WALKER (4/19/03) -- When Team Striders lined up front and center for the fourth-annual Striders Saturday 10-Mile Classic, I had an inkling where this was going.

Distractions from them disappearing ahead of me were generous:

* A rolling, rural course that went out and back, so we mid-packers could see leaders midway and shout encouragement to friends running fore and aft.

* Curious horses that romped beside us.

* Cattle, equally penned, who gazed critically at my gait.

Hillsdale College grad Eric Houghton finished the hills and dales here first in 53:50, topping Striders teammate and two-time defending champion Matt Smith of Holland (54:08).

Maureen Pluger, 40, of Grand Rapids, was women's winner in 1:06:44, holding off a late charge by Andrea Lubberts, also of GR.

Masters honors went to Russ DeRoos (sixth overall in 56:51) and, in lieu of Pluger, Sue Kempema (1:11:15).

Running still needs and feeds Joe Wolters, 64, who had a stent put near his heart this winter. He won his age group by seven minutes. Another master's ace, Tim Zindler, served as a race volunteer just months after being near death with a torn aorta.

Zindler, easing back into running, said that, like Wolters, he didn't mind having lost a step or two.

"It's great being alive," he said. MR