Detroit Runners

"When I came to Detroit I was just a mild-mannered Sunday-school boy."
------- Ty Cobb

The City of Detroit has been my home for approximately 5 years. I grew up in the northern suburbs of the Motor City where expansive stretches of fresh asphalt, sodded subdivision lawns, and well-groomed trails provided the training grounds for childhood athletics. I've grown to truly enjoy many aspects of life in Detroit: the architecture, museums, restaurants, sports facilities are among many. As frequently documented by mainstream media outlets, Detroit has its fair share of problems. Among the popularly described faults are its abandoned buildings, crime ridden neighborhoods and general blight. These are all true. These faults are also viewed by too many Metro Detroiters as reasons to avoid the city altogether. For this reason, the existence of the Downtown Runners/Walkers club was both surprising and encouraging.

Last night I learned that for the past 22 years a group of Detroit workers, residents, and general friends of the city have been gathering weekly at one of the many charming watering holes throughout this city in order to run, walk, drink, eat and enjoy each others' company. Members of this group range from beginning 20-something walkers to veteran 60-something marathon runners. Very unique.

In a rather celebrated way, the foursome that I ran with set its path directly through the much maligned blight and grit of Detroit. We ran through historic Cass Corridor and Wayne State University and past the beautiful golden dome of the Fisher Building. We maneuvered through some broken liquor bottles, makeshift shelters, abandoned 19th century buildings, crazy drivers and the occasionally mentally ill street prophet. Not exactly the handsomely groomed and sterile suburbs, but Detroit in its pure form. This group is proud of this city and chooses to celebrate its positive qualities with a little sweat and shoe leather upon its streets. I couldn't help but analogize the toughness, grittiness and resilience of this great city with the runners I'm now beginning to know. I'm not all that convinced that Detroit was responsible for Ty Cobb's notorious temper, maniacal behavior and anti-Sunday school boy demeanor. He was unquestionably one of the toughest baseball players to ever play the game. This, I believe, can be accredited to his life in Detroit.

I want to thank this group for welcoming me into your weird and exciting club. After the run, one of the club's patriarchs told me that their motto was "Drinkers with a Running Problem." There are no secret handshakes, code names or dues, just an adventurous attitude, a pair of running shoes, and a substantial bar tab. I've never before conversed with a group of bar patrons about marathon times, training injuries, and stories about hitting "the wall." I'm learning that this is normal social behavior for the running species. I'm also learning that a has-been football player can easily become one of these species.