Area runners lose annual tuneup: the Briarwood Run

Area runners lose annual tuneup: the Briarwood Run

■ Last-minute effort to create a replacement falls short this year.

By JIM CNOCKAERT

NEWS SPORTS REPORTER

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'There was just no way to get it done this year, but we will do it next year and we will put on a good race.'

— Area runner Ann Boyd

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Each April for two decades, the Briarwood Run kicked off the area running season. Not this spring.

Karen Fox, a marketing consultant for Briarwood Mall, confirmed Friday that mall management has dropped its sponsorship of the race - ending the event a year after it celebrated its 20th anniversary.

”We felt that every event has a life cycle,” Fox explained. "We are proud of what the race accomplished in 20 years. We raised several thousand dollars over the years. That’s the primary reason we did it.”

Proceeds from the event had benefitted a number of area charities, primarily the Galens Medical Society.

Last year’s final race proved to be a less-than-fitting end to a once-proud event. Three date changes and an increase in the entry fee knocked the race field to 900 from previous highs of close to 3,000.

“When you change the date three times, that creates a marketing nightmare,” said Julie Agbabian, coordinator for the marketing program at MedSport, which was a co-sponsor of the event. “I don’t know the whole situation, but I think (Briarwood) got tired of managing it."

When Ann Boyd and Karen McKeachie, two of the area’s premier runners, learned last week that the race had been canceled, they attempted to create an alternative event with financial help from Domino’s and MedSport. But Boyd said it was impossible to organize a major road race on such short notice.

“The statement we got from Briarwood was that there was not enough support for it. But the real problem was that they jacked up the entry fee,” Boyd said. “There’s no way that would work in the running community, and a lot of runners boycotted. It was good that runners said, ‘That’s enough.’

"By the same token, the race had a great history. It’s a shame that they killed it.”

Boyd said she plans to put on a event similar to the Briarwood Run next spring at an area site to be determined. Agbabian said MedSport again will be interested in helping to sponsor the race.

"There was just no way to get it done this year. But we will do it next year, and we will put on a good race,” Boyd said. "People are itching at this time of year to do a race. They want to see how fit they are for Boston or Old Kent or First of America. They want to see what they’re capable of. The Briarwood Run was always a good place to start.”

Because of its mid-April date, the Briarwood Run often was plagued by rotten weather. Many runners waited until the morning of the race to decide whether to run it.

“People always joked about the weather,” Fox said. "The thing is, this year we’ll probably have beautiful weather.”