1975
The 10-mile Canal Run was founded by Bob Olson, an avid
runner and owner of WMPL Radio at the time. Bob, along
with his family and a few volunteers, organized the race
for several years, until it became too large for such a
small group to manage.
At that time, Bob contacted Ken Seaton, President of D&N
Bank to sponsor and support the event. Seaton saw this
as a good community event, and agreed to be involved.
D&N Bank, which later became Republic Bank and now
Citizen's Bank, has been involved ever since.
2007
Republic Bank approached Portage Health to co-sponsor
and help manage a now very large race. The Canal Run
continues to grow each year.
2008
The Hancock Business Professionals Association adds a
pre-race Spaghetti Dinner to the event.
2009
A 5-mile run option is added to the event. The race now
offers a 10-mile run, 10-mile walk and 5-mile run.
Registration continues to grow locally and regionally.
*The course is now USATF Certified.
2010
A 5-mile walk option is added to the event. The race now
offers a 10-mile run, 10-mile walk, 5-mile run and
5-mile walk. Registration is expected to increase, as
the race is now offering more options for more ability
levels. Also, new for 2010, Canal Weekend- a plethora of
events going on during the weekend of the Canal Run
organized to promote healthy and active lifestyles.
Events will include a volleyball tournament, ERG
challenge, ping pong tournament, street hockey
tournament, kid's obstacle courses, a barbeque, live
music and more. The pre-race Pasta Dinner (3rd annual)
continues and will be a feature again the night before
the Canal Run. Also, a fund for young athletes is being
developed to assist our youth in the community to help
with their race fees for the Canal Run and other local
athletic events. Major sponsors are Portage Health,
Citizen's Bank and new this year is Finlandia
University.
*The purpose of the USATF
course certification program is to produce road
racecourses of accurately measured distances.
For any road running performance to be accepted as a
record or be nationally ranked, it must be run on a
USATF-certified course. In addition, the certification
program is very important to the average road racer, as
well as those of exceptional speed. Most runners like to
compare performances run on different courses, and such
comparisons are difficult if course distances are not
reliable. No one can truly establish a personal best if
the course distance is not accurate.
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