AUBURN - Nearly 30 years ago, Marty Keough, Donald “Doc” Westee, Steve Schwartz and John Sabotka were not only close friends, but dedicated athletes always looking for some good and versatile competition.
They found some when they went to the Josh Billings Run-A-Ground Race in Massachusetts, an intensive three-part race with cycling, canoeing and running.
According to Keough, the group had such a good time in Massachusetts they were taken with the idea of bringing a race along these lines to Auburn.
“We thought it was a really good idea,” Keough said. “We really wanted to see if we could get some people together and put on something like that here. So we got some people together and started a committee and started working on the idea.”
One of the first to be approached by Keough was Al Wilson, who at the time was the physical director of the YMCA.
“The Y was our unofficial home right from the start,” Keough said. “So we got Al involved and that really got the ball rolling and we got a lot of people that we all knew from the Y involved. A lot of us were friends and we all knew each other from the Y so it wasn't hard to get everybody together.”
Among the first to get on board was Jim Hanley and Lee Michaels, who were and remain active Y members.
At the time there were a few running races and the occasional biking and running race, but there wasn't anything of the magnitude of the current version of the Great Race.
“There were road races,” Hanley said. “And there were ride-and-runs sometimes, but there was nothing else like (the Great Race) that got running, biking and canoeing all together. But we were lucky with the original committee we all kind of had our specialties and were able to work on getting those areas put together and we were all friends, so it worked out really nicely.”
As smoothly as things were going behind the scenes, there was some concern that there wasn't going to be much response to the race that first year with only about 40 teams signed up by race week.
“We were going to be happy if we got 75 or 80 teams,” Michaels said. “We really didn't think we were going to make it that first year. But by race day we had 100 or 110 teams signed up. We were really surprised to get the turn out we did.”
When the first Great Race hit the road in 1978 there was a simple tenant that the race was trying to promote and it one that the committee still holds dear to this day.
“It has always been about encouraging people to get out and work out and have a reason to stay fit,” Keough said. “It was never about the best of the best. It is competitive and it is a fun race, but more than anything we wanted to give the people of this community something to keep them working on being healthy and staying active and have a goal to shoot for.”
This response to the first race inspired the creation of the Great Winter Race, just a year later.
Through the 1980s the race saw a great boom, becoming one of the most highly anticipated events of the summer.
“It grew really rapidly,” Michaels said. “It is really remarkable that it has survived this long, a lot of races don't last this long and we're still going, very few races can do that. We're lucky to have been able to keep this going and get the kind of response we've had for as long as we have.”
In the nearly three decades since the race first kicked off it has seen a number of changes from the course itself to the technology that's used to make sure things go smoothly.
“The course used to be a lot different,” Hanley said. “We used to go out West Lake Road with the bikes. But over the years it got harder to do that and keep it safe and keep traffic under control. So we decided to move it to East Lake and go out into the country, it really seemed to make things better and we were able to keep traffic more under control and keep things safe for the runners and bikers.”
After the early boom, interest in the race began to wane a bit.
“The core people were getting older,” Michaels said. “Guys who were in their 20s when the race started were getting older; they were getting to be in their 40s and early middle age. And they are still the largest part of the race, but I think that affected the turn out, the core of people were getting older and for one reason or another they couldn't participate.”
Over the last six years the race committee has strove to make the race as accessible to everyone as possible, both to stimulate new interest and make it possible for the longtime racers to still participate.
“We started the short course,” Hanley said. “We all thought that would be a good idea. For some of the long time people, we are all getting older, and there are injuries and the problems of getting older. So with the short course, maybe you can't run 10k, but you can still do 5k. This way it makes it easier to stay involved and stay active.”
Also in recent years there has been the introduction of kayaking and tandem divisions, along with the traditional and short courses the traditional kayak and short kayak and tandem have made the Great Race five races all rolled into one.
“We saw that there was a lot of interest in kayaking,” Hanley said. “And then tandem came along and we usually get 40 or 50 teams just in that division. These changes have worked out really well and I think have really helped the race keep growing and changing with the times and what people want.”
With nearly 460 teams signed up for this year, the event is clearly back on track and in the minds of exercise enthusiasts from all over the area.
“It is something people look forward to all summer,” Hanley said. “We are getting a lot more young people involved, which is great to see and something that we'd like to see continue and keep this race going into the future.”
After nearly 30 years, Keough, Michaels and Hanley are all still active behind the scenes. All three still go out and compete because the excitement and rush of the Great Race and putting it all together has not diminished one bit.
“It is still fun,” Keough said.
