HAYWARD HALF MARATHON
Mega Weekend of running now includes a Birkie Tral Run By Greg Marr
We've all been there. A group of friends sitting around a table talking and someone says, "Wouldn't it be great if ... " Whatever it is usually gets bantered about for awhile and then forgotten. This is pretty much what happened to three women in Hayward, Wis., who were having coffee a few years ago only their idea went somewhere.
Susan Kendrick, Gayle Quigley and Kathy McCoy were talking about
running; specifically, they were talking about a particular route out of Hayward and into the country, a route already popular with locals for running, bicycling, inline skating and roller skiing. The route, coincidentally, was about a half marathon distance. This led to a "Wouldn't it be great ... " kind of moment and not long after, the Hayward Half Marathon was born.
Northwest Wisconsin is already one of the most active mega event silent
sports destinations in the Midwest with the American Birkebeiner and Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival in the Hayward area and Grandma's Marathon and the North Shore Inline Marathon in nearby Duluth, Minn. There are also many well known, smaller though no less notable races like the Seeley Classic, Pre Birkie and North End Classic ski races, as well as a number of other mountain bike races and smaller runs. What was missing in the Hayward area, at least was a big time running event.
Let's have one, Kendrick, Quigley and McCoy decided, and they would lead the charge. Entering their third year as co directors, the three continue to pool their collective talents and remain friends as they plan for a bigger and better event, dubbed a Mega Weekend, with three separate runs the weekend of September 6 7.
"I'm sure we weren't the first in the community to think about holding a large running race in the area," points out Kendrick, "but it happened to
work out well for the three of us to do it."
Saturday, September 6, features the main event, the Aquafina Hayward Half Marathon, and brings back the Slumberland 5K, an event first introduced last year. Sunday is the day for a new race, the Backroads Boogie 10K trail run, utilizing the famed Birkie Trail.
Each of the co directors brings a background that, taken collectively, rolls into a nice leadership organization. Kendrick is the marketing
person who, with her husband, owns and operates Susan Kendrick Writing, which is a marketing business. McCoy spent about 16 years with H&R Block and is currently a township clerk.
"She's very active," Kendrick says, "and she's run a number of marathons. She has a good sense of race logistics, handles the finances and is involved with the volunteers."
Quigley is a physician and a runner. "She deals with registration and
database things, and she's our visionary."
The combined talents and interests of the three women brought the first Hayward Half Marathon to the community in 2001, when 186 people took off on a pleasant day for running temperatures in the 70s and a cooling drizzle. Nonrunners might think that's not an ideal day for a run but compare it to last year, when race temperatures climbed into the 90s in September in Hayward. There was, for obvious reasons, virtually no
race day registration and a few no shows, which held back anticipated growth. In 2002, there were 286 total runners, 206 in the half and the rest in the 5K.
"It's really coming together for this year," Kendrick says enthusiastically. "The half was great but we wanted to add another component so we added the 5K last year as a way to get more people involved. This year, we're adding the trail run, which is something we wanted to do from the
beginning but we had a good event and didn't want to spread out too quickly. This (trail run) is the third and final component."
With three events and the cooperation of Mother Nature, the organizers have their eyes set on about 400 runners in the half marathon alone this year, although logistically, they could handle more.
"I think we're at a good growth rate," says Kendrick. "We'd like the
race to grow but people have said they like it because it's currently small enough that it's not a crowded course."
The co directors approach their collective tasks with a simple philosophy of looking at running events from a runner's point of view.
"We try to treat it as a big time event, everything top notch, and have people leaving with a feeling of getting more than they expected."
For a runner, the first thing is the course and amenities. The main feature, the 13.1 mile half marathon, starts on the legendary (in the circle of silent sport participants, anyway) Main Street of Hayward, where the Birkie ends and the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival starts. Runners soon head out of town on quiet county roads through forested areas. The course is paved, with the exception of 2 1/2 miles on packed gravel. Expect a mix of rolling hills countered by some fast flats.
"There are some hills," Kendrick says, particularly in the first half, with the first climb coming at about one mile. Still, she points out, the race has had a better than 99 percent completion rate so it's challenging but not a killer.
Runners will find five aid stations stocked with water, All Sport and Clif Shot at miles 3, 6, 8, 10 and 12. First aid personnel will be at all the aid stations and cyclists will continually monitor the course.
