Photo: Daughter Cecelia Mulhern, Governor Jennifer Granholm, and First Gentleman Dan Mulhern run in the Governor's Labor Day Bridge Run, September 6, 2004.

As our election campaign runs down, I give pause to think about politicians who have caught our collective eye during the past quarter century.

On the national front, Jimmy Carter broke out of a pack of presidential golfers - Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon and Ford - when he became involved in our sport. Alas, his most-visible running moment came when he dropped to the street of a road race like a sack of Chicago write-in ballots. Phil Stewart, writer and a principal in the firm Road Race Management, caught the moment on film and turned a pretty penny selling the image.

Carter went on to push the U.S. to boycott the 1980 Olympics, to the chagrin of Bill Rodgers, Greg Meyer and other American stars of the time.

Today's national politicians - including Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Edwards and George W. - have been conspicuous on the roads. Clinton was always trying to equalize his cheeseburger-and-fries diet with kilometers. When he came to Detroit, he often hooked up with Mayor Dennis Archer for a leisurely 5K. Gore, W. and their families have run marathons and lesser distances.

Detroit's current mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, has run a portion of the Freep Marathon, and was in training for it this year until knee problems popped up (visit http://michiganrunner.tv/2003detroit/).

A number of our state senators and House members, Bobby Crim perhaps being most notable, have succeeded running for office and on the roads.

Former Gov. William Milliken logged many miles on the roads and trails in Traverse City. One of his most-memorable runs, he told me, occurred while descending from the hills into Cape Town, South Africa, at dusk. The city was beginning to light up and the view was like none he had ever seen.

Gov. James Blanchard was into golf, perhaps spurred by his hole-in- one at the Grand Hotel course. Rumor held his ball had help dropping in the cup. Gov. John Engler was more into marathon eating than running. His annual Labor Day Mackinac Bridge walk was about all that he could handle.

Our latest Governor, Jennifer Granholm, cuts a nice figure in her running togs. She ran last year's Detroit Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot One-Mile (http://michiganrunner.tv/2003turkeytrot/) with her daughters, and joined 300 Michiganders in the inaugural Governor's Labor Day Bridge Run Sept. 6.

Jeff Gaft (left) of Traverse City is one of 300 chosen by lottery to participate in the Governor's Labor Day Bridge Run, September 6, 2004.

Granholm is also responsible for adding a new race - a Mackinac Bridge Run on Memorial Day weekend - to the calendar. Her husband, First Gentleman Dan Mulhern, did an admirable job pinch running for the Governor this year (http://michiganrunner.tv/2004MackinacBridge/) and was planning to run the Detroit Free Press/ Flagstar Bank Marathon Oct. 24. The Governor's family again plans to run the Detroit Turkey Trot this year.

As Michigan works to trim fat from its budget, the first family feels it's a good time to do the same for our waist lines. As such, they make healthy role models.

Whoever plans to run against Granholm in the future, had better lace them up now. MR