Betsy Frens is 'Crim' of the Crop
Betsy Frens won the Brian Diemer Amerikam 5K in June.

After giving birth to her first child in November 2003, Betsy Frens, 30, of Kalamazoo, competed in just a handful of races in 2004. But she still grasped a lion's share of victories.

Frens, our co-Female Runner of the Year, returned to the roads June 12 with a roar by winning the Brian Diemer Amerikam 5K. She had done well in the Cutlerville race before, winning it in 2001 with a PR of 16:27. She didn't run that fast this year, but her 17:05 still placed her eight seconds ahead of former Irish Olympian Monica Joyce in a competitive field.

Two weeks later Frens doubled at the Reeds Lake Run in East Grand Rapids, winning the 5K (17:07), then taking second in the 10K (36:38). "I felt pretty tired by the end of the 10K," she admits.

In late July, Frens won the Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival 5K (17:11). She completed her comeback year finishing first among U.S. women (and seventh overall) in the Crim 10 Mile with a PR of 58:58.

Frens' Crim triumph gave her 100 MR Race Series points for the season, tying Fenton's Suzanne Larsen. As a result, they shared the women}s award this year.

"I didn't know what to expect at Crim," Frens recalls. "My only other 10- mile race was the 2002 Crim, when I ran 59:18. On the seventh mile this year, I got an extra burst of energy. It helped me run faster this time around."

Frens ended her season after Crim so she could concentrate on coaching the Kalamazoo Christian High School girls cross country team. Her Division 3 Comets won their conference and regional, and finished 14th in the state. One of her girls, Leah Reames, finished second in the state meet.

"I treasure coaching at a Christian school," says Frens, "because I can teach younger athletes about running and fitness, and share my faith with them."

The former Betsy Haverkamp was a seven-time All-American in track and cross country at Calvin College, where she was 1997 Division 3 champion in the 3,000-meter run. (Her PR at that distance is 9:51.) Her husband to be, Kent Frens, was also an All American runner at Calvin. Now he helps her plan workouts and occasionally trains with her.

Frens had a big year on the roads in 2002, when she swept the Reeds Lake 5K and 10K, won Standard Federal Bank Series 10Ks in Grand Rapids and Auburn Hills, and finished first among Michigan women at the Crim. In March of 2003, she won the Spectrum Health Irish Jig 5K in 16:41 and seemed bound for another great year of racing.

"I was in good shape and planned to race a lot that summer," she remembers. "Things changed when I found out I was pregnant."

The Frens' daughter, Madelyn, did what she could to get her mother back on the circuit as fast as possible. "Madelyn arrived eight weeks early," Frens says. "It was quite an experience. But she's healthy. And Kent and I are blessed to have such a beautiful baby."

"When I finally started racing again in June, I couldn't believe how good it was to be back," she goes on. "I'm really looking forward to next year."

"The idea that God will always be there gives me strength and energy," she declares. MR