Runner Spotlight - May 2023

Mike Resterhouse

Meet Mike Resterhouse! Mike is 53.  He was born and raised in Muskegon and so far has never found a good reason to leave the area. Mike has had the opportunity to travel to many of our states and several countries and it confirmed that West Michigan is a great place to live. He graduated from Muskegon High School and attended Muskegon Community College and Western Michigan University where he studied engineering. He followed up the engineering degree with an MBA from GVSU. He has worked the last nineteen years at Brunswick Bowling Products in Muskegon as an Engineer and a Product Manager.  Thank goodness being a good bowler isn't a job requirement. He’ll stick to running. He loves the outdoors and tries to spend as much time as he can outside running, biking, fishing, camping, kayaking, hiking, and XC skiing.  He is blessed with two adult children, Rachel and Sarah from a previous marriage, and two infant grandchildren, Jackson and Isaac. He and his wife, Marci (also a Run Muskegon member), celebrated their one-year anniversary on April 1st of this year.  That's not an April fool's joke, but it was intentional. They have a pretty good sense of humor. Mike describes Marci as his love, partner in crime, biggest supporter, social media manager, and assistant coach. They enjoy traveling abroad and try to incorporate a running race or hiking into all of their adventures.  Their fur baby is a one-year-old French Bulldog named Mabel.  You may see him dragging the beast down the sidewalk on Muskegon Avenue.  It's not abuse.  She's just so stubborn!

As a part of our Runner Spotlight, we also asked Mike to answer a few fun questions:

1. How long have you been running?
When it takes a calculator to figure out how long you've been running, you know it's been a while. Some quick math puts me at 38 years. My love of running started in the 9th grade when my middle school science teacher, Dick Mullaly, challenged all his students to run the 10K at the Norton Shores Founder's Day Run. Students would earn extra credit for finishing and even more credit if you could beat him. We were heading into the final exam and rumor was that his exams were extremely hard. I knew I needed the extra credit, so I laced up my Nike High Tops and hit the pavement. I didn't beat him. In fact, all I saw was the back of his shirt slowly disappear off into the distance. With a combination of running and walking I finished the race and had enough extra credit to earn an "A" in science class. A few weeks later the High School Cross Country coach stopped me in the hallway. He had heard that I was one of the students that ran the road race and asked me if I would join the team in the fall. Other than some sort of running, I didn't even know what Cross Country was, but I agreed. It was a life changing decision and I have been running ever since.

2. Do you race? If so, what is your most memorable race experience?
I like to compete in both road and trail races.  I really enjoy the race day atmosphere and the comradery.  I find all races, big and small, to be an exciting experience.  

With the Boston Marathon just a few days ago from writing this, it's still consuming my thoughts. It was an amazing experience. Even in the cold, rainy weather, huge crowds of people lined the entire course on both sides of the streets. All of them were cheering on the runners for hours. If I wanted them to cheer louder, I would cup my hand to my ears as I ran by, and they would turn up the decibels. When I made the final turn down Boylston Street, I could see the finish. The enormous crowd down the final stretch was roaring with excitement and energy. They made me feel like I was winning the race! As the finish line got closer and closer, I knew that I had beat the weather and that ridiculous course. There was a huge wave of emotions when I crossed the finish line. Something I had never felt before after any race. I caught the elusive unicorn!


3. Ever run in a costume? If so, what?
A few years ago, I dressed up as a Christmas Elf for the Manistee Jingle Jog. I would not recommend it. The felt material was itchy and held in so much heat.

4. Only running shoes for me are...
For trainers I prefer the Brooks Glycerin, but I do rotate shoes between each run with a different brand to help reduce overuse injuries. The current rotation has Brooks Glycerin and the Saucony Ride. For racing, I have a pair of Saucony Endorphin Pro 2. I've used the Endorphins up to marathon distance.

5. What is your worst running-related injury?
My worst running injury was tendonitis in the IT band at the knee. My IT band was as tight as a banjo string and took me out of commission for a few weeks. I needed lots of rest and PT to get back on the road. The root cause was a poor stretching routine. The lesson I learned was, as we get older, we really need to take time for prehab and post run rehab. If you think that you don't have time for both, you may want to consider doing a couple less miles per workout so that you have time to work on your maintenance.

6. Hot or cold weather runner?
I prefer the heat. Getting out of bed on the weekends for a long run in the winter, no thanks. Let's have some more coffee and stay in the pajamas for a while longer.

7. What is your motivation for running?
I run for that "feeling".  Runners know what I'm talking about.  The feeling inside of you with every small victory that can come from running.  Some days, simply lacing up the shoes and getting the workout done is a win. Other days it's finishing that last mile of the long run, completing a training cycle, meeting a race goal, or achieving the elusive PR.   The "feeling" when you finally believe that everything you need to achieve your goal is already inside of you.   The "feeling" when you say to yourself "I just did that".  

8. If I didn't run I....
If I didn't run, I would be a trout bum. I love trout fishing and anything else that may accompany it such as camping, hiking, backpacking, and kayaking. If you peeked into my garage, you would think you were at a REI store. There is so much gear in there.

9. I can't run without...
N/A


10. What's the farthest you have run at one time?
So far, the marathon is the farthest distance I've run at one time.  This fall I'll do a 50K to support my wife Marci in her effort to run 1K for every year of her age on her 50th birthday. 

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