Sports
Stony Creek Shines for Half Marathon
Back to the Beach Half Marathon and 5K Run/Walk is a huge hit with participants and raises $6,500 for Medals4Mettle.
Stony Creek Metropark and the sun shined brightly Sunday morning for the first Back to the Beach Half Marathon and 5K Run/Walk.
Race director Joe Burns ordered just the right amount of warm temps and sunshine for the races and more than 850 runners converged on the trails and paths of the park in the race that raised $6,500 for the Detroit Chapter of the Medals4Mettle organization.
"Thank goodness for blue skies and no rain," said Burns. "We had about 850 runners today and about 160 volunteers working on the event. We were able to present a check to Medals4Mettle for $6,500 and $1,000 to Special Olympics. The race was very successful. We have a lot of people to thank and we couldn't have done it without them. A special thanks goes out to the Weight Watchers group that lended support by spreading the word and coming out to participate."
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Approximately 450 runners took on the 13.1 multi-surface half marathon course with the balance participating in the 5K run/walk.
Jimi Minnema placed first in the half marathon with a time of 1:15:21 while Angela Justice took the women's top spot at 1:37:20.
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For the 5K, Chad Thiel won the men's group and 14-year old Grace O'Neill cruised to finish first among the women.
"The course was very nice," said O'Neill. "We ran through the woods and there was a lot of shade and change of scenery so that was good. It's a nice way to run a 5K."
Runners as a whole were thrilled with the event's smooth logistics and the park's natural beauty.
"The half marathon course was very hilly, very scenic and everybody who ran it was so nice and encouraging," Troy resident and first-time half marathoner Ann O'Neill said. "Yes, I'm feeling proud right now for finishing but mostly I'm just feeling thirsty."
Medals4Mettle is a national nonprofit organization in which runners and triathletes donate medals to hospitals. The medals are then given to patients facing serious illnesses. Burns formed the Detroit chapter of M4M in 2008 and additional information on the organization can be found at www.medals4mettle.org.
"We are thankful to Joe Burns and his team for helping to increase awareness for our organization and for raising funds," Metals4Mettle president and event volunteer Bill Preston said.