As the runners come in and chip timing records their finish, they can head to one of four massage therapy stations to work out 13.1 miles of kinks. Runners can then refuel on energy drinks, water, fresh fruit, yogurt and donuts before heading to the beer brat tent.
"Very well done," commented John Barneson of St. Paul, Minn. "One of the best race environments I've been at. Nice course, nice goody bag. The massage therapists were great! The post race facilities were
excellent."
"We're toying with the idea of adding some live music at the finish, too," Kendrick says. "In the past we coincided with a local community festival but that moved its date, so we'll make our own festivities."
A new, earlier 8:30 a.m. start should have everybody back in time for the awards ceremony at noon.
Last year's top male runner, Adam Topper of Menomonie, Wis., was impressed.
"I had heard that this was good training for the Twin Cities Marathon," he said. "The course was tough but very scenic. I really liked the massage after the race, the race support, and the very good volunteers."
In fact, the co directors are encouraging runners eyeing fall marathons to use the Hayward Half as a training run.
"Twin Cities, Chicago and Milwaukee are just about a month after our
race and the Whistlestop in Ashland is the second Saturday in October," Kendricks notes. "We've even had runners use our race to prepare for the Des Moines Marathon and triathlons."
Runners have come from Indianapolis, Chicago, the Twin Cities, Michigan and, of course, Wisconsin.
"Good water stops, well staffed, enthusiastic I used this race to train for the Chicago Marathon, "said Jeff Bulger of Dundee, Ill. "This was an
anniversary weekend for my wife and me. We came up for the weekend and ran the race together."
The second feature, the 5K, starts 10 minutes after the half at the same location. These runners are treated to a flat course within the city and township limits.
This year's new feature, the 10K Backroads Boogie on Sunday, starts at 9 a.m. at Fish Hatchery Park and goes out and back toward Mosquito Brook. Birkie skiers need not be told that there are hills in
these parts but the course is mowed grass and offers some very nice vistas.
"We're getting a lot of people signing up for both the half and the 10K on Sunday," Kendrick points out, and there will be a Best of Both award, as well as awards to the top three overall. Awards in the half also go to the top three and three deep in five year age group increments beginning with 15 19. The top walkers in the half also receive awards
(all three events are open to walkers). Because the 5K is a fund raiser for Habitat for Humanity, there will not be awards; however, participants will receive special recognition at the finish. The half is partnered with Joints in Motion, the Arthritis Foundation's running program. "If you ever needed a reason to run," says the Web site, "take the plunge; run for someone who can't. Please contact Chris Davis at cldavis57@hotmail.com or call 800/333 1380, Ext. 122."
The half marathon also makes a donation to each of the five youth groups that staff the aid stations, although volunteering at events is pretty much a way of life in the Hayward area, a fact much appreciated by the runners, who get what seems like almost one on one volunteer support.
Before the racing even begins, runners are rewarded for their efforts with a great goody bag that features Lycra/Cool Max socks, Aquafina sports drinks, Clif Bars, coffee from Backroads Coffee and Tea, and a high quality T shirt. Then there's the raffle.
"We have a lot of running and sports store support," adds Kendrick. "We must have something like 60 gift certificates from as far away as the Twin Cities, and there's a lot of top of the line running gear and clothing
we give to top finishers and as raffle prizes. People walk away with a lot of extras."
Participants traveling any distance will want to arrive Friday evening (for lodging info visit www.haywardhalfmarathon.com or call the chamber
of commerce at 715/634 8662). Bag and bib pickup is 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Veterans Center in Hayward or at the starting line in the morning. The Sawmill Saloon in Seeley (nine miles north of Hayward) is having a Carbo Load dinner from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., with live music in the evening.
All this comes at a reasonable price. If you get in under the September 1 cutoff, you can still sign up for the half for $35 (it was $25 before July
1). That goes to $40 before September 6 and $45 on race day. The 5K is $10/$15 after September 5. T shirts are not included for the 5K but can be purchased for an additional $5 with the registration fee payment. The 10K trail run started at $15 to July 1 and is $20 to August 31. It rises to $25 before September 7 and $30 on race day.
All the information you need for all the Mega Weekend events can be found at www.haywardhalfmarathon.com. You can also write to Hayward Half Marathon, P.O. Box 256, Hayward, WI 54843, e mail info@haywardhalfmarathon.com or call 715/634 0012.
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