recreation : All posts

Updated July 25: Upcoming golf scrambles: Rotary Club, EMU baseball outings planned

Check here for upcoming golf scrambles and events in the Ann Arbor area. To have your event listed, send information to sports@annarbor.com.

City tennis season concludes with men's and women's double championships and juniors tournament

The annual men's and women's Ann Arbor Area Community Tennis Association doubles tournament drew 210 participants and concluded Sunday.

The last day of city tournament tennis also included a town tennis celebration.

The winners in each division:

Mats Ljungman beats Garrett Halpert to earn 4th career Ann Arbor singles championship

A four-time champion was crowned in the Ann Arbor City Tennis Tournament, but not the heavy favorite entering action Sunday.

Mats Ljungman, 53, from Ann Arbor, won his fourth career city title by capturing the Men’s Open crown at the University of Michigan Varsity Tennis Center. Ljungman defeated Ann Arbor Pioneer’s No. 1 singles player Garrett Halpert, 6-0,6-1.

Ann Arbor City Singles Tennis Tournament concludes today

The final day of play in the 2011 Ann Arbor City Tennis Tournament begins today with some intriguing matchups before the championships this afternoon.

Festive atmosphere the winner at annual Firecracker 5K run in Ann Arbor

Luke Sushynski was exhausted after finishing the Firecracker 5K in downtown Ann Arbor with a time of 26 minutes, 54 seconds. It was the first time Sushynski participated in the race, and he was so tired, he was sleeping.

Then again, Luke is 7 weeks old.

Slideshow: Images from the Fourth of July Firecracker 5K in Ann Arbor

Nicholas Katsefaras of Pinckney was the first of the 878 runners and walkers to cross the Firecracker 5K finish line Monday in downtown Ann Arbor, completing the course in 15 minutes, 53.6 seconds. Melanie Maxwell captured the action at the annual event.

There's still time to enter the 'light-hearted' Firecracker 5K event in Ann Arbor

No matter how many runners show up Monday for the Firecracker 5K run in downtown Ann Arbor, race sponsor business manager Will Smith expects the event to retain its summer holiday atmosphere.

“It’s definitely a light-hearted atmosphere,” said Will Smith, who works with Champions for Charity. “I think a lot of the folks who dress up in costumes have been running in the race for years. Many of them stay for the parade, too.”

Former Eastern Michigan golfer Darby Peters among early leaders at Michigan PGA Women's Open

Darby Peters, who recently wrapped up her golf career at Eastern Michigan, shot a first-round 74 Monday and is five strokes off the lead of the Michigan PGA Women's Open.

Sarah Hoffman completes three-peat, captures Ann Arbor City Golf Championship

Note: This story was updated to correct the university Shannon Fraser will attend.

For the third year in a row, Saline’s Sarah Hoffman is the winner of the Ann Arbor City Golf Championship, and while her margin of victory of eight strokes was the largest in her three-year run, it wasn’t without drama.

Tri-Goddess race benefits participants and Skyline High School

Susan McQuiston (left) and her partner finish the Treasure Island Triathlon on Nov. 3, 2002.

Courtesy Susan McQuiston

On Sunday, as she lines up to start the Tri-Goddess mini-sprint triathlon in the Waterloo Recreation Area, her first race in almost nine years, McQuiston will look back on the events that unfolded after that race that took away her health, job, and home. And she’ll take yet another step toward putting her life back together.

Slideshow: Images from Ann Arbor Rec & Ed's opening day of baseball and softball

The annual Ann Arbor Rec & Ed opening day for youth baseball and softball leagues included Detroit Tigers mascot Paws. Paws threw out the first pitch at Veterans Memorial Park, and AnnArbor.com photographer Angela J. Cesere captured some of the action.

Registration still open for Burns Park Run on Sunday

It’s not too late to register for the Burns Park Run on Sunday, one of the longtime staples of the area running calendar.

with poll: Better weather will bring work on 5 Washtenaw County bike path projects

Here are five path projects Washtenaw County residents can look forward to in Pittsfield Township, Ypsilanti Township, Northfield Township, the city of Chelsea and in and around Hudson Mills Metro Park in Dexter.

with slideshow: Guide to the Ann Arbor area's best sledding hills

The first storm of the 2010 sledding season arrived on December 12. To celebrate, here's last year's guide to sledding, updated throughout.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

From the poem, "A Primer," by Bob Hicok in The New Yorker, May 19, 2008:

February
is thirteen months long in Michigan.
We are a people who by February
want to kill the sky for being so gray
and angry at us. “What did we do?”
is the state motto.

What do we do in winter? We go sledding.

Health & Fitness

Ypsilanti's Vixen Fitness expanding to third location despite the tough economy

"Whip your hair! ... Roll your hips! ... Turn that sexy dial all the way up!"

You couldn't tell it by the faces of the half-dozen women Danielle Green was training that night - they were having too much fun -- but they were getting a real workout. A few hip and shoulder rolls to start the class, some splits to keep limber, and it was time for a twirl on The Pole.

Updated 10/13: Ann Arbor area golfers' hole-in-ones for 2010

Nov. 13: Keith Carter aced the 13th hole at Lake Forest Golf Club on Nov. 13. The Plymouth resident used a pitching wedge on the 115-yard hole.

Slideshow: Images from the Big House Big Heart run with its finish at Michigan Stadium

Here's a look at the Big House Big Heart run on Sunday in Ann Arbor. The run, now in its fourth year, drew more than 12,000 participants and features a finish line at the 50-yard line of Michigan Stadium. Freelance photographer Sarah A. Miller has a slideshow from the event.

Big House Big Heart run draws 12,000, on track for fund-raising goal

Sarah A. Miller | For AnnArbor.com

Maria Shimones stood in the north end zone of Michigan Stadium, wearing a cow suit and posing for pictures with children. The bovine-clad Shimones, a student at Saline High School, had other costumed friends too—a gorilla, a tiger, a bear—all of them there to spread cheer for the Big House Big Heart charity races.

The dark gray clouds that draped the Huron Valley on Saturday had rolled away, and the event’s more than 12,000 participants ran under inviting blue skies on Sunday morning.

Event organizer Andrea Highfield said that as of race time, roughly $638,000 had been raised for more than 140 charities, putting the event well on its way to raising the $750,000 that organizers had set as their goal.

Run Woodstock event is a groovy weekend on trails for runners, campers

The second annual Run Woodstock, put on by Running Fit, is a weekend running camp for adults.

The event, which starts Friday and concludes Sunday, features continuous live music, overnight camping, and eight trail runs at Pinckney Recreation Area and Hell Creek Ranch ranging in distance from 5 kilometers to 100 miles.

Registration for the event is open online, and participants can also register at the event. Visit runwoodstock.com for information and registration.

Tryouts Sunday for Ann Arbor Mavericks travel baseball team

The Ann Arbor Mavericks, a 12-and-under travel baseball team that participates in the Kensington Valley Baseball and Softball Association league, will conduct tryouts at 2 p.m. Sunday at the fields at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. For information, call 604-6112.