| Huron River Drive road construction is scheduled for this year: Many of you have likely heard about the Huron River Drive road construction project that is scheduled for this summer. The original schedule called for the asphalt tear-up to start after June 1st, but I learned recently that the surface construction is likely to start prior to June 1st, so this will impact the DxA2 race course, and significantly so. They will be closing and repairing the stretch of HRDr. from Bird Road to Main - and it does need the work. This will also be putting in new sewer lines. Basically that will mean that race finish line can’t be in downtown Ann Arbor this year. Yes, this is a big change, but not to fear, the sky isn’t falling, so it’s not the end of the world – I promise!
Skyline H.S. finish line: Luckily when I first heard about this issue I went ahead and mapped out an alternate course route with a finish line at the new Skyline High School on Maple Road. I wanted to be ready just in case, and sad but true, it was a good thing I had done that work or I’d be in a bind now to try to manage the changes. The new finish line location will force the half marathon to have a short out and back loop back from Barton Park near Bird Road back to Maple Road, but the classic overall course will be largely unchanged for the first 11 miles. Not so for the 5K and 10K. They are going to be all new and involve some out-and-back loops on each course, but they will both work out to a large degree starting and finishing right at Skyline. The staggered race start times are a key enabler to these two races, so I’m thankful I made that change last year.
Some advantages to the new course: We’ve been finishing in downtown Ann Arbor for a long time, but don’t think that the quality of the race will suffer due to the changes this year, and actually the opposite may be true – it may be better. The fact is that the new finish area and the course logistics will have a number of advantages. We plan to have more entertainment along our more heavily used Maple Road stretch of the course. And actually the 5K and 10K courses will be a bit more scenic on Huron River Drive than they otherwise would be. And as to the actual finish line area, Skyline offers a lot more space, and the finish line itself will be positioned right next to the main party area, so everyone will be able to watch other finishers as they hang out after their race. I think this will be a really nice added feature.
Issues with parking and busing: On the other hand, (rats, that darned other hand…) the main down side to the new finish area is that parking at Skyline is limited, so most people will still need to deal with parking and busing issues. But, there is a good deal of nearby neighborhood parking that can be found for 5K and 10K runners, so many of them will be able to avoid a bus ride altogether. The day of race packet will still be downtown, to most people will still be parking near Main Street. Half marathoners and some 5K / 10K runners who chose to park at downtown vs finding nearby neighborhood parking will have to take a bus ride back to their cars after the race. Half marathon runners won’t have that option as the will need to park downtown. We plan to make the post race bus wait very short. I already have the bus schedule modified for the required changes.
Spectators: Accommodating spectators at Skyline is also an issue with the limited on site parking. To help them get there , we will save half of the on-site parking at Skyline there for them. However, if that area fills up, spectators can either look for street parking or return downtown and ride shuttle buses along with the runners.
The Skyline Incline! The other issue that will come into play with the new finish line area is the hill up Maple. It’s a good one – bigger than the hill up Main Street. One thing about the Maple Hill is that it levels out about a half mile before the finish, so it won’t be an up hill assault at the actual finish line like the Main Street finish line is. I know runners like a challenge, so I don’t think the Skyline Incline will be all bad. (But save some energy for it! The Maple Monster is a name that those who don’t keep some reserves may prefer.) And maybe the hill will finally put our race on par with Boston! (Heartbreak schmeart-break!)
Taste of Ann Arbor: and our food and fun at Skyline! The Taste of Ann Arbor will still be happening on Main Street, so for those that ride the buses, they can head back downtown and soak that in as always. But since the Taste won’t be right there next door to us, I am planning to add some food vendors at our new finish area, and will likely be offering up some free pizza also. We’re also going to beef up the finish line entertainment a bit as well to add to the festivities – George Bedard & the King Pins and former DxA2 runner turned DJ Al Valusek will both be there to entertain us. (Al ran in the 1st Dxa2 Run in ’74 and was the first DxA2 runner to get stopped by the pesky Amtrak train!) And finally, we’ll have the advantage of not being forced to roll up the carpet by noon after the race, so if people want to linger a bit longer and talk about how they whupped the Maple Monster, they can! We can accommodate that to a much larger degree than Main Street allowed, so in many ways the new finish area won’t be bad at all.
History? This DxA2 Run does have a history of finishing at high schools. It finished at Huron High School for all but one of the first nine years of it’s history, so in a sense we’re returning to our roots with the change this year. I think we’ll be just fine at Skyline, and I’m working hard to make sure of that. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments.
Hal Wolfe
Dexter-Ann Arbor Run Race Director
P.S. Dexter Bridge Construction: There is also construction planned in Dexter for the bridge over the river at mile two. That is not expected to cause any major disruption to the race, as the road there will remain open. The construction there will be curtailed on race weekend of course. Trip hazards are my main concern. I’m already working with the County on this to make sure the course will be safe and hazard free. |
