Despite a winter snowstorm, paczki runners stay on track

Paczki runners brave a whiteout, arctic temps and Hamtramck’s icy streets.

By Charles Sercombe
For several minutes it appeared participants in this year’s 5K Paczki Run were going to get lost in a winter whiteout.
On Saturday morning, just moments after the race began, a winter squall swept through the city making it hard to see more than a few feet ahead.
But about 1,000 runners braved the sudden snowstorm and frigid temperatures.
Some 21 Hamtramck residents participated with Chris Vraniak coming in at 8th place with a 21 minute, 31 second time. The other runners came from over 150 cities.
Also joining in were hundreds of folks who decided to walk the city streets instead of competing in a run.
The route went through a wide selection of the city. Amazingly, no one fell and was seriously injured in the icy streets.
Along the way, residents came out on their porches to waive and yell out to the runners.
One woman on Mitchell simply said: “Paczki.”
And this being Hamtramck, there were some jokesters along the way. Resident Nadine Gizak held up a homemade sign on Caniff and Jos. Campau that said: “Worst parade ever.”
Reminded that this was a run, not a parade, Gizak said: “That’s the joke.”
This was the third year for the run, and it is sponsored by Tour-de-Troit, an organization dedicated to promoting non-motorized pathways for biking and walking.
In the past two years the organization donated $6,000 to the city’s Downtown Development Authority to promote the creation of walking and bike paths here.

Two jokesters give runners a chuckle.

Money from the event also goes toward paying for police overtime, barricades, and paczki and beer that runners get for free after the race. Any money after that goes back into the organization.
Since the 5K run began, there has been a noticeable uptick in attendance on Paczki Day, which is held the Tuesday after the race.