2005 in Review
- By Doug Kurtis
Free Press Columnist

With the New Year around the corner, I looked back to what I have written about in 2005.

In my 30-plus years in the sport, I have been fortunate to be associated with nine running clubs and many races across the country, and that background led me to profiles of Bob Parks and Allan Steinfeld. Parks' winter fun runs on Hogback Road in Ypsilanti are etched in my memory. It was a challenge to run against some of his Eastern Michigan All-Americas, such as Gordon Minty and Tom Hollander, who competed for the goofy prizes Parks had picked up at Kmart the night before.

Steinfeld was one of my connections to the New York City Marathon. Before I became operations director for the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank Marathon, I observed his work and appreciated his cooperation when I had questions or needed guidance.

Steve Prefontaine's story would have been more dynamic had he still been alive. He always had a lot to say. When I ran for Michigan State, I made photographs of him at the NCAA championships. Some of them, and one from Nike's headquarters, are displayed at my home.

Any interaction with world-class marathoner and motivator Dick Beardsley is always filled with exuberance. A few years ago, I asked my wife, Ann, to stand in line at the Grandma's Marathon expo in Duluth, Minn., to get his autograph. The line was long, and when Ann reached him she asked if he would sign it for her boyfriend (we weren't married then). When she told him who her boyfriend was, he literally leaped from his table and ran over to the booth where I was working to give me a hug. That's Dick in a nutshell.

There were many outstanding races this year. I couldn't do justice to all of them in a column. A great running community feeds off the success of its local marathon. This year's Free Press marathon was phenomenal on many levels, and there are more ideas to build on. The Fifth Third River Bank Run in Grand Rapids and its sister race, Detroit's Turkey Trot, have a long history as prestigious events. It was exciting to see new races with great themes such as Heat the Streets and Beat Beethoven.

It has been a privilege to be part of the Redford Road Runners. When membership slowly drifted to the western suburbs, as did the weekly runs, the time arrived to reinvent and rename the club. So the new name -- the Northville Road Runners -- is more appropriate. Without local running clubs such as the Ann Arbor Track Club, Island Road Runners, Downtown Runners and Walkers and the Motor City Striders, there wouldn't be a running community or as many running stores and small local races.

Thousands of runners continue to join the sport and need information. Certainly books, national magazines and the Internet can be used as a resource. Most of my how-to columns focused on preparing for the Free Press marathon and half-marathon. I promise to provide more advice in 2006. Your suggestions for columns are always welcome.

Contact Doug Kurtis at Detroit Free Press, 600 W. Fort St. Detroit, 48226