The first ever chicken races were held in Detroit on Sunday. Seventeen Detroit-based hens competed in the races.

The word  “competed” implies there was actually some racing. The chickens seemed rather indifferent. Now and then a couple birds sprinted, but at the end of the event, none reached the finish line.

Noting the chickens’ disinterest in the foot race, the race promoter wisely changed the rules so that the bird closest to the finish line after 3 minutes was declared the victor.

It was a great time, especially hearing the pre-race scuttlebutt from some of the chicken owners.

“She laid an egg this morning. That’s a great sign.”

“Dude, don’t smoke near my chicken! She’s gotta race.”

Although they didn’t win, Team Cluckstrong was among the more organized teams with T-shirts and Team Cluckstrong arm bands (and leg band for the bird.)

Overall, it was a great time — the silly side of urban ag.

Our Detroit chicken race photo gallery is on-line.

The Detroit News has more coverage of the event.

There’s also a Detroit Chicken Race page on Facebook.

And here’s a short, but interesting video from the Detroit Free Press.

It comes as shocking news that one of Detroit’s always-energetic, engaging fitness cheerleader is quiet. Julie Hecker, the leader of the Motor City Rah-Rahs and Punk Fitness died of a massive heart attack on Wednesday.

From the Freep:

Hecker, 44, was a vivacious personality who bridged her own love of dance and exercise with the city’s gritty rock scene. It was an unorthodox combination that often found her with hula hoops and bright sportswear leading crowds of leather-clad rockers through energetic dance routines.

“Anyone who has that energy is like a pied piper,” said Vinnie Dombroski of the bands Sponge and the Orbitsuns. “She had that spark, and people wanted to see what the spark was about. She knitted the whole scene together. That’s why so many people are shocked and just sick over this.”

The Metro Times also has a touching blog entry, Remembering Julie Hecker.

I worked with Julie only briefly while doing sound for the Detroit Derby Girls, where she was a fixture. She really worked the crowd during halftime and introduced a helluva lot of Detroit kids to hullahoops!

She also proudly promoted Detroit music during all of her routines, something I really appreciated.

Instructions on how to contribute to Julie’s funeral