Avid-runner and Pittsfield Township resident Dan Gamble will lace up his shoes, stretch out his limbs and make his way toward downtown Ann Arbor Sunday for the annual Dexter-Ann Arbor Run just as he did last year. He'll know exactly where to go, what to pick up and where to sign-in and unlike the new runners, he won't have many questions.
That's because 70-year-old Gamble will be running the Dexter-Ann Arbor 40th Anniversary Run for the 40th straight year.
Dan Gamble has run races throughout the world, but says the Dexter-Ann Arbor race holds a special place for him.
Photo courtesy of Dan Gamble
“If you think about it, it’s kind of an amazing thing to have someone run in an event for 40 straight years,” said Doug Goodhue, the event's organizer with Ann Arbor’s Track Club . “To be able to come back and run in the same event is something special. Dan is a true Ann Arbor track club member and we’re just so glad we have someone like him that we can show off at our 40th year event.”
Gamble will join event planners, major players in putting on the event, and several sponsors Friday night for dinner at Lena before beginning a weekend of work.
The Ann Arbor run originally began as a 15-mile race, which Gamble ran for 8 years until the event was changed to a half-marathon. He participated in the Dexter-Ann Arbor Half Marathon for 23 years in a row. After having both hips replaced, Gamble now participates in the 5K, which he has run for the past eight years, with this year being his ninth.
“It’s part of me — this event and running in general,” Gamble said. “I’ve been running since 1972 and sticking with things is kind of who I am.”
Gamble has run in 26 marathons around the world, spanning from Honolulu to Rome, but there is something special about the Dexter-Ann Arbor Run, he said.
“The long stretch of the run is along the river and it’s just outstanding,” Gamble said. “Anyone who has ever run in the Dexter-Ann Arbor race has fallen in love with running along the Huron River. It’s just a beautiful venue.”
Not only is the run beautiful, but it inspires the community to be active, Gamble said.
“It was started to get people moving,” Gamble said. “The idea was if you were going to have a race in late spring, people in the area will know about it and people will start running and getting in shape."
This year, the race will celebrate its 40th anniversary by awarding all participants with a special commemoration medal.
“We’re giving a medal to everybody that participates in the event; even our kids run,” Goodhue said. “We’ve never done that before. We also have a special commemorative shirt that everyone will receive and we have some age-group awards. We’re doing a lot to make this year special.”
Late registration for the race can be completed at the Race Expo from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday if races are still open.
The kid’s run will take place 4 p.m. Saturday. The 5K Run and Walk will be at 9 a.m. Sunday, the 10K Run and Walk at 8 a.m. Sunday, and the Dexter-Ann Arbor Half Marathon will begin at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. The course runs eastward from Dexter along the Huron River and ends in downtown Ann Arbor.