Scott Hubbard calls the gun time elapsed for the four to five minutes it takes for everyone to cross the start line.
MACKINAC ISLAND (9/10/05) - I'll admit it. I struggled trying to think about what to write about this year's Mackinac Island 8-Mile Road Race. Having been on the island every race weekend for the past 15 years, and having written about it for MR three or four times, the races all start to blend together. I was having trouble coming up with a "hook."

Sure, it was the 35th anniversary, but I had written a history of the race when it turned 30 and not much has changed in the last five years.

Chatting with Mark Bauman and Scott Hubbard at registration the night before, I was still stumped. Race numbers have dropped since the late- '90s peak years after Runner's World wrote about it, settling back to roughly 2,000 participants. Things seemed a bit quieter still this year, but with gas prices being what they were that was not surprising. Even talking with friends that night over beers on the porch of the Inn on Mackinac didn't give me an idea. But suddenly, by race morning, I had a plan.

Why not find out what Scott Hubbard does during the race? He has called the finish for this and other Michigan races for years. Even though I've known Scott all that time, I really did not know what that entailed.

So I showed up behind him on the balcony of Mission Point Resort just before the start and said, "Scott, you're my angle this year." By the end of the morning, I realized Scott is a bit like the Wizard of Oz:

o You hear his booming voice - coming from who knows where? - over a sound system.

o He sure knows a lot about running and Michigan geography.

o Although I didn't hear him try to interpret "Surrender Dorothy," he solved many problems of various sorts for folks during the race.

Things were bustling on the small balcony over the start line, despite a light rain that morning. First an emergency appeared when a woman, who'd fallen and bloodied her head, came to look for help. Scott pointed her toward medical support.

Then he provided Mike Marutiak, from the Michigan Department of Corrections, a few minutes on the mic to talk about this year's Law Enforcement Torch Run Week (more about that later). Riley McLincha, who most of us know better as the guy who dribbles basketballs while running races, sang the National Anthem in his deep baritone.

Scott advised runners on how to get to the start line properly (no small task given some seemed to hardly know there was a race going on at all), and helped motivate them by calling the gun time elapsed for the four to five minutes it took for everyone to cross the line.

He then had to relocate all his equipment to the gazebo near the finish line, and hook up with his spotter to call the names of runners as they came in.

While we were waiting for the leaders, a woman approached the gazebo and asked Scott to announce the score of a pee-wee football game taking place on the lawn (the Mackinaw Horses had taken a commanding lead over the Red Fire).

Sunglasses soon appeared for the "lost and found." People gathered to chat and ask questions ("Where and when will results be posted?"). My technology-averse husband even peered over Scott's shoulder to figure out what he was doing on the computer. (That may have been the oddest event all day!)

Scott calls about 10 road races and several more track and cross country events a year, and I suspect most of them require as much multi- tasking as Mackinac seemed to.

I do want to say more about the Law Enforcement Torch Run, which took place the same week as the Mackinac Island race. A number of its 24 participants were running the island eight miles as well. It involves officials from the Fraternal Order of Police, county sheriff's offices and the state corrections department running a 750-mile relay from Copper Harbor to Sterling Heights to raise money for the Michigan Special Olympics. They deserve our support and thanks.

Let's not ignore this year's winners! Kirk Walrath of Fenton, overall champ two years ago and last year's runner-up, took the lead at the mile and finished in 42:58, almost four minutes faster than second-place David Sievert (46:49) of Frankenmuth, who was also the masters winner. Kirk and his wife, Timianne, come to the island each year for their anniversary. Kirk, who acknowledges he's a "voracious racer," had been feeling a bit tired lately but was really pleased with his win.

Leading the women was a "summer local" gal, Lindsey Bohrer-Yardley (52:57) from Oneida, N.Y., who works at the Iroquois Hotel. She didn't decide to run the race until 3 p.m. Friday when she first learned of it, but was glad she did. Lindsey's recent college cross country and steeplechase experience, plus her daily chance to train on the course, worked to her advantage. Linda Borck (56:29) of Grand Rapids was the women's masters champion.

In the end, I was happy with my "hook." I never realized how much goes on from Scott's vantage during the race, and I was impressed with how well he manages interruptions while staying focused on catching as many runners' names as possible on the PA during the finish.

The original Wizard said, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain," and most race participants do just that. On behalf of all of us who have experienced our "two seconds of fame" at Mackinac, "on the bricks" at Crim, or in some other venue as he calls our names, thank you, Scott. You're a wizard, indeed.

Robin Sarris-Hallop, 1999 Michigan Women's Runner of the Year and twice Women's Master Runner of the Year, is among the many who have made the Mackinac Island 8-Mile Road Race an annual tradition. MR