Neighborhood Club bursting with excitement over new Run the Bubble run/walk

GROSSE POINTE CITY — Runners and walkers will have a new event this spring to get them moving in the community.

The nonprofit Neighborhood Club is organizing its first Run the Bubble, a 5K run/walk that will start at 8 a.m. May 18.

“This is a new event application we received this year,” City Manager Joseph Valentine told the Grosse Pointe City Council at a meeting March 17.

The run’s route will be along Waterloo Street from St. Clair Avenue to Cadieux Road. Waterloo will need to be closed during the run, as will Waterloo intersections at St. Clair, Notre Dame Street, Lorraine Avenue and Cadieux.

Becky Caulfield, the wellness program manager for the Neighborhood Club, said the event draws its name from a nickname people have for the Pointes.

“Many Grosse Pointers know Grosse Pointe as ‘the bubble,’” Caulfield said.

Participants will get bubbles at the end of the run.

“We’ll make it fun for all,” Caulfield said.

Organizers anticipate about 200 people will sign up for the run. They hope to make this an annual event.

“It sounds great,” Mayor Sheila Tomkowiak said. “It looks like it’ll be a blast.”

Although organizers will have their own volunteers working the event, it does require some city services, including additional public safety officers and vehicles. Valentine said the event exceeds the $500 worth of services the city provides free of charge for nonprofit events like this. The total estimated cost to the city is $554.14, although Valentine said the actual costs won’t be known until the run takes place.

The council voted unanimously March 17 to approve the Neighborhood Club’s special event application, which includes a condition that the Neighborhood Club would be responsible for paying for any costs above $500 — or, in this case, $54.14.

The doors for Run the Bubble will open at 7:30 a.m. May 18. Registration costs $35 per person and must be made by May 2. Participants will receive a T-shirt, medal and bubbles. To register or for more information, visit neigh borhoodclub.org or call (313) 885-4600.