Bellin Run 50th anniversary. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — This weekend marks the golden anniversary of the Bellin Run.
The tents are going up, the course is being marked and on Saturday, thousands of runners will take on the 10K Bellin Run course as the event celebrates 50 years.
“It’s really remarkable that a single event for 50 years has been held with the same organizing group, in the same city. It is truly remarkable,” said Race Director Randy Van Straten.
What’s even more remarkable is that there will be 20 people known as “legends” competing in Saturday’s race. This group of runners, ranging in age from early 60s to early 80s, has started and finished every Bellin Run since its inception in 1976.
According to Van Straten, “We have stories of and photos, actually, of people on crutches, of people making changes in the legal system of holding a trial, so that they could make this run for 50 years.”
George Wiesner is one of those legends. He was still a teenager when he ran his first Bellin Run.
“I had a brother and a good friend from high school that were in track, and they said, ‘Let’s do this’ and we did on the whim,” said Wiesner on what got him started 50 years ago.
John Des Jardins is a legend, too. He started running road races while in law school.
According to Des Jardins, “All of a sudden, Bellin announced they were going to have a road race in 1976 and it’s like, ‘Alright, we get to do it!'”
These runners remember the hot races, the wet ones and the one Wiesner almost missed.
“One day, I woke up, told my wife, ‘I feel terrible. I don’t know how to do this.’ Ran it anyway. Two days later, I went to the doctor and found out I had pneumonia,” recalled Wiesner.
Wiesner and Des Jardins, along with the 18 other legends, have no intention of breaking their streaks.
Running is so nice. You can get away from those troubles. You can meditate about anything — spiritual matters or whatever.
Wiesner added, “Now, we’re here at the 50th anniversary, and for me, it’s just not an event. It is a benchmark in my health journey.”
A journey they intend to stay on.
“As long as I’m still kicking, I’ll enter the Bellin Run,” said Des Jardins.
Because as Wiesner likes to say, “It’s like potato chips. Once you have one, you can’t stop.”
Race packet pickup starts Friday afternoon. The race itself begins at 8 a.m. Saturday. Registration for the run is still open. Click here to register.
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