Line up for the Paczki Run

Get in shape for Paczki Day at the annual Paczki 5K Run, which will take place Saturday morning, Feb. 22.

By Alan Madlane
One doesn’t often necessarily think of paczki and running in the same breath.
In fact, the very idea of running after having just consumed a paczek makes one want to … well, something that rhymes with “twarf.”
Nonetheless, there does exist such a thing as a “Paczki Run,” and it’s happening again here in Hamtramck the weekend before Paczki Day, specifically Saturday, Feb. 22.
The race goes from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., providing ample time for even the most tortoise-like, distracted, or otherwise deliberate entrant to complete their runnerly duty.
And that duty is a 5K (approximately three-mile) run past all the popular places in town.
Runners get rewarded with both paczki (from the New Martha Washington and New Palace bakeries) and beer (from Motor City Brewing Works) at the finish line.
Now there’s a hearty combo.
You have until Thursday, February 20 before midnight to register, and you might want to hurry – there are only some 3,700 spots left.
We kid. But that figure is accurate.
Per the website (http://www.tour-de-troit.org/paczkirun), you can also register the day of, from 7 a.m. until 9:45 a.m. Registration is at 9401 Jos. Campau, the former site of the just-closed Wheelhouse Detroit. But rest assured, someone will be there to give you your race packet; if you pre-registered like a good little runner, you may pick up your packet on the following dates, at the listed times:
Wednesday, Feb. 19, 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 20, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 21, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 22, 7 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.
The cost to enter is $45. The sponsors are a who’s-who of nearly 50 local government and business supporters, including the City of Hamtramck and the DDA.
The morning of the race, you will congregate, not at 9401 Jos. Campau but at 9011 Jos. Campau, at the corner of Faber, in the large strip mall. Get there early to take advantage of the available parking in the large mall lot. There is also street parking, but watch for meters, prohibited areas, etc.
Music will begin on the day of the race at 8:00. The streets involved will be barricaded off at 9:00 a.m. Note that, after this time, you will not be able to get through in your car, nor for example can a bus make it through either.
After they group you at the starting line by your presumed speed (starting at 9:20), and add in a benediction by dance from a group of local Polish dancers, weather permitting (9:45), the race itself will go off promptly at 10 a.m.
Your job? Run, or cheer on your running friends.
And try to not to rhymes-with-glarf.
Feb. 14, 2020