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 Michigan Runner's Top 25 Male Runners Ron Marinucci May / June 2003 Michigan Runner
Writing about our state's top-25 male runners has been an interesting,
fun assignment, but a lot tougher than I'd thought. How does one
choose the "25 best" among thousands of Michigan competitors? Since the story celebrates Michigan Runner magazine's 25th
anniversary, I have generally limited choices to men who've raced in the
last quarter-century. This eliminates many fine runners, including a
number of road-racing pioneers and Olympians. MR focuses on distance running, so I arbitrarily chose to concentrate on
athletes who excelled at three miles/5K and beyond on roads, track or in
cross country. Although I have written dozens of articles on state runners, I sought
help from people who know more than I do. I was amazed by their
expertise and am grateful for it.
From the dozen-plus experts I asked for nominations, I first received 78
names. That number grew to 103, then 122! What was I to do? So, my methodology? I tallied the nominations, examined personal
running records and accomplishments. I returned to some of my experts
two and three times. I leafed through Michigan Runner issues going
back more than 15 years (that's all I have) and other journals, checking
times, longevity, and Runner of the Year awards. Some choices were obvious; as Bob Cross of the Michigan Grand
Masters said, "their accomplishments speak for themselves." Others picks were tougher. Does longevity count for more than strong
performances over a shorter time span? Are fast times the main
criterion? Does specialization take precedence over racing at many
distances? You'll find some of these runners were very good for a short time, others
good over the longer haul, and some very good over very-long hauls. At
least one has had a long, long haul.
I kept thinking back to when ESPN listed the Secretariat 35th among its
"Athletes of the Century." At least my list doesn't have any animals. I
hope it sparks discussions and brings happy memories.
This ex-Hillsdale College standout was a consistent winner at distances
from 5K to marathon in the 1990s and early 2000s and was a player on
the national road-racing scene for a couple years. A three-time Michigan Runner of the Year, he is still going strong at age
38, as witness his 14:55 5K at this year's Spectrum Health Irish Jig.
The ex-University of Michigan All-American was a three-time U.S.
Olympian in steeplechase, winning bronze at the 1984 Summer Games. He performed at numerous world championships, and continues to give
back to the sport as Calvin College's distance-running coach and
organizer of events.
Bill Donakowski
A decade later, he placed fourth at the USATF 10K Championships in
28:08. He was Michigan Runner of the Year in 1992 and Master of the Year
eight years later. ______________________________________________________
He was Michigan Runner of the Year in '82 amid tough competition, and
Senior Runner of the Year a decade later. _______________________________________________________
He's consistently ranked among the nation's top age-group runners. Forshee was 1987 Michigan Runner of the Year and has been Senior
Runner of the Year three times. _______________________________________________________
He ruled state roads in the early-'90s, winning or being first Michigan
finisher at races ranging from 5K to marathon. Hamm was Michigan Runner of the Year from 1993-95. _______________________________________________________
Photo by Jeffrey C. Ferrell. A top-flight state- and national-level competitor for four decades, Hallop
was '91 Michigan Runner of the Year and Senior Runner of the Year six
years later. _______________________________________________________
Harris, now in his 70s, is another age-group ace whose times are the
envy of runners 40 years his junior. He ran a sub-17 5K at 67 years old. _______________________________________________________
He was '86 Michigan Runner of the Year and '95 Senior Runner of the
Year. _______________________________________________________
Photo by Victah Sailer. An early star on the Michigan roads, he placed third in the '77 AAU 10K,
first in the '82 Detroit Marathon, ran a 2:12 PR at the '83 Boston
Marathon and placed 12th in the next year's U.S. Olympic Marathon
Trials. Hinz also ran a 14:25 three-mile. __________________________________________________
Photo by William Coutant. He began running later in life than most, but has also made more of it
than most. The retired Grand Rapidian has been Senior Runner of the Year for the
last three years, and annually ranks among the top national age-group
runners. __________________________________________________
Would any list be legitimate without Kurtis? He holds world records with
40 marathon wins and 76 sub-2:20 marathons. Will his record of 12 sub-2:20 marathons in one year ever be
approached? Kurtis won an unprecedented six Detroit Marathons and
ran well in shorter races too. Although he's "retired" from competitive marathon racing, he continues
to hold his own among masters at shorter distances -- check the
national race results and you'll see his name.
In the early days of Michigan Runner, he was Michigan's finest runner.
The Reed City native became a Michigan State University All-American,
set U.S. records at 10 miles (45:58), the half-marathon (1:01:47) and
25K (1:14:29), and was Runner magazine's U.S. Road Racer of the
Year in 1979 and '80. Lindsay stopped competing after a 1984 injury,
then came back to be '99 Michigan Master Runner of the Year.
For a couple years, he won just about every race he entered. He beat
Kurtis by a minute to capture the '81 Detroit Marathon, despite stopping
a few yards short of the finish to vomit. McGuire also ran a 24:00 Freedom Festival five-mile, placing second to
the great Henry Rono. __________________________________________________
Parlayed his high-school football toughness to become an EMU
national champion and one of the world's top milers (with a best of
3:52). He twice ran in the Olympic Games and World Championships. He twice ran in the Olympic Games and World Championships.
The Grand Rapids native and U-M All-American had short speed too,
running sub-4:00 miles. Meyer won his hometown River Bank 25K run seven times and recruits
elites to compete now in that event.
Running marathons into his 90s qualifies Ramsey for this list. He started competing at age 70 after a heart attack, has run hundreds of
races, and been honored by national organizations and magazines. He's still going, as well. __________________________________________________
Ah, from the oldest to the youngest, from a nonagenarian to the kid. Ritzenhein was a multiple national track and cross country champion at
Rockford High School, placed third at the 2001 World Junior 8K Cross
Country Championships, and fourth at the 2002 NCAA Cross meet as a
freshman for national-champion Colorado. Likely as not, he'll head MR's "Top-25 Male Runners" a quarter-century
from now.
John Scherer
Internationally, Scherer finished as high as fifth in the Indoor World
3,000-Meter Championships in '91.
Another strong west-side runner, Smith became an EMU 10K All-
American and '88 Michigan Runner of the Year. He was national-caliber in everything from steeplechase to marathon. __________________________________________________
Photo by Charles Douglas McEwen. This two-time Michigan Runner of the Year was a winner, or top state
finisher, at a variety of distances during the late-'90s, and flirted with a
2:20 marathon. _______________________________________________________
One of the stable of talented runners from Team Hansons, Verran's 17th
at the 2000 World Half-Marathon Championships was the best finish
ever by an American. He was second American at the 2001 New York Marathon, third U.S.
finisher at the '02 Chicago Marathon (2:14:16) and third at this year's
U.S. Men's Marathon Championship in Birmingham, Ala.
Another "must" for the list, this Monroe native -- who retired from
competition in January -- has succeeded wherever he's run. Williams was a University of Tennessee All-American, national
champion on the roads, track and in cross country, and two-time
Olympian. He holds U.S. records for 15K (42:23) and half-marathon
(1:00:11).
He was a perennial Detroit Marathon top-10 finisher, and ran a 2:20
marathon at Boston. He was overall winner of the Ann Arbor Jingle Bell
5K at age 50. MR
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