'Everybody loves the Crim, 'Events unite community, bring out hope

Here's an excerpt of what was in Long Blue Line, The Crim at 30, a 144-page Flint Journal book showcasing photographs that span the years. The original was written by Christofer Machniak.

May 30, 2006
It's a hot, sticky Tuesday evening with forecasts of possible thunderstorms for Flint, Mich., and more than 1,000 walkers and runners are outside Central High School's gym, preparing for what is a seasonal rite for many.

This is Crim training group night, and while the steamy 86 degrees is uncomfortable for a run, especially in late May, it's a hint of what the fourth Saturday in August could be like.

That fourth Saturday is Crim Day, when more than 14,000 people swarm downtown Flint for a festival of races, highlighted by a prestigious 10-mile run that celebrates its 30th year in 2006.

While Crim Day is a time for Flint to shine, and the Crim is a popular race for runners across Michigan and beyond, it's days like Tuesday that quietly epitomize what the race has become.

"It's says a lot," said Judy Samelson, a longtime Crim Fitness Foundation board member, standing among the throngs preparing to begin training.

"It is a wonderful display of Flint coming together and people from all parts of this community who are excited about something and want to be part of something. Everybody loves the Crim."

For individuals, it often means new friendships and a path to healthy habits that literally can be life-changing.

For the Crim organization, the record training numbers - it's called the largest such program in the world - show meaningful progress in the nonprofit agency's broader goal of promoting health and fitness.

But for the community itself, the success of the training program is one example of an event becoming so much more than the sum of its parts - especially in an area known worldwide for economic turmoil, plant closings and the loss of tens of thousands of auto industry jobs.

"For Flint, this is about hope," said Phil Shaltz, also a longtime Crim board member. "You talk to anybody, whether they're at the health club or you're at the local bar, everything is negative, negative, negative. And the Crim is about hope.

"You're going to run fast, you're going to run better, you're going to get your kids involved, you're going to get your husband involved, your sister-in-law from Canada is going to come."

So how exactly did a 10-mile road race in 1977 become what it is today?

Having world-class runners certainly helped. Over the years, the Crim has hosted elites ranging from American running legends Bill Rodgers and Joan Benoit Samuelson to Kenyan greats John Korir and Catherine Ndereba.

But Samelson and Shaltz say the race's enduring popularity - especially with average runners - actually comes from the little moments that tug at the heart or change a person's life.

Looking at the Crim's history, the race seems to manufacture those stories faster than an assembly line can turn out a Buick.

In the first year, there was Ed Wiberg, a 70-year-old carpenter and recovering alcoholic who ran in his buckle-up street shoes. He later became known as "Mr. Crim Race" for his unrelenting drive to raise money for the Michigan Special Olympics, the race's initial charity.

There was the special, congratulatory kiss between husband and wife Ken and Lisa Martin after they both won in 1985, and Cathy O'Brien's then-world record in 1989, achieved even though she was led on a small detour on the course.

The tales go on and on; almost every participant has a favorite. Share yours with us.