Great Races
- By Doug Kurtis
Free Press Columnist

Great races emanate from experienced organizations, captivating courses and a community that supports them.

Some races are a natural.   They harmonious fit with local entities, become a point of interest and occasionally tie to another major event.   It certainly helps when a race receives the luck of good weather, such as last Sunday's spring like day that brought record crowds to the St. Patrick's Day parade. Participation jumped 40% with its adjoining Corktown runs.

Periodically, floundering races need an injection of new blood or refreshening to boost its buzz. Some need to reinvent themselves to gain back the early years of enthusiasm. Two cases in point are the Free Press Marathon and the West Bloomfield Half Marathon.

In 1999 the Free Press course and organization was overhauled and excitement returned. Two years ago, adding a half marathon, increasing staff and a conducting a major advertising campaign produced skyrocketing participation and some major oomph throughout the local running community.  

In 2005, after several years of falling attendance the West Bloomfield's half marathon was cancelled.   This year in its place will be two entirely new races with exciting courses that include neighborhood lakes, a nature preserve and use of rail to trail. It will have a new name too, the Rock and Road 5&10 km.

For several decades runners penned the Dexter Ann Arbor Run on their Memorial Day weekend calendars. A few years back, host Ann Arbor Track Club decided to move it to the following weekend. Doing so helped save some production costs by tying it to the Ann Arbor Taste Fest. Runners now have another excuse to linger longer after the race.   When they spend money they boost city tax revenues and make the race more viable to the community.   I'm sure AATC finds it easier to secure volunteers that otherwise used the holiday to travel out of town.

Running Clubs, often the backbone of race volunteers, are finding it harder to do put on events alone. Races are reaching out to non-running organizations for help.   The Solstice Run in Northville uses a fraternal benefit society called Foresters to assist on race weekend. Title sponsor Fifth Third Bank encourages its employees to participate and considers the race as a charitable volunteer opportunity.

Great races come about through courageous leadership and solid relationships. Race directors start with a reliable staff, hopefully with some racing experience. If the same six people are doing all the work every year, the race will head toward burnout. Face to face connections can turn into lifelong friendships and experiences rarely found in the daily routine of corporate work.

Races must gain the support of local businesses because entry fees rarely cover race costs. Money is a necessity but in-kind donations go along way. The cost of feeding runners can be prohibitive. Breakfast for a thousand seems unfathomable; lunch for 15,000 is beyond comprehension.

City backing is mandatory within the event procedure book.   A race can't be conducted without procuring city services such as police protection to close off streets or barricading from the Department of public works. Reducing the disruption factor to local residents, churches and motorists happens when race logistics and promotion has been done right.

Memorable race experiences for everyone involved derive when all of these key components are interwoven and the details are continually improved upon.

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