In This Issue - Michigan Runner

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idge reluctantly agreed to partner with this venture as long as the other party would as well. A preliminary measurement of the course was made. However, a labor dispute at the bridge was followed by a Bridge Authority statement that the person who had given approval to use the bridge did not have the power to do so. This ended the Ambassador Bridge’s involvement with the race. When this information reached the tunnel officials, they, too, attempted to pull out. However, during a tense meeting, Neal Shine successfully convinced them to give the race a chance for one year. With the loss of the bridge, a completely new route was charted. The marathon would now start in Windsor on Riverside Drive in the shadow of the Ambassador Bridge, proceed to the tunnel and into Detroit. The route would head east Photo by Detroit Free Press, courtesy of Ed Kozloff on Jefferson Avenue into the Grosse Pointes, turn at Kerby, and return to the finish on Belle Isle. Starting in Canada presented an added concern – transporting runners to the Windsor starting point. Eventually, two dozen city buses took on the job. An additional issue, faced by only one other race in the country, concerned the crossing of international borders. Excellent cooperation between United States and Canadian Immigration and Customs officials, along with the government officials of both Detroit and Windsor, made for many lengthy but productive meetings. Marathon Day was October 22, 1978. The day before, a pre-race clinic was held at the Radisson Cadillac Hotel on Washington Boulevard from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. A spaghetti dinner for $3.00 was offered and the evening included running films, exhibits, a medical clinic, merchandise for sale, and Dick Purtan who was the featured Master of Ceremonies. Furthermore, the announcement was to be made that the race had received certification approval just the day before. Despite the meticulous planning, however, coordinators were met with two problems as At the first Detroit Free Press Marathon in 1978 race winner Robert McOmber is first through the Tunnel. the doors were about to open. The hotel had neglected to set up tables and chairs for the spaghetti dinner! Everyone had assumed that if a dinner was being served there would be a place to sit and eat. A bad assumption! Nevertheless, there were few complaints as the crowd sat on the floor to dine. As the multitudes packed the room, it became warmer and warmer and more and more uncomfortable. To get some fresh air, an official began to open a six-foot window. As he pushed on it, it broke free from its support and crashed two floors down to the street! (The Radisson was in its last days at the time and was about to close its doors.) Nothing ruined the evening, however, and the band played on as everyone enjoyed the premarathon evening. On race day, the temperature was 57 degrees for the 9:00 a.m. start. The marathon runners were lined up in Windsor, but that was not the only event that day. On Belle Isle, a thousand runners were entered in a 10k and a mile which were to start at the same time. The entry fee for the marathon as well as the 10k was $5.00. There was no charge for the mile. The marathon field – at 1,942 starters – was over four times larger than the previous year, making it the fifth largest in the nation for that year. At the starting line was Bob McOmber, winner of the last Motor City Marathon. This was now his fourth race at this distance. In April, he had finished 17th at Boston. Was he still fit? You bet he was! He took the lead at a quarter mile into the race and never relinquished it. His 2:17:37 at the finish was over four minutes ahead of Mike Heath, who finished in 2:21:50. Mike’s father, Larry, finished 20th overall in 2:35:38. Their combined time of 4:57:28 set a national record for a father-son combination in the same race. Erma Tranter, of Chicago, was equally impressive with a women’s victory by nearly five minutes in 2:55:51. Both winners took a prize of an allexpense trip to either Boston or the Marathon de Montreal. The top youngest finisher was Keith Hanson, 13, an eighth grader at Davis Junior High in Sterling Heights. After sending a detailed letter of his training, he had received special permission to run. He finished in 3:20:0l. As the runners crossed the finish line, they were greeted by The University of Michigan Marching Band. Their times and places were recorded and this information was fed into Burroughs Corporation computers, which were considered to be the most sophisticated means of scoring a race up to that time. After this input, each runner’s name, age, city, overall place, and category place were printed out and posted. Joe Falls, now with the rival Detroit News, wrote a glowing report on the race – often an unusual practice in the newspaper business. The Detroit Free Press International Marathon had arrived and would be a distinguished event for years to come. MR 16 S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 7
Finish Line USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships, June 20-24, Indianapolis, IN Michigan Juniors Compete with the Best Photos by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios Ramzee Fondren Erin Humphrey Shayla Mahan Ramzee Fondren, Detroit Cheetahs, finished 7th in the 800 meter run, 2:08.64. Erin Humphrey, Maximum Output Track Club, competes in the 400 meter dash. Shayla Mahan, Detroit Mumford/ Motor City Track Club, placed second in the 100 meter dash, 11:38. 1 Marissa Treece Frank Shotwell Alexis Brown Marissa Treece, Maple City/Glen Lake, placed 3rd in the 5000 meter run. Frank Shotwell, University of Michigan, placed 5th in the decathlon with 7080 points. Alexis Brown,Western Michigan University, competed in both the 400 meter run and the heptathlon. M I C H I G A N R U N N E R 17
Page 4: In This Issue September / October 2
Page 8 and 9: Dexter Boys: Michigan High School R
Page 10 and 11: Senior Dan Jackson clocked an 8:55.
Page 12 and 13: Marissa Treece: Michigan High Schoo
Page 14 and 15: Running Shorts with Scott Hubbard T
Page 16 and 17: The Free Press Marathon - The Begin
Page 20 and 21: Volkslaufe, Frankenmuth Rain Spawns
Page 22 and 23: By Doug Kurtis Runners who compete
Page 24 and 25: AT&T USA Outdoor Track and Field Ch
Page 26 and 27: Photo by Charles Douglas McEwen Wat
Page 28 and 29: YMCA Father’s Day Run, Plymouth M
Page 30 and 31: XTERRA Torn Shirt Trail Off-Road Tr
Page 32 and 33: CrossRoads Labor Day 5K & Fun Run -
Page 34 and 35: Hansons Running Shop 4-16 MR (248)
Page 36 and 37: walk (269) 342-5996 bbratherton@gaz
Page 38 and 39: September - December 2007 Event Cal
Page 40 and 41: Running with Tom Henderson By Tom H
Page 42: GLSP Television Network http://glsp

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