IN THE BEGINNING ... according to the Old Testament, earth had its genesis. So did Michigan Runner magazine. Historians might view 25 years as a raindrop in the sea of time, but for most of you reading, these years mean something. For Art McCafferty, Marilyn Komon and I, 1979 was when a passage of history began.

Genesis

Thirty years ago my brother, Bob, suggested we do something for ourselves that would change our lives, and my mother's life, forever. Both of us had developed bad eating, drinking and lifestyle habits. Dad had died at age 54 and our family had a history of heart problems. Bob was 41, I was 31; we were gaining weight, getting no exercise. Change was due.

Bob had heard about Dr. Joseph Arends, an associate of Dallas M.D. Kenneth Cooper, whose books on aerobics had revolutionized thinking on the benefits of exercise. Arends had just returned to Michigan to open a practice in the little-known area of "preventive medicine."

In January 1974, following the most-comprehensive physical exam I had ever taken, Dr. Arends put me on a low-fat diet and running program that's stayed with me ever since. Though the diet remains a challenge, I haven't wavered one bit from my running for 30 years.

Cooper, author Jim Fixx and other running advocates attracted a growing audience as the '70s wore on. As I began to discuss and model running's benefits for friends, my commitment grew.

I first met Art McCafferty in a graduate class in 1968. He was teaching in Huron Valley and I in Waterford. We traveled similar paths in leadership, worked in publishing for a statewide education association, and stayed in touch.

We were both living in Ypsilanti the day I invited Art to run with me. That did it: he was hooked!

As we developed our running partnership, we talked about the organized road runs emerging throughout Michigan. Runners learned about most of these races by accident, word of mouth or small listings in local newspapers. The so-called "Running Boom" lacked a means of communication.

One night at Art's apartment, after a few brews, we decided to make our idea -- for a statewide running magazine -- a reality. Art was a genius in terms of creative skills and concepts; I was more pragmatic and concrete on how to manage finances.

Marilyn Komon, a friend who'd done printing and graphic design for our old educational publications, agreed to add her talents to our effort. The three of us formed a limited partnership in March 1979, and the first issue of Michigan Runner came out next month. We incorporated under the name Last Chance Publishing, which later became Great Lakes Sports Publications.

We had little idea of what it took to start such a business. I was a school principal, Art an associate dean at Eastern Michigan University, and Marilyn had a home-based graphics business. All three of us worked on this new venture from our homes.

1979-1985

Starting in spring 1979, Art and his family, my wife Sharon, our two children and I could be seen handing out MR copies at nearly every race in the state. It was truly a family affair.

We published 10 times a year, sold ads, gathered information from race directors, wrote runner profiles, interviewed key people in the movement and spent every weekend covering running events statewide. Slowly, we developed a network of people who lent support.

Our main focus, in the beginning, was to compile a complete calendar of state road runs. The calendar remains a key part of the magazine.

Our first issues also offered road-race coverage and columns including "Lifestyle Medicine" by Dr. Arends, "The Running Foot" by Dr. Tom Clay, "Your Pace or Mine" by Peggy Steig, and "Running Shorts" by Scott Hubbard.

Club news was featured, along with profiles on Brian Harris, Randy Bulla, Ed Wiberg and other prominent running figures. Also popular were our interviews with Frank Shorter, Gordon Minty, Herb Lindsay, Bill Rodgers and Greg Meyer, to name a few. And who could forget the meandering columns by Dogfoot?

We established a race directors workshop to help people organize new (or take over existing) road runs. Dr. Ed Kozloff was one of our top supporters in this effort as well as a strong force in running throughout Detroit and Michigan.

"An Evening with Bill Rodgers" -- sponsored by Michigan and Ohio Runner magazines, plus Charlie Blanchard's Total Runner store -- put our name in front of a bigger market. Gary Reffitt and Bob Delcampo joined our team in the early '80s, as did Jim Neff, Terry Moore and Dave Foley. Each brought new energy and experience.

With their help, we jumped into new ventures such as running tours to the Boston Marathon and U.S. Olympic Trials. We launched Michigan Golfer and Michigan Skier magazines. We introduced "Best of Times" and "Runner of The Year"features that remain with MR today.

Among newsworthy road runs then were the Motor City Marathon, Springbank in London, Ont., A Midsummer's Night Half-Marathon, Great Pastry Run-Off, Scotty Hanton Marathon, Cadillac Labor Day Race, Big Bird, Hughes and Hatcher New Year's Eve Run, Turkey Trots in Middleville and Ann Arbor, the Dexter-Ann Arbor Half-Marathon, St. Patrick's Day races and, of course, Flint's Crim and Grand Rapids' Old Kent Riverbank runs.

My first six years with MR found me wearing the hats of co-founder and co-publisher, editor, accounts manager, writer, advertising accountant, running reporter and financial manager. My children were young, and, as a family, we enjoyed the challenge and uncertainty of this new and exciting venture. I enjoyed it even more because I was part of the running movement.

I look back at those years and wonder what would have happened if we (Art, Jim, Dave Terry and I) could have devoted a full-time effort to Michigan Runner. Where would that have taken us?

My editor years were extremely special to me. They let me contribute to the growth of this important lifestyle movement. Best of all, I made friends I will treasure for all my life. MR