Bloody Run

Parent's Creek - The Bloody Run (photo courtesy of The Detroit News)




The snow that is bombarding Detroit is making it a challenge to map out a running route without having to break out snow shoes and an ice pick. On many streets, the only pavement showing its face is in the middle of the road where trucks and Hummers rarely yield to runners. I decided to avoid the risk of death by visiting a place where the dead are welcomed. Elmwood Cemetery is the oldest continuous non-religious cemetery in Detroit where its first residents moved in in 1846. It is a beautiful place filled with century old tombstones, obelisks, and memorials to many of Detroit's pioneers and war heroes. My favorite story, however, pre-dates the cemetery. Parent's Creek, which runs through the grounds, is famous for a battle fought on July 31, 1763 during the French and Indian War. Chief Pontiac's Natives defeated the British Redcoats, and as the story goes, blood ran through the stream for weeks after the battle - thereafter dubbed "Bloody Run". From the marathon stories I'm hearing, runners will experience their own bloody run if their not armed with ample amounts of vaseline, band aides and other anti-chafing materials. A great place of Detroit history, and without Chief Pontiac's boys after me, I enjoyed a peaceful run amongst the dead.