08/23/2026
One of the few constants in my thirty-one years of life is the Crim Festival of Races in Flint, Michigan. Some of my earliest memories are of cheering for my grandpa, who ran the 10-mile every year starting in the race's second year in 1978 until the year before he passed, and competing in the Teddy Bear Trot as a really little kid. I might not look like it today, but I was pretty fast as a kid, and I always loved running it every summer, even into high school.
When I got older and was drinking beer in the summer instead of running, my mom always walked it (and continues to), and I always checked the race results afterwards to see who I knew that ran. The older I get, the more my brain tells me I need to get back to the bricks. When I let those thoughts win, the more the metal fused onto my bones in my foot and arm tells me it was a bad idea after the fact, when I can barely walk.
I ran the 5K the last two years just for sh*ts and giggles, but after getting really sick a week and a half before this year's race, I decided to walk the 5-mile race with my mom instead. The adrenaline wasn't there, but I got to bring my camera, which was a new experience, and I enjoyed spending the time with my mom.
Here are the photos I shot during the race on Saturday in the city where I was born and have some of my fondest memories of my youth.
Any guesses where I went for lunch after?
