Missing the old Milford

I have lived in Village of Milford since 1996, which has always been great place live, work and play…but the last decade we have had a new police chief move in (and) the Village Council no longer seems to care as much.

Wayne Walli did great job of keeping Milford a great place to live, work and play from 1996-2010, and it was always fun. And in Milford Township, Don Green, Holly Brandt and Milford Parks and Recreation have been great supporters over the years.

The idea of the Labor Day 30K started in September 2000 while training for the Chicago Marathon. I had been reading about how there were 5K’s in every town, and marathons and half marathons were becoming more and more popular. But hardly anyone was doing 25K or 30K races anymore.

I knew about the Grand Rapids 25K having run it the spring as part of marathon training but had never heard of 30K. I did an internet search and at the time there were only 13 30K runs in the entire USA.

So, I set my mind out getting one started in Milford. It took almost 9 months to get enough business and political support get it approved, and by the time it was I had so little time to promote it. I decided to make it free event, and you could buy a T-shirt for $15.

The first year was not huge success, with 50 signing up, and 49 finishing. The second year we had 150, and the third year over 250. And as many as 900 that have come to Milford.

The Labor Day 30K raises money for the Village of Milford Trail that is used by many in the community. Plus, it been a huge fundraiser for the Milford High School Cross Country and Track Teams, along with the Swim and Dive Team.

Unfortunately, as of tonight, July 6, 2020, the Labor Day 30K Race is over as live event. If you still want to do a virtual, your race ticket will entitle you to a beer and burger at Bakers of Milford, and I want to thank the community for 19 years of support of this safe event.