WOOD Radio Local News

WOOD Radio Local News

WOOD Radio Local News

 

Brian Diemer Family of Races takes place Saturday in Cutlerville

CUTLERVILLE, Mich. -- Organizers of the Brian Diemer 5K Run expect about 700 participants at the 34th annual event this Saturday in Cutlerville.

The Diemer Family of Races always takes place on the second Saturday of June in Byron and Gaines townships.

The competitions include a 5-kilometer walk, a 5K handcycle race, a 5K 'My Team Triumph,' a masters' race, a Grand Masters race and a kids' steeplechase. The handcycle and triumph races are set to go off at 8:29 a.m.

The main Brian Diemer 5K race is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. at Legacy Christian School, 6768 68th St. SW, which is just west of Division Avenue.

Hyde said the steeplechase is a fun event for kids of all ages. It gets underway at 10:15 a.m.

"Where they run on the soccer field (behind the school), over hay bales and in team swimming pools," Race Director Rob Hyde said.

Brian Diemer is a three-time Olympian who starred in track at South Christian High School when it was located across 68th Street from Legacy Christian School. Diemer went on to greater accomplishments at the University of Michigan and at the 1984 Summer Olympics, where he won the bronze medal in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

More than $9,000 in prize money will be awarded after this year's competitions. This year, the awards will go to the top three in the men's and women's handcycling divisions, to the Top 10 overall in the 5K, to the Top 5 in the master's division (ages 40 and older), and to the first-place finisher in the Grand Masters' race, which is for ages 50 and older.

Diemer himself always participates. And there is a fun challenge for anyone who can beat the 62-year-old Grand Rapids native.

"You win a doughnut. The three-time Olympian still likes to have fun and he still likes to compete," Hyde explained. "So, at the end of the race - actually, when he's done - he stands there and high-fives everyone who finishes. And then, once we get the results, we hand out doughnuts to everyone who beat his time."

Someone actually runs alongside Diemer decked out in a doughnut costume with balloons on them.

"So, during the race anyone in the race can see where he's at, if they want to key off him and try to get him at the end, they have a chance to do that," Hyde said.

Six bands are scheduled to perform a variety of music alongside the race course on 68th Street.

"So, plenty of fun, plenty of entertainment throughout that entire course," Hyde said.

The original 5K race began in 1990 in Wyoming, MI., and it moved over to Cutlerville in 2000. That is when Hyde got involved as race director.

The Diemer Family of Races gives money to eight nonprofit organizations.

"At the end of the day, that's why we raise this money," Hyde said, noting that many nonprofit group members either participate in the race or volunteer.

"So, just a fun partnership to bring people together," he said.

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Three-time Olympian Brian DiemerPhoto: All photos courtesy of Diemer Family of Races


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