TRIVIA: Who holds the longest consecutive-days running streak in Michigan?
GOT POWER. I shared the following on the mirunlist website the day after the big power outage of Aug. 14.

Today was certainly an unusual day in Michigan. Mine started normally, then tailed off. Welcome to Scott's Excellent Adventure.

Yesterday was surreal and hot but, lucky me, I live in a pocket of power in Flint (now Fenton). The unlucky part is I work in Novi, which lost power and I woke up this morn hoping it'd been restored overnight. Cycled 25.5 miles early, then started making calls to the Novi area. No power. No work. What to do?

At 10:15 a.m. I got the brilliant idea to complete my Detroit Free Press Marathon course-measuring in one of the largest cities in North America minus power. I figured, what the hey, traffic will be minimal, which is ideal. Made sure I gassed up, bought some paint and, holding my breath in case he vetoed the idea, called my Ambassador Bridge contact to see about the minor measuring I needed to do there. He said fine and I headed for Motown.

On the way down I-75, traffic was bumper-to-bumper headed north to find electricity and gas. As I neared the bridge, noticed traffic was backed WAY up to enter the toll area. I mean, it was WAY backed up. The tunnel was closed. Met Ken at the bridge and completed the short segment there inside of five minutes while he held up trucks for me. The trucks were backed up from the Canadian side all the way back through the tollbooths into the US.

The marathon course will be the same between miles 3-15, so I was measuring from the start to the three-mile mark at the bridge and from mile 15 on Belle Isle to the 26-mile mark. The goal was to keep the same start and finish lines as last year. Went to the one-mile mark and rode to the bridge via the new route and, very cool, the distance was the same as '02. Rode back to my car, did some calculations, then it started to rain. Drove next to Ford Field. Since the 26-mile mark had been paved over, had to go to the old mile 25 and ride back to relocate it.

Traffic, except for the bridge area, was the lightest I've ever seen in Detroit and many traffic lights were somehow working. Of course, next to nothing was open for business. Rode from Ford Field out to Belle Isle and started at the 13-mile mark to relocate the 14-mile mark because, THANK YOU, that stretch had been repaved, then moved onto the 15-mile mark. Many of you have either seen or heard about the rock sculptures by the Coast Guard Station near mile 15. They're put together by ordinary citizens and look very impressive.

Performed calculations and set off around the island, stopping at miles 16, 17 and 18 to paint marks before hitting Jefferson. There weren't many people driving around the island or picnicking, which seemed eerie. Fine by me as I got to ride tangents without hassle. After mile 18 I simply rode to mile 26 because I knew that part of the course was a bit short and mile marks would come after I determined how short. It was weird seeing Greektown virtually empty. Power was slowly being restored and there were LONG, LONG lines for gas stations.

After finding out how much I had to add, drove out to Indian Village, took my measuring tape and located the turn point for a tiny loop before runners head into the tony historic district. A guy on a bike asked what I was doing and I explained about the marathon. He wanted to know how far the marathon was. I replied and he was impressed. Mile 19 is just up Burns from Jefferson in Indian Village. Then I rode along, stopping to paint the mile marks and landed right on top of mile 26. All in a day's work.

Rode back to Indian Village to pack up the bike, paint the turnaround arrows and take field notes. A homeless guy in a wheelchair scooted up, told me how put out he was and I gave him a couple Gatorades. Drove over and painted the 2-mile mark in Mexican Town, then hit the highway for home.

You're probably having a hard time keeping all this straight and wondering, maybe, how many miles I rode. Think I got in 32.5 miles going here 'n' there. And, yes, it was hot and humid but thankfully, all the cycling I've done this summer has conditioned me. I'd planned to do the measuring on Saturday (this was Friday) but today worked out near ideal. I don't wish a power outage on anybody but have no problem taking advantage of one.

In closing, I want to thank Ken at the bridge for making it all possible. Although I had to ride for hours, if I hadn't been able to get at that 184 feet on bridge property, I would've stayed home. It was organized chaos there but everybody seemed patient. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

IN THE DAY. Was talking with a friend recently about running apparel "back in the day." I started running in Sept. '67 and I'll take you from head to toe, by season.

Shoes were made of real leather my first two years before I ordered some nylon Tigers (Asics) in spring '70. My last leather pair were adidas Country's in the mid-'70s. Nylon was proving to be just as strong, resilient and breathed better.

Nike and adidas have recently produced "retro" shoes that look a lot like the old stuff. Something isn't quite right about them though as they don't feel the same.

It took a little longer for nylon to work its way into apparel. Except for racing shorts and singlets, everything else was made of, surprise, cotton my first five years. The only all-nylon was in shorts until about the mid-'70s when wind/rainsuits were made by adidas. They had no venting and sweat would freeze inside the material. In time, the nylon became softer and vents eased heat buildup in coats.

Going sockless started the conversation above. Think I went sockless in the '70's because, um, everybody else did, plus socks available were ill-fitting and fell apart. I recall using rubber bands to hold some hose up. Going sockless toughened your feet and sometimes they took on the color of your shoes if the dye ran. Going sockless in winter wasn't a problem because feet heat up in the first mile.

In winter, except for my athletic supporter, hat and gloves, cotton kept me warm. I don't know how it did and since I didn't know any better assumed whatever chill felt was how things were. Hats were wool blends and gloves, well, whatever was around including leather. It all got damp and clammy and wore out faster than synthetic materials to follow.

Until the late '70s when running-specialty stores began popping up, you had to order shoes and apparel via mail. Some of the early big names in the industry were Sub-4, Dolfin, Frank Shorter, GUTS, Sportco and Bill Rodgers.

Polypropylene, the moisture-wicking material, slowly made its way into apparel in the '80s. The early blends of polypro retained odors and melted or shrank big-time in the dryer. I still own a polypro shirt from '83, scratchy but effective. Moisture-wicking apparel is a little more expensive than cotton but makes exercising a much more comfortable experience.

I can not explain how I managed without a nylon-paneled wind-brief my first 20 years of winter running.

ANSWER: Bill Leibfritz of Midland, 46, has run every day since 12/3/81. MR