Nick Stanko, 24, of Ann Arbor, made the most of his first Volkslaufe, winning the 20K in 1:05:19.
FRANKENMUTH (7/4/05) - The Volkslaufe celebrated its 30th anniversary with a strong turnout of 2,280 runners and walkers. Many have made this event a Fourth of July tradition.

"My first Volkslaufe was in 1978," said Kevin Hanson, 44, of Sterling Heights. "My family and I have been here in some capacity every year since then.

"For us, the Fourth of July means Volkslaufe. We don't think of going anywhere else," he said.

Nick Stanko, 24, of Ann Arbor, made the most of his first Volkslaufe (German for "people's race"), winning the 20K in 1:05:19. Nicholas Mockeridge, 23, of Belleville, was a distant second in 1:08:04.

"It's a great course," said Stanko. "When you're out in the cornfields, the sun kind of drains you. But when you get shade on the dirt roads, you recoup."

Stanko, a former University of Michigan standout, ran the 20K as part of the Michigan Runner of the Year Race Series. So far in the Series, he has finished second overall at the Bay City St. Patrick's Day 8K March 20, won the Flushing Tax Trot 15K April 16, and took third at the Northville Solstice Run 5K June 25. Stanko's Volkslaufe win has him setting pretty.

"A lot of guys I look up to, such as Paul Aufdemberge and Ian Forsyth, have won the Runner of the Year award," said Stanko. "This seemed like a good year for me to go after it, since my wife (Theresa) and I are expecting a child. I might not have as much time to train next year."

Kim Peterson, 36, of Farmington, defended her 20K women's crown from last year, crossing 1:20:04.

"The last 10K was really rough," she said. "Marybeth (Reader, her training partner) really pushed me."

Reader, 36, of West Bloomfield, took second in 1:21:42.

"Kim is a negative-splits person," noted Reader. "She'll start out easy and pick it up at about four miles. After that, she's a motor. She goes and goes."

Winning the 10K were Richie Brinker, 29, of Clarkston (31:54) and Rebekah Smeltzer, 16, of Monroe (37:54).

"I wasn't going to do this race at first, because I'm not in great shape," said Brinker, who has won several Volkslaufe 10Ks. "But I heard it was the 30th anniversary, so I had to do it again."

Nate Egger, 22, of Lansing (32:05) and Kellee Lemcke, 16, of Macomb (39:34) were the men's and women's runners-up.

Adam Roach, 21, of Port Huron (15:48) and Suzanne Larsen, 27, of Fenton (18:20) were the 5K run winners. Rod Craig, 47, of Bad Axe (27:04) and Lisa Sonntag, 41 of Schererville (27:22) claimed the 5K walk.

"I hope it (the Volkslaufe) goes on for another 30 years," Larsen said.

For complete results, visit michiganrunner.net. To learn more about the Volkslaufe, go to www.volkslaufe.org. MR