Every down-river area runner knows Tony Mifsud. And vice versa. He seems to know everyone by their first name, and they respond.

Tony has lived in or near Detroit since moving from Malta at age seven. He grew up in Corktown in the shadow of Tiger Stadium. When he runs downtown, he is home.

Tony started running in 1960 at Cody High School. His 4:25 mile as a junior was the second-best high-school time in the state that year. Unfortunately, Public School League teams didn't compete in state meets from 1930 until the 1960-61 school year; members thought they had most of Michigan's talent in their own ranks and preferred competing amongst themselves. So Tony ran against Redford's Dick Sharkey and Detroit Eastern's future-Olympian Lou Scott.

Tony finished second to Sharkey as a senior in the '61 state cross country meet, leading Cody to ninth place as a team. He took fifth in the state track mile with a 4:21 the next spring, trailing winner Sharkey (4:13.2) and runnerup Scott (4:13.3).

Tony's dad, who worked for Ford Motor Co., wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. Tony had other ideas, but his road proved long.

Spring Arbor College offered him a chance to continue running. There, Tony was a national junior college champion as a freshman and led the team to second place at nationals. He was also one of the only Catholic kids at the school, missed life in the city and weekend dancing.

Tony transferred to Henry Ford Community College and worked on the Ford Motor Co. assembly line for a semester, then accepted a scholarship to Arizona State University. Scott and another future Michigan Olympian, Henry Carr, were running for ASU then. Before Tony could set his spikes on the turf, he was ruled ineligible on a credits technicality. Eastern Michigan University track backer Bill Mays helped give him a chance to run for that school.

Tony married his high-school sweetheart, Jewell, in 1965. The next year, he gained U.S. citizenship and starred on EMU's cross-country team, which gave the university its first NAIA title in any sport. Life was going well - but a road bump loomed.

In 1967, Tony was sitting at a stoplight on his way to work when he saw, in his rear-view mirror, a car flying toward him. The next day, he was lying in St. Mary's Hospital paralyzed from the waist down. Doctors told him he might need surgery to fix a fifth-lumbar fracture. A talk with a woman who had many operations to repair the same injury convinced Tony not to do it. The decision enabled him to run again, but not for another 10 years.

The 1980s became the second wave of Tony's running career. He set personal bests such as a 1:06 half-marathon at Williamston and a 2:25 marathon in Philadelphia, the latter after a disappointing race in Detroit just a few weeks earlier.

Politics killed Tony's chance to compete for Malta in the Olympics, but not his passion for running. He helped start the Allen Park Street Fair Run in 1977 and continues directing it to this day.

Since his recovery, Tony has coached runners at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Henry Ford Community College, Allen Park and Southgate high schools. He now coaches girls cross country and track at Dearborn Divine Child High School, and helps organize major area races such as Trenton's Zanglin Run, Taylor's Hopgood 5K and Riverview's Winterfest Run.

The name Tony Mifsud is synonymous with the Downriver Runners Club. Hundreds of runners enjoy his gregarious personality, which flows from his motto, "Love life and life will love you back."

Writer Doug Kurtis, who has an affinity for running and runners too, holds world records for the most sub-2:20 marathons (76) and marathon wins (40). He may be contacted at dkurtis@earthlink.com. MR