Bumper Run

February 6, 2002

Jeff Rizer's To The Occasion
by Don Richmond

Shelby Twp (2/6) - Fast runners run fast times, and finish near the front in races. Fast runners with experience find a way to grasp the opportunities that come with being near the lead and turn them into victories.

Such was the case at the 2002 Bumper Run held at Stony Creek MetroPark on the evening of February 6th. This race had appeared early on to be a 3-man affair, as Brett Sanborn, Jeff Rizer, and Donnie Richmond separated themselves from the pack and began their long, challenging 6-plus mile loop of Stony Creek Lake. But just past 3 miles, Richmond was feeling good, and decided to step up the pace and see if he could open a gap, and it looked to be the right call when neither Sanborn nor Rizer went with him. His lead grew, and after 5 miles, he had gained over 20 seconds on the pair of challengers, and looked like he would collect his first win on the roads. "It had gotten dark out by that point,", Sanborn said, "and we could no longer make him out in the distance ahead of us, so at that point we kind of assumed we were running for second.".

However, up ahead, Richmond, the inexperienced sophomore 16-year-old from Oxford High School had met his match, and it wasn't in the form of a runner with two legs. It was in the form of a bike path with two directions. Yogi Berra, who coined the famous "If you come to a fork in the road...take it.", would have been proud. "At about 5.5 miles, the path splits into a 'Y'.", a disappointed Richmond said. "I thought that taking a right would have turned me into one of the picnic areas, which we were told not to do, but going left crossed the main park road, which we were also told was the wrong way. So I had a choice to make, and it turned out to be the wrong one.".

Turning right was right, as he found out much too late, and took the rest of the runners to the finish line, while Richmond continued on out to the Park exit, well over a half mile away. Back on the trail, and heading to the finish, was Rizer and Sanborn, thinking they were competing for the runner-up position, but battling each other hard nonetheless. Rizer threw in a couple of surges, and it was enough to give him a gap that he held to the finish line, crossing in 35:53. Sanborn came across soon after in 36:40. Tim Rowland, a teammate of Richmond's at OHS, was third in 37:35. Richmond made a sheepish midpack appearance 10 minutes behind the leaders in 45:17.

(note: The Rizer-Sanborn-Richmond 1-2-3 finish order was reversed the following weekend at the Heart & Sole 3mi in Huntington Woods, as Richmond stayed on course for his first road victory.)

In the women's race, Laura Murphy had the speed, the experience, AND the benefit of being defending champion and knowing the course like the back of her hand. This is a course she has raced and trained on MANY times in her career, which has seen Olympic Trails Marathons and too many wins to count on the regional scene. In fact, she finished 6th overall, and over 7 minutes up on second place finisher Shannon Shea. The defending men's champion, and Laura's husband, Mark Neal, took a break from running, and was assigned the task of organizing Laura's cheering section this year at the finish line, which consisted of her twin four-year-olds, Abby and Casey, who actually seemed to be more fascinated by the park skating rink than Mom "just" winning another running race. "Though I am not in great racing shape at the moment, my performance at the Bumper Run confirms that my training is exactly where it is.", Laura quipped.

Conditions were excellent for the run, with a mild breeze, a clear paved bike path, no precipitation, and temps in the upper 30's for the 40 runners present. Gift certificates for local restaurants were handed out to the overall winners and last place finisher, a tradition at this event. Many more were drawn as door prizes, made possible by the generous donations of Fuddruckers, AppleBees, Don Pablo's, Memphis Pit Bar-B-Que, and Hooters. There were ample refreshments for all to enjoy afterward in the warm, friendly confines of the warming house, including apples, bananas, Gatorade & water, and even New York Bagels compliments of the Ferndale store.

This run is held annually on the anniversary of a local runner being hit in 1994 by a truck while running, and is a reminder to all about the importance of running safely while sharing the roads with motorists and other pedestrians.

Top 30 Males:
1. Jeff Rizer, 29, 35:53
2. Brett Sanborn, 35, 36:40
3. Tim Rowland, 15, 37:35
4. Hank Osier, 53, 40:50
5. Jeff Smith, 29, 41:24
6. Jim Kruse, 58, 41:57
7. Mike Sobak, 49, 42:46
8. Bill Spurrier, 35, 44:03
9. Michael Maska, 45, 44:13
10. Donnie Richmond, 16, 45:17
11. Jim Paul, 46, 45:26
12. Clarence Bury, 52, 45:33
13. G. Geck, 53, 46:00
14. David Bolam, 43, 46:16
15. Paul Levengood, 45, 46:17
16. Bob Kosen, 52, 46:54
17. Walt Storrs, 57, 47:22
18. Pat Roche, 62, 47:49
19. Bill Fuchs, 51, 47:56
20. Wayne Z, 59, 48:16
21. Bill Roney, , 48:30
22. Jeremy Loveday, 28, 48:37
23. Jim Karne, 63, 48:45
24. Joe Baldwin, , 48:51
25. Currell Pattie, 58, 49:11
26. Mike Forrester, 39, 49:59
27. Kevin Marturuk, 29, 50:58
28. Jim Nardi, 54, 51:36
29. Kruse, 59, 58:32
30. Tom Cameron, 59, 1:01:19
Top Females:
1. Laura Murphy, , 41:24
2. Shannon Shea, , 48:30
3. Brenda Loveday, 32, 48:36
4. Dana Pozniak, 25, 49:59
5. Jane Otto, 41, 51:25
6. Christine Baker, 30, 1:06:11

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