By Ava West
Saturday, May 10, the Amway River Bank Run returned for its 48th year of bringing the Grand Rapids community together. Runners, walkers, hand cyclers and wheelchair racers all come together for a friendly competition. It’s a beautiful event— the streets are filled with people, and the morning sun just peaks through.
At 7 a.m. the first event of the day started— the 5K run. Around five or so miles away, I sat in a car with my paternal grandmother (Grandma Shirley) and two of my aunts (Aunt Kristin and Aunt Kimmy). The three women have been walking/running the River Bank together for quite a few years now.
I showed up at my Aunt Kristin’s house, a very short walk away, around 6:45 a.m. and the home felt warm. Not with temperature, but with love, as cheesy as that sounds. I sat and watched them get ready, making jokes and trying to decide how many layers to wear.
Then, around 7 a.m. we piled into the car and I asked them about their experience.
When I asked them how many years they had been doing this, my grandma responded, “I have a lot of shirts, I’d say 10 years.
At this, my aunts give a little push back, not thinking quite that many, but still several years. Most of their calculations involved how many shirts each of them have and that they were participating before COVID-19.
Out of all the races, the three participate in this race together, “Because it’s Mother’s Day weekend” responds Aunt Kristin, “And, it’s Grand Rapids” finishes Grandma Shirley. “It’s a Mother’s Day weekend tradition,” my Aunt Kimmy reiterates.
It started because, “Mom wanted to get into shape and get out and walk more, so I think we came up with that,” my Aunt Kristin says.
Aunt Kimmy jokes that she just tags along, “I don’t know why I’m here.”
They mention that it’s good to have a goal when getting into shape, that it makes it more fun. They also note that they ran the first year and a couple years after, too.
Their favorite part is the community my Aunt Kimmy says.
“The camaraderie, it’s just so much fun to see everyone out there having a good time,” my grandma continues.
My Aunt Kimmy also notes that it’s fun to walk through the city with the roads blocked off.
“You kind of own the streets,” she said.
The tradition is important to them.
“It makes memories, good memories,” my grandma says.
“It keeps giving you, us, people, a reason to get together to remake those memories,” Aunt Kristin says.
“It’s easy to have time escape where you don’t get together and you don’t do things, unless you’re intentional,” Aunt Kimmy explains.
By this time in the car ride, we’re almost downtown and I have finished asking my questions. And to sort of finish off the ride, my Aunt Kristin says, “We are a team for the first time today, I can’t remember what I called us. Something like Team Mother’s Day.”
The start time for the 5K walk was 7:45 a.m. and they all lined up together, along with many others a few minutes before. My dad and my uncle both ran the 5K earlier, but met us to make the walk, too.
(Team Mother’s Day before the race)
(I’ll admit, I did not properly plan for the day, thinking I would go off to the side or something, but I did walk the whole 5K in an effort to document what has become a family tradition. I did not pay to register, so my personal apologies to the Amway River Bank Run.)
As I walked behind the five of them— my grandma, two aunts, dad and uncle, I observed just how much fun they were having. It was just another stroll with family for them.
There was plenty of joking, and one of the main themes was that a few of us would be talking and see my grandma had got quite a bit ahead of us, again.
The whole thing took about an hour and it was easy to see— both during and after— why their tradition had continued for so long. It was a wonderful walk with wonderful company.
When we got to the finish, the three women held each other’s hands up and walked through together.
(Team Mother’s Day at the finish line)
Overall, if you’re looking for a goal and for community, I highly recommend the Amway River Bank Run. Especially if you are able to be a part of Team Mother’s Day. I know that if I’m invited back, I would happily participate with them.
And, next time, I promise to pay.
