I've been a competitive runner in five different decades, starting in grade school in the 1960s. I was an OK high school runner and maybe a bit better as a high school coach. But after 1982, I finally had to drop the sport to get a real job and start a family.

After that I'd occasionally find time to train, run a mediocre race, get injured trying to improve, and drop out again for some length of time.

I'd often attend the Detroit Free Press Marathon to cheer on old friends. Each year I'd say, "Next year, that will be me." Work, kids, injuries, stress and weight gain -- well, the marathon never happened. Until ...

In 1999 I learned the "Freep" Marathon would start holding five-person relays. I knew I could do a fifth of a marathon. I recruited my brother, brother-in-law and two friends, and we had our team. We averaged 215 pounds per runner, and looked more like the front line of a football team than guys who should be competing in a marathon, even a relay. That was the start of the Front Line Racing Team.

When my brother-in-law injured himself, I replaced him with a 48-year-old politician who'd had a heart attack years ago, but had since completed a full marathon or two. State Rep. Bill O'Neil became our "ringer."

Our 1999 team (Marc Vanhala, Marv Phelps, Jeff Horka, Bill and I) finished in the middle of the pack and had a great time. I got to know Freep director Patricia Ball quite well, emailing her endless questions while trying to figure out the logistics of putting a team together. Pat was patient and supportive, and we became buddies.

In 2000 my competitive wheels started turning. What would it take to assemble a competitive team, short of getting our 1999 quintet to lose maybe 40 pounds apiece and turn back the clock 15 years per runner? I started to recruit.

First, I contacted fast local runners. Nationally-ranked women's miler Mari Chandler joined us, as did Todd Kelly, Steve Shablin, Matt Yacoub, Mike Capraro and Ken Cook. I'm certain none of them had received a "cold call" before asking them to compete on a relay team.

I also contacted several middle-of-the pack guys, so more of us "Average Joes" could enjoy the cool blast of the relay. Front Line entered seven quintets in the 2000 Free Press Marathon.

It proved a difficult undertaking. Many team members didn't know who they would hand off to, or who I was, or many details about the marathon. Just when one team seemed about set, someone would get injured; we would scramble to replace him or her, then re-educate and reconfigure teams.

Remember the old Super Bowl commercial about cat herding? Assembling multiple teams can be, yeah, like that.

I was nervous about things falling apart on race week. I did not want to let these great runners down, and was sure I'd forget some big step along the way. I kept emailing Pat Ball asking questions like, "Can we get UPS trucks to take sweats from one spot to the next? Can you rearrange the shuttles so they don't have to leave so early? Can you start a Clydesdale Division? Can you put weights in the shoes of the Miar Industrial Team from Windsor?"

In 2000 our men's team was open champion. Our running-club team, featuring Mari Chandler, blew away competition in its division. We were ecstatic. Two Freep Marathon wins was a neat accomplishment for this cat herder. We were mentioned on a local radio station and written about in the Oakland Press.

Since then I've continued to recruit, run other marathon relays and learn more about relays than any sane person should. I've reached the conclusion that Michigan relay runners and races take a backseat to no other area. In many ways, Michigan is the marathon relay capital of world.

In 2003, state runners were tops on the Planet Earth in a number of categories. Where we were not the best, we were knocking on the door.

In two-person relays, the Hansons /Brooks team of Kyle O'Brien and Bob Busquaert combined for a world-best 2:16:12. The "Ann Arbor Goddesses," Lisa Hesse and Wanda Gunderson, were the fastest women's masters pair on the planet. Michigan two-person teams were among the top 10 in in numerous categories: See Chart 1.

Taking out national all-star team vying in the Chiba, Japan world championships, a Hansons/Brooks unit ran the third-fastest five-man time in the world (2:11:11) at the Akron Roadrunner Marathon Relays. Their effort earned them the USATF national championship: the best men's team in the USA.

Among open mixed five-person relays, Michigan's "Athletic Supporters 2" team (2:32:44) had the fastest time in the world. The Front Line Racing Team had the two best men's masters relays on the planet with their showings at Akron (2:29:11) and Detroit (2:31:58). Front Line's Akron effort gave it the USATF age 40-49 title.

Team "Lauraleightbillwart," which won last year's Freep, had the second-best five-woman time in the world, not counting the national teams at Chiba. Their 2:35:58 was almost five minutes faster than the USATF women's champs at Akron, though the Ohio course was more difficult than Detroit. Still, my money would be on the Michigan team. That could have been three U.S. titles for our state.

Excluding national all-star teams vying at the Chiba and Akron races, the Wolverine State placed the following five-person relays among the top-10 in the world: See Chart 2.

Only three five-man marathon races in the world had more than three men's teams under 2:30. They were: the International Ekiden at Chiba (19 teams), Michigan's Crystal Lake Team Marathon (nine), and the North American and USATF Championships at Akron (eight).

The largest five-man marathon relay in the world, Belfast City with 1,181 finishing quintets, had only three of them break 2:30.

It is amazing that the Crystal Lake race, which drew 93 teams to tiny Beulah, was the second-best in the world in terms of quality, sandwiched between world and U.S. championships. What are we feeding our state's runners? Has anyone recognized Beulah's people for their phenomenal event?

The Freep had at least one top-10 pair in the world in each of its six divisions, including two world leaders. Detroit's five-person races boasted three category leaders, excluding Chiba and Akron's national all-star teams. Pat Ball, Dennis Handley and Doug Kurtis deserve credit for making the Freep a world-class event.

If you had told me in 1999 that, by the end of 2003, the Front Line Racing Team would have entered 63 marathon relay units using more than 120 runners from six different states, I would have told you you'd been hanging out with the Hash House Harriers too much.

But when you're dealing with some of the fastest cats in the world, herding is a dream. MR