(c) 2020 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved

(09-Oct) -- With the cancellation of nearly every important American road or cross country race this fall because of the pandemic, coach Kevin Hanson of the Hansons-Brooks Original Distance Project took stock of the competitive situation for his team. He didn't like what he saw. Speaking regularly to other coaches, like Amy Begley at the Atlanta Track Club, Ben Rosario at Hoka Northern Arizona Elite in Flagstaff, and Lee Troop at the T.E.A.M Boulder, he knew something had to be done. The coaches arranged a conference call to talk about it.

"They called and said... we're trying to create something for our athletes," Hanson told Race Results Weekly by telephone earlier this week. "We all know that Club Cross is going to be cancelled, and (we need) something for team camaraderie for our teams as well as perhaps creating, maybe, a half-marathon as well. What do you think about running an ekiden or cross country?"

The other coaches knew that Hanson would jump at the chance to get involved, and might even be willing to host an event near the Hanson's Rochester Hills, Michigan, home since there weren't good fast-running options in parks in Atlanta (too hilly), Boulder (high altitude) and Flagstaff (even higher altitude). Rosario, who competed for the Hansons team before moving into coaching, threw out an idea.

"Ben says, 'Hey Kevin, what about Stony Creek?'" Hanson recounted.

Stony Creek MetroPark in Shelby Township, Michigan, is the go-to training location for the Hansons team. The 4400 acre park has a flat, 6-mile loop road around a lake which would be perfect for a criterium-style road racing course. Rosario had run that loop many times.

"From there, we just talked about things and said, I think an ekiden would be better than cross country," Hanson said. "The idea was how can we do it in a safe fashion? We bring people in, create the two events a week apart."

Thus, the Michigan Pro Ekiden and Michigan Pro Half-Marathon were born. The events will take place on consecutive Wednesdays, October 21 and 28. The ekiden will have a six-athlete, co-ed format with the following running order: 10-K men, 6.1-K women, 5-K men, 10-K women, 6.1-K men, and 5-K women. The half-marathon will be limited to elite athletes, only, and men and women will run in separate races. Pacemakers will be used to help athletes achieve fast times. Both events will be broadcast via Facebook Live so they will be free to view for all, Hanson said.

In addition to Atlanta Track Club, Hansons-Brooks, Hoka NAZ Elite and T.E.A.M Boulder, Hanson confirmed that Roots Running Project, Minnesota Distance Elite and the Nike Bowerman Track Club would also be competing in the ekiden. Additional athletes from other groups, like the Boston Athletic Association, Reebok Boston Track Club, Idaho Distance Project, and On/ZAP Endurance, will compete in the half-marathon. Coach Jerry Schumacher of the Nike Bowerman Track Club was particularly enthusiastic.

"Jerry said not only am I for it, but I'd like to run two teams," Hanson said. "We said, yeah, no problem. Then I realized that I had enough numbers, so we're going to run two teams (also). We're going to run two teams, Jerry's going to run two teams, and everyone else will run a team."

Athletes who will run both the ekiden and half-marathon will spend more than a week in Michigan, and Hanson said teams will use their own travel budgets to cover those costs. Hansons will pay for executing and timing the race and has contracted a broadcast team. The park has a building at their boat launch which will serve as the event's staging area.

To make the event COVID-safe, each athlete will need to enter Michigan with one negative test in the seven days prior to leaving home. Masks are required in public but not to run. To stay for the half-marathon, ekiden athletes will get two additional COVID tests, one on Thursday, October 22, and one on Friday, October 23. Hanson will organize the testing on behalf of the athletes. For athletes running only the half-marathon, they will need two negative COVID tests in the seven days prior to the race.

Unlike in Japan, where competing in ekidens are the most important events in the schedules of professional runners, opportunities for team competition in professional running in the United States are very limited. The USATF Club Cross Country Championships, typically held in mid-December, is really the only serious professional team running competition in the USA. Hanson laments the lack of team running competitions and hopes the Michigan Pro Ekiden can fill that void. He hinted that the event could also take place in future years.

