The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Running down a dream
Group seeks council approval for summer relay fundraiser route
By Ed Patino, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: May 1, 2008
An event designed to draw visitors to Manchester during summer months could become a yearly tradition if approved by the Manchester Village Council.
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The Manchester Area Friends made a presentation of possible routes for its Run Manchester event during the council's April 21 meeting.
The event is scheduled for Aug. 2 and would be a kick-off to the Riverfolk Music & Arts Festival.
Manchester Area Friends representative Denny Steele first approached the village council about the run at its Jan. 21 meeting. The council supported the run but sought more information before making any decision. Steele and fellow resident Amelia Woods presented the proposed routes for the run.
The event will feature three races, a 10K, 5K and fun run. Each race will begin on the Main Street Bridge in downtown Manchester and proceed west toward Elton and Territorial streets. Both the 10K and 5K runs will travel south on Galloway Drive and circle Emerald Glen Drive and Glen Oak Drive before returning north on Galloway towards Territorial.
The 10K run will eventually end east along Duncan Street across M-52. It would pass Manchester High School along Dutch Drive before coming back south on Hibbard Street then head west toward downtown.
The 5K and fun runs will take place only on the west side of M-52. All three races will finish on Adrian Street next to Kirk Park between the baseball diamonds.
"We chose the route so that we can show everyone what Manchester has to offer," Steele said.
An awards ceremony for the runners will be held at either Kirk Park or the American Legion Hall.
Runners participating in the 10K run would line up at the bridge around 8:15 a.m. The races would have rolling start times, with the 5K following and the fun run starting around 8:45 a.m.
While the routes and street closures are still pending a meeting with Sgt. Dave Archer of the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department, members of the village council appeared in favor of the event.
"It's a good first draft," village manager Jeff Wallace said. "Having the run finish at Kirk Parks helps a lot."
The Manchester Area Friends selected the route to keep the event in the village limits, keep it off dirt roads and involve the downtown merchants.
"It seems like (the) council was pretty happy with what we gave them," Steele said. "We're waiting for Sgt. Archer to okay the route, but progress has been good so far."
Though wanting to keep traffic problems at a minimum, Village President Pat Vailliencourt said she believes that the village would be able to handle the road closures for the run.
"We've closed down roads for larger events like the fair, so it shouldn't be that big of a problem," she said.
Progress has also been made with community and area support. The Manchester Area Friends recently received a $5,000 donation from AMCOR, its event partner.
"We've had a very good response and people are excited to have a run back in Manchester," Steele said.
The village used to host the Manchester Mill Run before it was discontinued.
The group is hoping that enthusiasm carries over to volunteers. One of the biggest needs is for spotters along the race routes to ensure the safety of the participants and to prevent anyone from getting lost.
"We're working on spotters for the run," Woods said. "Having a well-marked course is very important to us."
Those wanting to help out with the run can do so by contacting Steele at 1-734-260-3871 or Woods at 428-9890. Volunteers can also register by logging on to manchesterareafriends.googlepages.com.
"If people want to help prepare the race and want to join us, they can," Steele said. "There's a lot of work, but we'll make it happen."
While not an official partnership with the Riverfolk Festival, Steele said the Manchester Area Friends are working with the Riverfolk committee to help make both events successful.
"Our goal was to have the run the morning of Riverfolk," Steele said. "We want people to stay around Manchester and go to the festival."
The runs is also a fundraiser for Manchester's youth baseball, soccer and wrestling programs.
The Manchester Area Friends have also received support from committees that organized similar runs in Dexter and Ann Arbor. The Friends meet with these groups to discuss ideas for the event and to seek guidance on how to run it.
"They keep us in a straight line," Steele said. "They say we're ahead of the game."
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