Steve’s Run, oh where was Ron Gunn when we needed him. The race was a fiasco. The college made a big mistake in taking the race away from Ron Gunn. Those that took over had evidently no idea on how to put on such an event. The outcome not only hurt the name of Steve’s Run, but also the image of SMC and the city of Dowagiac.

I would like to point out a few things that went wrong with the race. You had people putting on an event that had no idea what was required. My granddaughter, from the Detroit area, registered online, but someone goofed and registered her twice. When picking up her packet, she asked for a refund, but was told they don’t give refunds. Since she paid twice, she should have received two packets and two shirts, but was refused. I was first in line to pick up a packet. Distribution was a total mess. No one behind the counter had a clue as what to do. I had family members that waited in line 45 minutes for their packets. When I opened my packet I was surprised to see the tag with my number on it had no mention of Steve’s Run as

was the policy in the past. It was an entirely different tag, maybe left over from another race.

There were no instructions on what to do with the perforated portion at the bottom. As we waited for the start of the race there was no mention as what this race was for or that it was in honor of Steve Briegle.

One of the biggest blunders of the race was after we arrived at the cemetery there was no water available as they had run out of cups. How much sense does it take if you have 800 participants, you need a minimum of 800 cups, not 400. In the past after the water there had always been cool sponges to put on your head, neck, etc. to help cool off. There were none available at that time. I would like to thank the homeowners on Jefferson Street that put out their sprinklers to help cool us down. At the finish line one of our group collapsed due to dehydration for lack of water on the course. In the past there had been medical personnel at the finish line, but none were available this time to help us out.

Where was the time clock at the finish line? We had four members in our family that under Ron Gunn’s races would have won rewards for their age groups, but only two received them this year. My 13-year-old grandson finished first for his age group, but was told rewards were not given for those under 14.

As the head of the team known as the “Ganger Gang” I’m very concerned about the future of Steve’s Run. As a family we have for years been in this race with 20 plus participants every year and have had a great time racing. This year we had four generations participating.

After the ways things were, I doubt if many will return for future races. I’m sure they will not travel from South Carolina and Detroit as they did this year and in previous years.

Please return this race to Ron Gunn, as he is the one that made Steve’s Run the race that it was.

 

Ron Ganger

Dowagiac