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Kalamazoo Marathon is back

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The Zeigler Kalamazoo Marathon (formerly the Borgess Run for the Health of It) — in part — is set to return in person in April 2022. “I think we’re all really excited, you know,” said Carrie Drake, the marathon’s race director, “having to go virtual was really hard for the community and that was early spring 2020 so a lot of people were feeling uncertain about COVID.”

“The full marathon will be back in 2023, just given some of the organizing team transition,” said Drake. “We’ll have the half marathon, the 5k and the 10k back all this year.”

Even though only a few of the events will be held this year, organizers expect a huge turnout:  between 3.5 to 4 thousand runners. The 2020 cancelation

In 2020, the Kalamazoo Marathon was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and marathon organizers informed runners via social media and on the Kalamazoo Marathon website once they figured out what exactly was going on with the pandemic, said Blaine Lam, co-creator of the Kalamazoo Marathon who retired from organizing the race during the pandemic

“We saw the effects that it had on the Kalamazoo Marathon with its absence,” said Eric Blackwell, a past Kalamazoo Marathon participant, “Economically it’s huge for the city to not have that, but it was pretty difficult for the running community.”

“You know you train and you’re getting ready for these events and then it doesn’t happen. It’s such a huge emotional letdown,” said Blackwell, “To be forced out of an event like that is pretty difficult.”

Although the 2020 Kalamazoo Marathon was abruptly canceled, that didn’t stop the running community from encouraging one another to stay active.

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Year 3 of 10-year MT construction plan set to begin

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In May, the third year of the 10-year local road bond program approved by Meridian Township voters in 2019 will start, said Dan Opsommer, the assistant township manager and director of public works and engineering. “We really need to take advantage of every decent month that we have,” said Opsommer. “We’ve canceled projects in the past in the fall because it’s not good to put down asphalt when the temperature drops and so we want to make sure the work that we’re doing is lasting and impactful.”

The goal of the 10-year-project is to obtain a Pavement Surface Elevation and Rating score of 8 out of 10, which would be an improvement from the score of 4.48 when voters approved the millage a few years ago. 

“Today, after two years of the program we are at a 5.68, and we also have a forecast scheduled, so we’re looking at each year in the 10-year-program,” said Opsommer. “What do we want our average PASER rating to be and right now we’re eclipsing those goals by about 5.5 PASER rating. MT already issued the first bond three years ago and will secure bonds at the end of this year for the second set, said Miriam Mattison, the finance director of MT.  As they collect that, it pays off that bond debt, so they will collect the millage from the residents and then it will pay down the bond.