"You can be proud when a team runs a major marathon and says things like, yeah, we had three in the top ten and five in the top 20, or whatever," Hanson said. "But it's not the same as actually having something that the team is working for. I just think that it really kind of is something that all of these athletes lose after college. In college it's so important. Then it's gone. That aspect is just gone from our sport."

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Yesterday, Hanson announced the fields for the half-marathon. The entry list is impressive, including the half-marathon debuts by Olympians Emily Infeld and Marielle Hall of the Nike Bowerman Track Club. Here are the full fields:

WOMEN -

Breanna Sieracki, Minnesota Distance Elite

Annie Frisbie, Minnesota Distance Elite

Dakotah Lindwurm, Minnesota Distance Elite

Katy Jermann, Minnesota Distance Elite

Alia Gray, Roots Running Project

Maggie Montoya, Roots Running Project

Lexi Zeis, Roots Running Project

Carrie Verdon, T.E.A.M Boulder

Melissa Dock, T.E.A.M Boulder

Elaina Tabb, Boston Athletic Association

Emma Bates, Asics/Idaho Distance Project

Megan Lacy, Idaho Distance Project

Abbie McNulty, Reebok Boston TC

Lanni Marchant, Canada

Bethany Sachtleben, Unattached

Tristin Van Ord, On/ZAP Endurance

Emily Infeld, Nike Bowerman TC

Marielle Hall, Nike Bowerman TC

Eden Meyer, Atlanta Track Club Elite

Janel Blancett, Atlanta Track Club Elite

Joanna Stephens, Gazelle Sports Elite

Julia Kohnen, Hoka Northern Arizona Elite

Paige Stoner, Reebok Boston TC,

Makena Morley, Asics

Keira D'Amato, Unattached

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Pacers for 10k to 8 miles @ 5:20–5:30–5:40 & 6:00

Natosha Rogers, Hansons-Brooks

Olivia Pratt, Hansons-Brooks

Anne-Marie Blaney, Hansons-Brooks

Chelsea Blaase, Hansons-Brooks

Megan O'Neil, Hansons-Brooks

Dot McMahon, Hansons-Brooks

MEN -

Kevin Lewis, Minnesota Distance Elite

Joel Reichow, Minnesota Distance Elite

Tyler Jermann, Minnesota Distance Elite

Frank Lara, Roots Running Project

Austen Dalquist, Roots Running Project

Ryan Root, Roots Running Project

Will Cross, Roots Running Project

Willie Milam, Roots Running Project

Noah Droddy, Saucony/Roots Running Project

Jake Riley, T.E.A.M Boulder

Tim Rackers, T.E.A.M Boulder

Jonas Hampton, Boston Athletic Association

Ryan Forsyth, Newcastle and District A.C.

Chris Derrick, Nike Bowerman Track Club

Wilkerson Given, Atlanta Track Club Elite

Matt McDonald, Atlanta Track Club Elite

Rory Linkletter, Hoka Northern Arizona Elite/Canada

Tyler Day, Hoka Northern Arizona Elite

Scott Fauble, Hoka Northern Arizona Elite

Nick Hauger, Hoka Northern Arizona Elite

Scott Smith, Hoka Northern Arizona Elite

Sid Vaughn, Hoka Northern Arizona Elite

Brendan Gregg, Hansons Brooks

Shadrack Biwott, Hansons Brooks

Colin Bennie, Reebok Boston Track Club

Joe Stilin, On/ZAP Endurance

Josh Izewski, On/ZAP Endurance

Matt McClintock, On/ZAP Endurance

Pardon Ndhlovu, On/ZAP Endurance/Zimbabwe

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Pacers 10k to 8 mile 4:45–4:50–4:55–5:00

Zach Panning, Hansons Brooks

Hassan Abdi, Hansons Brooks

Ian Lamere, Hansons Brooks

Ben Kendell, Hansons Brooks