Running strong during the early miles along The Crim course.
This is the second in series of how to run each mile of the famed Crim 10 Mile road race. Each day a new mile description will be added leading up to the finally during Crim week. I hope you enjoy and find this description helpful
Mile 2
If you were fortunate enough to catch your split and get a drink, you need to continue to run smart and keep your head up! Continue to watch the crowd of runners ahead of you. Note their path and the turns to the left onto Robert T. Longway Blvd. This is a very nostalgic turn for me. The small office building on the corner once was the home of the Flint architectural firm Nelson McKinley Reed. I visited this office during my high school years and after completing my Master of Architecture degree, ended up working for them, but at a different location two blocks exactly west of the Crim finish line!.
The nostalgia bug continues to bite me as we run along Robert T. Longway, just after running over the Flint River, the runners pass a high rise residential building surrounded by low rise residential buildings. This housing initially was named the Doyle Housing Project, and I worked on many of the low rise buildings, again during my early years as an architect working in downtown Flint.
Next, just before you cross Saginaw St. the race organizers were kind enough to offer you a very brief short cut on the course! You make two gentle left turns and then suddenly you are once again on Saginaw St. and looking ahead at the starting line you left just minutes ago. As a 30 year runner I get a 15 minute head start on the field. So, when I arrive at this point on the course I see the mass of runners lined up and prepared to start.
The view of the starting line is not a long one for next you will make a right turn and will be running on the original Crim route as you pass the 2 mile mark!
Thank you for your continued reading !
Coach Lee