motor City Beer, and coffee/Nuun/water as well for their first run.
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| JFM enjoying some delicious blueberry coffee cake from Avalon |
Each Saturday they plan to run a 3, 6, & 10 mile run starting at the store at 8 am. They will be offering different routes and even plan to run parts of the upcoming Detroit 1/2 and Full Marathon courses.
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| (Justin introducing himself and explaining how the group runs will work) |
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| While enjoying the scenery we missed the 6 mile route turn and ended up with this 9.33 mile run (the another .25 mile cool down walk back to the store) |
After Be Nice yoga was there to help runners with some stretching and yoga techniques.
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| Free Pint glass...love swag that holds beer or Nuun! |
John and I after our tour of the city. Besides the heat and humidity it was fantastic!
Me sporting my RUN Detroit tee at Eastern Market later that day!
I really enjoyed my first experience at RUN Detroit, the co-owners Justin and Alia were pretty cool just to chat with after the run, both knowledgeable from experience. We chatted with Justin about Ultras for a little bit (apparently toasted bread makes a pb&j easier to eat on an Ultra Run-who knew). I will definitely be heading back for another group run and will be on the look out for hopefully some "Beer Miles" that the husband and I can do together from the store since it is located right across from Motor City Beer.
Have you ever ran in or visited Downtown Detroit? If you are from the area where is your favorite place to go in the city?