“It is still exciting to see everyone get out there and get ready for the race to begin and there is still excitement in trying to put everything together and see if we can make it happen and make a safe and enjoyable event. That feeling hasn't changed at all. It is still a thrill every year.”
According to Keough, the group had such a good time in Massachusetts they were taken with the idea of bringing a race along these lines to Auburn.
“We thought it was a really good idea,” Keough said. “We really wanted to see if we could get some people together and put on something like that here. So we got some people together and started a committee and started working on the idea.”
One of the first to be approached by Keough was Al Wilson, who at the time was the physical director of the YMCA.
“The Y was our unofficial home right from the start,” Keough said. “So we got Al involved and that really got the ball rolling and we got a lot of people that we all knew from the Y involved. A lot of us were friends and we all knew each other from the Y so it wasn't hard to get everybody together.”
Among the first to get on board was Jim Hanley and Lee Michaels, who were and remain active Y members.
At the time there were a few running races and the occasional biking and running race, but there wasn't anything of the magnitude of the current version of the Great Race.
“There were road races,” Hanley said. “And there were ride-and-runs sometimes, but there was nothing else like (the Great Race) that got running, biking and canoeing all together. But we were lucky with the original committee we all kind of had our specialties and were able to work on getting those areas put together and we were all friends, so it worked out really nicely.”
As smoothly as things were going behind the scenes, there was some concern that there wasn't going to be much response to the race that first year with only about 40 teams signed up by race week.
“We were going to be happy if we got 75 or 80 teams,” Michaels said. “We really didn't think we were going to make it that first year. But by race day we had 100 or 110 teams signed up. We were really surprised to get the turn out we did.”
When the first Great Race hit the road in 1978 there was a simple tenant that the race was trying to promote and it one that the committee still holds dear to this day.
“It has always been about encouraging people to get out and work out and have a reason to stay fit,” Keough said. “It was never about the best of the best. It is competitive and it is a fun race, but more than anything we wanted to give the people of this community something to keep them working on being healthy and staying active and have a goal to shoot for.”
This response to the first race inspired the creation of the Great Winter Race, just a year later.
Through the 1980s the race saw a great boom, becoming one of the most highly anticipated events of the summer.
“It grew really rapidly,” Michaels said. “It is really remarkable that it has survived this long, a lot of races don't last this long and we're still going, very few races can do that. We're lucky to have been able to keep this going and get the kind of response we've had for as long as we have.”
In the nearly three decades since the race first kicked off it has seen a number of changes from the course itself to the technology that's used to make sure things go smoothly.
“The course used to be a lot different,” Hanley said. “We used to go out West Lake Road with the bikes. But over the years it got harder to do that and keep it safe and keep traffic under control. So we decided to move it to East Lake and go out into the country, it really seemed to make things better and we were able to keep traffic more under control and keep things safe for the runners and bikers.”
After the early boom, interest in the race began to wane a bit.
“The core people were getting older,” Michaels said. “Guys who were in their 20s when the race started were getting older; they were getting to be in their 40s and early middle age. And they are still the largest part of the race, but I think that affected the turn out, the core of people were getting older and for one reason or another they couldn't participate.”
Over the last six years the race committee has strove to make the race as accessible to everyone as possible, both to stimulate new interest and make it possible for the longtime racers to still participate.
“We started the short course,” Hanley said. “We all thought that would be a good idea. For some of the long time people, we are all getting older, and there are injuries and the problems of getting older. So with the short course, maybe you can't run 10k, but you can still do 5k. This way it makes it easier to stay involved and stay active.”
Also in recent years there has been the introduction of kayaking and tandem divisions, along with the traditional and short courses the traditional kayak and short kayak and tandem have made the Great Race five races all rolled into one.
“We saw that there was a lot of interest in kayaking,” Hanley said. “And then tandem came along and we usually get 40 or 50 teams just in that division. These changes have worked out really well and I think have really helped the race keep growing and changing with the times and what people want.”
With nearly 460 teams signed up for this year, the event is clearly back on track and in the minds of exercise enthusiasts from all over the area.
“It is something people look forward to all summer,” Hanley said. “We are getting a lot more young people involved, which is great to see and something that we'd like to see continue and keep this race going into the future.”
After nearly 30 years, Keough, Michaels and Hanley are all still active behind the scenes. All three still go out and compete because the excitement and rush of the Great Race and putting it all together has not diminished one bit.
“It is still fun,” Keough said.
“It is still exciting to see everyone get out there and get ready for the race to begin and there is still excitement in trying to put everything together and see if we can make it happen and make a safe and enjoyable event. That feeling hasn't changed at all. It is still a thrill every year.”
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