Crim only one of many for Deyos


Ed and Peggy Deyo have volunteered every year at the Crim — but don’t be surprised if you see them at races all over the state.

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The Deyos, both 67 and from Millington, help out with more than 40 races a year, with Peggy (at right) behind the late registration table and Ed (below) at the finish line.

The duo wouldn’t have it any other way.

“This is our social life,” Ed said.

Adds Peggy: “We probably wouldn’t go anywhere if we didn’t go to the races.”

The couple first got involved after their son, Dan, started running in high school, eventually competing for Eastern Michigan University in the late 1970s.

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Peggy said in the early days, runners tended to be shy and focused on competing, but today they’re more friendly and thankful.

“More and more say thank you now, more than they used to,” Peggy said.

Peggy Deyo is a longtime volunteer whose devotion to the Crim has been tested in unusual - and disgusting - ways.

"Whenever I worked at the finish line, it seemed like any runner who was nauseous would stagger up to me to vomit," she said . "I don't know what it is about me, but I've been thrown up on a lot.

"It was worse in the old days, when people didn't train as well as they do now," she added. "A lot of them would just fall down at the finish line and be sick."

The experience taught Deyo to bring along extra clothes, but it didn't keep her from returning.

Between them, they've sorted race entries, helped set up and tear down the runners' "chute" at the finish line and yelled out times to racers at various points on the route.

In 2006, Peggy Deyo won't have to bring extra clothes, since she's working inside sorting applications. But she's willing to do whatever it takes to support her favorite race.

"Volunteering at the Crim is a lot of fun," she said. "We love it."