By Staff
DOWAGIAC – No matter what the weather is nor how some of the participants feel that day, runners who come back year after year continue to do so because they believe in the cause behind the annual Steve's Run in Dowagiac.
The annual race, sponsored by Southwestern Michigan College, is held in memory of Steven Briegel, son of former SMC president David Briegel and his wife Camille. Steve was an SMC honors graduate who lost his fight against cancer in 1990. Steve was an avid sports enthusiast and served as a student assistant at SMC's athletic events.
The 33rd running of Steve's Run, the Original Road and Trail race, is set for a 9 a.m. start on Saturday in downtown Dowagiac.
For Ron Vogler of Vandalia, the annual race is the only one he participates in any more since his doctor told him to stop running.
"The doctor told me to stop running because of my knee," said the 59-year-old prostate cancer survivor said. "I only do one race a year and Steve's Run is it. But I don't do it very fast anymore."
Vogler was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1998. The next year he ran his first Steve's Run race and the run has become an annual event scheduled on his calendar at the start of each New Year.
"My brother and nephew come from Greenwood, Ind. and bring a lot of money," said Vogler of the financial pledges he and his group of runners, which can be up to eight participants, bring each year. "We always know where we will be on the last Saturday in July."
For Father John Patrick Riley, pastor of the Sacred Heart Parish of Notre Dame, Steve's Run allows him to run the trails at SMC and support a worthy cause.
"This is my six or seventh year," Father Riley said. "Every year my parishioners and visitors (to his parish) say, 'Here's $20, Father, have a good run.' I like the run because it reminds me of (running) cross country and the sponsors know that I am raising funds for a worthy cause."
Even though he has never had cancer, Father Riley said, many of his parishioners or family members have been touched by the malady.
All funds raised, including 100 percent of the pledge monies, are donated to SMC's Steven Briegel Scholarship Fund and the Mayo Clinic Cancer Research Fund.
"Being a cancer survivor, it is a small way to rejoice and support cancer research and the scholarship," Vogler said.