Gault directs finish every year

JOHN GAULT
John Gault's volunteer role during the first 30 Crim races is better known as there would be no record times without the incomparable work of the Flushing man.

Gault has directed the finish line every year and has somehow kept order in a maze of chutes during the most congested times of the race.

He has seen a lot of faces straining and stretching to reach the finish line of the Crim 10-miler on the bricks of Saginaw Street in Flint.

"In 24 years, it's been a lot (of faces) ... I don't know how many," Gault told Journal reporter Dean Howe for an Aug. 23, 2001 column.

"I've had some people run over me. Some just hung on to make it. But I know they all wanted to finish that race."

In the 1970s, he founded a local running group, the Riverbend Striders. It was not surprising he was called in to offer his expertise for the Crim's planning and development.

"I was a local running guru," he said with a laugh. "I've been through (the Crim's) ups and downs. There have been a lot of ups."

Like many, Gault can't ever forget the first Crim race in Flint, run over 10 miles, a noon start with temperatures in the 90s in August 1977.

He remembers organizers were considering a longer race, a marathon.

"When they asked me to coordinate the first finish line, I said 'OK. But you can't be serious about running a marathon.' Not in that kind of weather."

Like the rest of us, Gault couldn't anticipate what problems would arise on that hot, summer Saturday afternoon.

More than one finisher had to be taken to area hospitals, suffering from serious dehydration and heat prostration.

Gault , who also has been a Crim board member, met his wife Anne -- they married in 1993 -- through racing connections.

She was working as marketing director of the United Way of Genesee County in the 1980s, and coordinated a race.

She requested help from John, who was then registration chairman of Michigan's association of USA Track & Field, a national running organization.

Running also has turned into a career for the Gaults as a race timing business keeps the couple on the run.

Runners often keep a nervous eye on the clock during races, watching precious minutes, seconds and milliseconds tick by as they struggle to trim their times and cross the finish line.

The Flushing pair have been timing thousands of Crim runners hitting the pavement, distributing electronic timers and gathering results. They do it via Gault Race Management, the computerized timing business they own and operate.

They also have helped time and score more than 1,000 sporting events throughout the state and across the country, including the Boston and Honolulu marathons.

"We're a pretty good team," said Anne Gault, who served as the Crim festival's executive director 1996-99.

John and Anne volunteered at several athletic events throughout the 1980s, timing racers using non-electronic methods.

For instance, those who did made it across the first Crim finish line, faced an almost prehistoric way of defining correct finish and time.

"We gave the runners tongue depressors and hoped they'd hand them to us when they hit the line," John said.

"It was real crazy but we managed to finally get everybody in the right order."

By 1990, they had switched to computerized timing using bar-coded pull-tags, and tracked events statewide.

Word quickly spread about the Gaults' fast-paced sideline support - so much so that in 1994 they turned their
part-time hobby into a full-fledged business.

"I don't think we've ever gone out and actively recruited for a job," John Gault said. "Word gets out if you're good."

The business provides computerized timing and scoring services for more than 120 running, walking, racing, bicycling, triathlon and other sporting events each year.

"We get requests every single day," Anne said. "We work every single weekend. It's our passion."

The Crim remains their favorite event.

"It's exciting to see the caliber of athletes. You see people crying and saying, I never believed I could run 10 miles.' ... It's a big morale boost."

John says he will never miss the Crim race. It's been part of his life for the past 30 years. He hopes to be around, checking that agony of ecstacy of his finish line, for more.

"It's just the wonderful atmosphere by the people of the city of Flint and Genesee County, responding to this race year after year. It brings everybody together.

"I do races all over the country, a lot bigger than the Crim. But I probably work harder at this race than the others because it means so much to me. I wouldn't miss it for the world."