Photo by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studio

CARROLLTON (7/25/04) - Carrollton. Where's that? One of Michigan's best-kept secrets is a little marathon held in this little town north of Saginaw in mid-summer.

The fifth annual Carrollton Charity Road Races, sponsored by the local Lions Club and directed by Craig Douglas, featured a 20K, 10K and 5K in addition to the marathon.

The 42.2K course was just over 1.5 miles long. We started with a 2.2K out-and-back section. The rest of the race was a study in deja vu, as we ran the same 5K course, also out and back, eight times.

Few other U.S. marathons take place the last weekend in July, so Carrollton attracts quite a few of the marathon-a-week crowd. Norm Frank, featured in a recent edition of Runner's World, was there, closing in on his 900th marathon. Don McNelley, 83, who ranks third in the U.S. with more than 600 marathons run, was present. Nancy Broadbridge, who ran marathons in every state and D.C. in the same year, was there. Several other 50 States Marathon Club members were there as well. Compared to them, I was still a rookie, there to run "only" my 95th marathon and keep my marathon-a-month streak going.

Only 116 people entered the marathon. Some opted for a 5 a.m. start; the rest of us went at six, all hoping to finish before the heat became too intense.

An interesting part of this race was its lack of mile markers. The first 2.2K equals roughly 1.4 miles; what pace is that if I ran it in 12:05? Douglas painted a mark on the road one mile from the start,which he measured with his car odometer. Based on my time getting there, I decided not to use it to gauge my pace. Instead, I tried to run 5Ks as close to 28 minutes as possible, stay strong and finish around four hours.

Two aid stations - one 2K from the start (which we came back through at 3K) and the other near the start-finish area - were plenty to keep us hydrated. The course, despite lacking mile markers, was certified, so no one got cheated out of mileage and a few qualified for Boston.

This year's Carrollton races raised close to $4,000 for the local M.S. Society, East Side Soup Kitchen, and Lions Club Sight First and Leader Dog charities.

Mike Aldrink, 27, of Bradenton, Fla., won the men's race in 2:39:00. Bonnie Sexton, 37, of Mattawan, was the women's champ in 3:16:43.

If you're not doing anything on the last Sunday of next July, check out this unique race. Five kilometers is about right for a multiple out-and- back race. Not too far out or back, and you can count all the loops before you run out of fingers.

And the adventure continues ... MR