Hometown Heroes

Mark Grant and Lori Burkow tackle the hills and turns in the rescheduled West Bloomfield Half-Marathon.

STEVE STEIN STAFF WRITER

M

ark Grant's home is located along the
course of the West Bloomfield Half-
Marathon. It's about 3.5 miles into the hilly,
twisting 13.1-mile layout.
As he approached his house while running
in the race last Sunday, Grant hoped his son,
Adam, would be there, ready to accompany
him for a few miles on his new rollerblades.
Thirteen-year-old Adam had his blades on,
all right, but he did more than just roll along
with his father for a couple of miles. Adam
was with dear ol' dad all the way to the end
of the race on the cool, cloudy afternoon.
"We encouraged each other," Grant said.
"That was the longest Adam has gone on his
blades, so I tried to keep him going while he
was motivating me.
"As we were nearing the end of the race,
Adam told me I was going to pass two run-
ners who were a few yards in front of me. I
didn't think I could do it, but I did it thanks
to Adam's prodding. I went past the second
runner only about 20 feet from the finish line."
Grant, 44, was timed in one hour, 45 min-
utes and 36 seconds in the race which was
rescheduled from April 9 because of a sur-
prise spring snowstorm.
That clocking was about 45 seconds slow-
er than Grant's 1991 personal course record,
but he battled painful foot blisters over the
final six or seven miles.
"I couldn't remember what my course
record was until after the race when I looked
it up," said Grant, who placed 48th in the
men's 40-49 age group and 185th overall
among 398 finishers.
"If I would have checked on my record be-
fore the race, I would have broken it even
with the blisters. No doubt about it," Grant
said.

Below:
Mark Grant was bothered by blisters.

Left:
Race director Miriam Kaptur carries
equipment.

Grant's regular running
partner, West Bloomfield
resident Michael Bellet,
didn't compete in the Half-
Marathon because he was
vacationing in Florida.
That's one reason why
Adam thought it was im-
portant to help his father.
Grant and Bellet ran the
Half-Marathon course in
the snow April 9 after the
race had been postponed,
and Grant came down with
a cold and sore throat which
limited him to just two runs
the next two weeks.
Had the Half-Marathon
been held April 9 and if
Grant hadn't gotten sick, he
says he would have com-
peted in a marathon in Tole-
do Sunday. And, he pointed
out quickly, missed the op-
portunity to run about 10
miles with his son.
It was Grant's seventh
Half-Marathon, but it was
the first for Lori Burkow, a
West Bloomfield resident
who runs three times a
week with Grant and Bel-
let.
Burkow, 40, a mother of
three and a personal train-
er in the health club at the
Maple-Drake Jewish
Above:
Community Center,
Lori Burkow warms up before the Half-
ran 1:58.20 in the
Marathon.
Half-Marathon. That
was good for 10th
Left:
place in the women's
Burkow chugs up the final hill.
40-49 age group and
290th overall.
Bloomfield course," Burkow said.
Burkow has been
"It helped that I saw a lot of peo-
running for only two
ple I know along the way.
years. She said she
"I spotted JCC health-club
made the switch from
members
and employees and I
being a "fitness jogger"
saw my mother-in-law driving to
to give her family's
my sister-in-law's house."
new golden retriever,
Burkow's husband, Lester, and
Breeze, a chance to ex-
their son Ian, 14, were at Ian's
ercise regularly.
hockey game during the Half-
Burkow took the
Marathon. But daughters Loni,
next step and began
10, and Alexandra, 5, waved to
running competitive-
their mother while visiting friends
ly less than a year ago.
Her five races include the Dexter-Ann Arbor who lived along the course.
This was the 19th running of the Half-
Half-Marathon, the Detroit Marathon, the
New York City Marathon, the Disney World Marathon, which is sponsored by West
Bloomfield Parks and Recreation and Hen-
Marathon and the West Bloomfield event.
Burkow's running goal is to qualify to run ry Ford Medical Center-West Bloomfield.
Race director Miriam Kaptur said 600-650
in the Boston Marathon. Her target time is
three hours and 50 minutes; at the moment, runners would have competed April 9 if the
her best clocking is 4 1/2 hours at Disney weather had been favorable. Last year, 712
World.
"I felt very comfortable running the West HOMETOWN page 92

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