The Mustache Dache 5k Race Recap

This past Saturday, I woke up at a reasonable hour to go run my last 5k of the year! (Horray! and Boo!) The Mustache Dache was a last minute replacement add to my race calendar. I was originally going to run a small turkey trot, but found this one and immediately knew I had to do it! Thanks to a great blog campaign, I registered early enough to get a shirt and to get a place! This 5k was SOLD OUT by race day!

The location was easy enough to get to. It was very close to where I had run the Color me Rad 5k back in May and it was a bit north of where I had run as part of the Detroit Free Press International Half Marathon.  The race was starting at 10am and we easily found a parking spot around 9:20am. The event was held at the Atwater Brewery and they nicely let everyone inside to stay out of the cold wind!

About 15 minutes before the start, they gave a warning and people braved the cold to line up!

The really fun thing about this race, was all of the costumes. Everyone was just having such a great time with it. And after my last two months with running dragging me down, I really needed something fun.
Probably one of my favorite things was hearing the race crew over the walkie-talkies trying to describe someone to each other. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.” “oh sorry, the one with the mustache!” (there must have been 1000 mustaches there!) it was good to know even they were having a good time!
They played the Jimmie Hendrix version of the national anthem over the loud speakers and we were off!

The race started in a very industrial area, but after a while it got interesting as we ran by all the riverfront parks. Eventually I realized I knew where I was and had the renaissance center in my sight most of the time. It was nice to have a familiar feeling as I ran.

The Course was really awesome. It went down Atwater and the turn around was right at Port Authority. We literally ran around the building and back on to the river walk. after making it halfway through there was some relief because the wind was now at our backs! The view was really nice. The wind made some whitecaps on the blue river and I think everyone was just really enjoying the view! I didn’t realize how nice the river walk actually was! Lawn chairs, art, fountains, a carousel, a snackbar…just unexpected in Detroit!

The volunteers on the course were fantastic as well. Really enthusiastic girls waving flags and cheering people on. One girl was trying to high-five people and I felt bad because I was too far away to give her one! It was just something nice to keep your mind off of any unpleasant feelings you might be having (mine was my knee starting to be a little twingy).

I took this race fairly easy, so I thought! I really didn’t push it at all until the last .10 just because I heard on my app that I was JUST under 30:00 and felt that I could push a little. I ended up with a pretty decent time… 29:58 with an average pace of 9:39. I’ll take that! It’s not a PR, but it’s MUCH better than I thought I would do with completely worn down shoes and a healing injury! I feel like I’ve been redeemed after that last race! PHEW!

Here are some of my favorite costumes that people had…These seriously made the race really fun!

A Musketeer!

The Colonel!

Champ Kind from Anchorman!

WARIO!

70’s/80’s hair band? White trash? I don’t know…but they were THE BEST!

No idea…But okay!

Mario and Luigi!

Look at all those Mustaches!

After the race, everyone received a finisher’s medal and a dark chocolate mustache! NOM NOM!

And then there was an after party. I normally would have skipped this and just went home, but for some reason, I was STARVING. So we went to check out what was there and take in some sights!

I grabbed a hot dog at the food truck and took some pictures with the fluffy mustache!

They had a really awesome thing where you could hashtag a picture on facebook or Instagram and they would print you a copy for free! This one is now hanging on my refrigerator!

They were also offering Mustache Rides and Mechanical bull rides! So much fun! The mustache ride was very unique! People were also able to enjoy a free beer with registration and from what I hear, it was really good! (I don’t drink beer…)

This was a really great race and I’m very happy I heard about it and decided to run it! If it’s around next year, I will most certainly do it again! This was hands down, my favorite 5k.

Next up…The Kona Hot Chocolate 10k in Plymouth, MI…The last race of the year! Eep!

Did YOU run the Mustache Dache?

What’s your favorite kind of Mustache?

What makes a 5k fun for you?