MACKINAW CITY (5/29/04) -- Well, let's see, there was the Verrazano Bridge at the New York City Marathon, the Jacques Cartier Bridge when I ran the Montreal Marathon, the spectacular Bixby Bridge at the Big Sur Marathon ...

Then there was that fun run across the Golden Gate Bridge, and a scary run/walk over a train trestle during the Swiss Alpine Marathon ...

Michigan, the notches include the Blue Water Bridge, the Belle Isle Bridge and Frankenmuth Bridge. Now I've checked off the Mighty Mac.

Running across a bridge during a workout or a road race is one of our sport's most exciting moments. So it was for 600 participants in the inaugural Mackinaw Memorial Bridge Race.

For Mike Husby, a professional golfer, this was too good an opportunity to pass up: He made the Mackinaw his first road race. "I have crossed that bridge so many times it isn't funny, but I always fantasized about running it," Husby said.

For Curt Munson, CEO of Playmakers in Lansing, it was a chance to participate in the sport at which he makes his living. For Dan Mulhern, husband of Gov. Jennifer Granholm, it was an opportunity to have his family lead Michigan into a fitter, more-healthy lifestyle.

For Mackinaw City Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Brad Jones, the bridge run was an event he had waited years for. Now the bridge has great opening and closing acts (the latter being the annual Labor Day bridge walk) for our state's summer.

This year's field was limited to 600 to test the bridge's harmonics. We passed engineers checking out the impact of all our footfalls. No problem: there will be a green light for more runners next year.

The race was chip timed, so runners could start whenever they wanted to. Theoretically, the last runner on the bridge could have won the race.

The day was beautiful, the hospitality of Mackinaw City terrific, and the experience of running the bridge was all that you would expect.

Aaron Litzner, 25, from Sault Ste. Marie, and Jane Stieber, 19, from Boyne City, were the race's first men's and women's champions. The distance was a little over five miles. Sponsors hope to make it a 10K next year.

There will also be a run added to this Labor Day's walk. Three hundred persons, who acquire their spots by lottery, will run with Gov. Granholm.

For more information, visit http://michiganfitness.org. MR