2005 Freep Marathon
Praising the Volunteers
- By Doug Kurtis
Free Press Columnist

Putting on a marathon in a major city is a monumental task. More than 3,000 volunteers and staff members were needed for Sunday's Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank Marathon.

Some show on race day. Others spend weeks, months and for some the entire year donating time to make our event the success it has become. (Full disclosure: I am the course designer and operations director.)

I can't possibly recognize everyone who contributed, but here are a few who went beyond the call of duty.

Our finish-area captains, Bob Smith and Dewey Ames, had a tough job. Setting up Ford Field should take an entire day, but they pulled it off in several hours after the Catholic League completed its football games, which lasted past 11 p.m. Saturday. Smith and Ames were cleaning up and putting things away long after the last runner went home Sunday.

The Detroit police tactical operations unit scrupulously prepares for the event. It's no easy task. Synchronizing barriers to shut down roads, rerouting traffic and keeping runners on a course that changes every year, in part because of construction, has its tense moments.

Most runners are unaware of the last-minute fixes that are resolved quickly. Runners are fortunate that Officer Samuel Alford has a genuine affection for the marathon and takes pride in coordinating the tactical operations efforts.

My unsung hero award goes to Ken Medelis. He spent days helping to measure the course, paint mile markers, chalk the turns and set out delimiters (those orange plastic posts). After working the weekend at the health and fitness expo at Cobo Center and spending the middle of the night setting up the course, he was still going strong separating the relay teams from the marathoners before they entered Ford Field and crossed the finish line.

For the past several marathons I've used a pre-sweep crew to identify and correct issues on the course just before runners arrive. This year the Monroe Milers volunteered to handle this duty. Their race expertise and quick thinking helped avoid any major incidents.

Aldo Gabriele's sincere and positive personality always keeps the event staff in a cheerful mood. His creative efforts to coordinate publicity, entertainment and fluid stations on the Windsor side of the course didn't go unnoticed by the record crowd of runners, which numbered 13,324.

No stranger to running, new lead vehicles recruit John Werhly carefully coordinated the long list of cars and drivers that identified the lead runners of each event and helped keep the rest on the right course.

Team relay director Dennis Handley continues to refine the logistics for hundreds of teams. Coordinating buses for the drop-off and delivery of the runners takes a lot of patience. Then there is setup and tear-down of every location. Despite heart surgery this year, Handley worked around the clock.

Runners, spectators and volunteers were all thankful the weather forecast turned out to be wrong. Once again, everyone crossing the Ambassador Bridge witnessed a glorious sunrise and strode through many newly paved streets in Detroit under sunny skies and ideal temperatures. Out-of-towners and locals alike saw Detroit and Windsor at their best.

Can we get 15,000 runners in 2006? Bring it on.

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