The History of the Dexter – Ann Arbor Run

(written by Hal Wolfe, with the assistance of: Elmo Morales, Peter Brown, Renee Rienas Badall & Lew Kidder)

The Dexter–Ann Arbor Run’s rich tradition started in 1974. The race was created to help commemorate Ann Arbor’s sesquicentennial (150 year anniversary), so the inaugural event was created as a 15 mile run. The original course started in Dexter and did an out & back on Dexter-Chelsea Road, made its way back through Dexter to Huron River Drive and ended at the steps of City Hall on Main Street in Ann Arbor. 179 runners started the race, and 169 runners (161 men & 8 women) finished the 15 mile trek in its first year. This was considered a surprisingly large turnout for the first year event. Other well known runs such as the Bobby Crim 10 mile and the (Old Kent) River Bank Run would not start for a few more years as the running craze was just starting to take root all over the U.S.

The Dexter-Ann Arbor Run was the product of three different running clubs: the Huron Valley Track Club, the Manchester Track Club, and the Ann Arbor Track Club. The three principles involved were Dave Peele, Larry Steeb, and the AATC’s Elmo Morales. Elmo and Larry stepped up (literally – onto a parked car) to help orchestrate the awards ceremony of the inaugural event and then went on to take the lead in organizing the entire event. Larry had a conflict with the race date with a county-wide track meet however, so the role of race director fell entirely to Elmo of the AATC. He held the role for 6 years, from 1975 – 1980. Elmo rearranged the course a bit, and moved the finish line to Huron High School. He tried a 5 mile and 1 mile race in ’75 but dropped those in ‘76. He added a 7 mile course to the event in 1977. The race remained this way for 6 years, by which time it had grown to draw over 2,000 runners. In many of those early years, the three DxA2 races were started simultaneously with the use of car radios and the help of a local radio station that would interview Elmo just prior to the start and then he would actually start the races simultaneously over the radio. Cars were parked at the various starting lines to get the call.

In 1982 Peter Brown and Scott Hubbard took over from Elmo as co-race directors. (In 1983 Peter continued on as the sole race director.) Based on the suggestion of club stalwart Pete Hallop, Peter changed the finish line of the race to the now popular location of downtown Ann Arbor, right on Main Street. 1982 was also the year that the race changed from a 15 mile run to a more traditional 13.1 mile half marathon distance. The 7 mile run was also adjusted to the popular 10K distance and was staged from Delhi Park. The race has largely retained this format ever since.

In 1991 Renee Rienas took over the reins from Peter Brown and started her 11 year run as race director. (Peter co-directed with her the first year.) In 1992 Renee agreed to a major sponsorship and the race changed it's name to the First of America Run as a result. The name may have changed, but the race didn't! Well, actually it did a bit - the one mile race had been dropped somewhere along the way, and a 2 mile out-and-back fun-run along Main Street had been added in its place, but in 1992 that gave way when the popular 5K distance was added to the event for the first time. This gave the race three different course choices that all meandered along the scenic and winding Huron River Drive. With the use of modern cell phones to facilitate race starts, the three starting times were staggered to help separate the races at the finish line. The 5K started on Huron River Drive for the first few years, but eventually moved to a staging area at Forsythe Middle School and descended down the hill on Bird Road to the river. Things stayed this way for most of the next decade.

In 1999 First of America merged with National City Bank, and the race name changed again as a result. This was also the year that the 10K course was rerouted into a loop course starting from Mack School at the suggestion of assistant race director Hal Wolfe. That course offered a “no bus ride” race option and provided a sheltered staging area, but the course started up a big hill on Brooks Road which was not overly popular with the runners and the added road closures were not popular with the City. So the 10K start was moved again back to Huron River Drive, but with a Rudolph Steiner School staging area and a partial out and back course. The 5K staging area was also moved to Steiner due to a revenue conflict with the Ann Arbor Public Schools, so the 5K starting line was moved back onto Huron River Drive. Throughout the 80’s and 90’s the race grew to draw over 3000 runners, with a high of over 3,500 on the 25th running in 1998. In 2001, in Renee's last year, National City dropped it's sponsorship of the race and the name changed back to the Dexter-Ann Arbor Run, which also spurred some AATC debate as to whether the hyphen should be used in the name or whether it should be called "Dexter to Ann Arbor Run". (The hyphen won out.)

In 2002 Lew Kidder took over from Renee as race director. Lew moved the race date from the traditional slot on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend to Sunday on the weekend after Memorial Day. This allowed the race to coincide with the popular Taste of Ann Arbor Food Festival that was also staged on Main Street. Of course runners love to eat, so this proved to be a successful combination as the race continued to grow. Lew also eliminated the 10K in 2002, but added a two person half marathon relay and reinstated the simultaneous race starts. In 2003 Lew reinstated the 10K and moved its staging area back to Delhi Park. In 2006 the half marathon relay was eliminated. In 2007 Hal Wolfe took over as race director. Hal moved the 10K staging area back to the shelter of Steiner, and consequently moved the 5K staging area back to the larger confines of Forsythe School, and re-staggered the race starts. This is where the race stands today, drawing nearly 6,000 runners each year.

With the lush, springtime beauty of Huron River Drive at its core, the Dexter–Ann Arbor Run continues to inspire the thousands of runners who flock to its calling and flood the streets from Dexter to Ann Arbor with the pulsing flow of able legs and callused feet, as the DxA2 tradition marches on...