Front Line Racing: Building a tradition

October 18, 2007

“If it wasn't for the Detroit Free Press Marathon there absolutely would not be a Front Line Racing.” These are the words of team coordinator Fred Vanhala. Without Vanhala there wouldn’t be a team, either. In a recent letter to the team he outlined their history with the marathon.

In 1999, “the team was created during a get-together with friends at the Park Colony Swim & Tennis Club in Allen Park. Our family invited Marv and Judy Phelps and their boys over for a day at the pool. I knew Marv had dabbled with running a bit in the past, so told him that the Free Press marathon was going to have a marathon relay that year. The two of us were in for the five-person team. We just needed three more. I hadn’t run a race since the late 1980s, but felt this would give me a good goal to shoot for to get in shape. Soon thereafter, my brother, Marc, a co-worker, Jeff Horka, and a brother-in-law, Clark Scott, agreed to run. Clark would later get injured waterskiing and was replaced by Bill O’Neil. We ran and had a blast. Team time: 3:57:31; place 60th.

“I was the second-smallest guy on the team at 6’2” and 215 pounds. With five guys racing, the name Front Line Racing Team seemed appropriate for us heavyweights.

“So what has happened to that initial team? Bill O’Neil continues to run and compete. He generally runs with four brothers as a relay in Detroit each year, and I often run into all of them at the Hockeytown Cafe thereafter. Marc had some knee problems and has not raced since — though (he) does a lot of bike riding. Horka continues to race with us either at Detroit or Toledo. Phelps now run marathons and wants to complete 10. He had a scare this past summer with thyroid cancer, but early treatment and surgery should have got it all. He’s planning on running the half marathon in (a) year while his wife Judy walks it.”

Team members know Phelps has played a huge role in the continuing success of the team and is the man responsible for the professional look of the Web site.

Vanhala has been running for five decades, starting in the 1960s, and Vanhala is looking forward to running a race in 2010 to make it six decades. But he said he’s not sure if he’ll race again this decade.

With the adrenaline from the 1999 team was still flowing through his veins, Vanhala felt that the winning marathon relay time from 1999 looked beatable. He started cold-calling runners from the downriver area to see if they’d be interested in going after the title. Mike Capraro and Ken Cook agreed to run. “They were checking me out with the well-known Tony Mifsud just to make sure I wasn’t some weirdo or something. Luckily, Tony, having known me since my high school days, lied and told these guys I was OK. I made some more calls and four other teams came together as well.”

The men’s open team would win their division, but a young team from Canada running in the Corporate Division would be the overall champions for the second straight year.

Vanhala put together nine teams in 2001. “It was insane. Runners were coming in, coming out; I was in need of replacements from who knows where and began calling runners all over the state. I was exhausted before the race began. One of the great things was that someone dropped off of our Open Men’s team (I don’t remember who) with about three days to go. Matt Yacoub was able to recruit Paul Aufdemberge as a replacement. Wow — what a boost! This was also the year that I also first got in touch with Mike Scannell. Mike and Jim Furkis would team up to run an incredible two-man relay. Our teams ran great, finishing second to the Hanson’s in the Men’s Five Man Open and Two Man Open and winning the Five Person Mixed Division.”

The start a winning streak began in 2001 and is still intact for Front Line Racing.

2002 — “Like giving birth, I forgot the pain of putting together nine teams in 2001 and put together 10 teams for 2002. With five of them being 2 Person teams, that made it a little easier. Our Grand Rapids team of Dan Droski and Russ DeRoos would be the overall winners of the two man relay and our men’s masters teamswould win both the 5 & 2 Person relays.”

2003 — “Our five man masters team set an event record that may hold up for quite some time, with a 2:31:51. That would be the 2nd fastest 5 men masters relay team in the world for 2003, second only to Front Line Racing Team’s 2:29:12 in the USA Marathon Relay Championships in Akron, OH. Our two man masters team would also place first. Our Open Men’s team finally became the overall five man relay winners.”

“This was one of my favorite course configurations because three exchanges were within about a 1/2 mile of each other; clustered around the Belle Isle Bridge area. I had a great time hanging out with the middle of the pack guys cheering on the fast teams to victories.”

2004 — “The half marathon was added to the race schedule and the 2 Person Relay was dropped. However a full marathon team event was added and Front Line Racing would be the first-time winners. The men’s 5 person open team would repeat as overall champions in the fastest time ever and our men’s master team would take that title for the fourth straight year.

2005 — “This was a frustrating year because we were nosed out in several different categories. Our men’s 5 man relay team was coming on strong but just couldn’t make up the last 33 seconds on the winning team. We finished 2nd in all three full marathon team categories. Our dependable 5 man masters team came through for us, winning for the fifth straight year.”

2006 — The team got back to their typical two victories per year pace; winning the 5 Man Masters for the sixth straight year (no one else has ever won it but Front Line), and the full marathon mixed division title. They also picked up second places in three other team divisions.

Front Line Racing teams have won 17 division titles, 12 second-place and four third-place medals. Forty-three relay teams have finished the race and 50 individual runners have completed the full marathon.

See the article at freep.com