Des Case Story

Just Another Runner’s Story February 2025 Written by Gale Fischer

Finding Your Sweet Spot

“The obsession with running is really an obsession with the potential for more than life.”

—-George Sheehan

Running offers its participants an array of  emotions with thrills, misery, and feelings that fall somewhere on the spectrum between these two extremes. Agony and adventure can occur simultaneously  but also at times in isolation. Each runner experiences the runner’s high with varied elements of the sport. Locking into a fast pace is what works for some. Others find the ultimate joy completing a slow pace for a longer distance. Running bliss can come from a certain pace, a given distance, or preferred weather conditions and terrain for running. Some experience running euphoria traversing a sunny beach on a  warm summer day while others find this sensation on a wooded trail with a fresh blanket of snow. Running can provide positive vibes under all circumstances. Each of us finds a sweet spot with specific scenarios, which can offer the biggest source of individual satisfaction. Coldwater runner, Des Case has found her sweet spot in running as an ultra-marathon runner.

Running has become the sport of choice for Des, but other activities satisfied her athletic palette as a child. “Growing up I came from an athletic family,” Des said. “My siblings and I all participated in sports at a young age, and our mom and dad coached the little league teams we were a part of.” Des excelled as an athlete in high school but not as a runner. “I played varsity basketball and softball for Coldwater High School,” Des added. “The cross-country and track coaches always wanted me to run, but I wasn’t interested in doing this. I graduated from high school in 2008 and went on to play college softball for two years at Glen Oaks Community College. I continued with rec slow pitch softball after college.”

Des gave running a try nearly five years after graduating from high school. “I started running some local 5ks starting in 2012,” explained Des. “Initially I never trained much but just liked to go out and participate in local races.” Des started without any expectations of where running would take her or how it might fit into her life. “Not long after starting, however, running began to grow on her,” Des recalled. “I became a vegetarian and also was going through a breakup.These two things triggered a surge in my running. Running became my me time. I always feel so much better after a run.”

Des enjoyed what running was doing for her mentally and physically. She wanted to build on the momentum and run longer and more often. “In 2013 I ran my first half-marathon,” Des said. “I hit my goal, finishing in just under two hours.” The half-marathon distance seemed to keep Des satisfied for a few years, but eventually she would take on the next logical step as a runner. “My first marathon was the Kalamazoo Marathon in 2016,” she explained. “At this time I still wasn’t following a training plan, but I was still able to hit my goal, crossing the finish line in just under four hours. Finishing a marathon was fatiguing but also gave me an adrenaline rush.” 

The marathon distance was a new type of high for Des and something that satisfied her running fix for a few years, but eventually another type of racing experience presented a fork in the road for her running journey. “I ran the Yankee Springs Half-Marathon, a trail race, in June 2021,” Des recalled. “After completing this race I was hooked on trail racing.” Becoming a part of the trail racing scene also introduced Des to ultra distances, something that seems more common in the world of trail runners. She wanted to run farther. “In October of 2021 I completed the Pinkney Trail Weekend 50K, finishing first among females,” Des noted. “I was sore but the entire experience gave me an adrenaline rush. It made me feel like I could accomplish anything that I wanted. After running the 50K with a first place finish I became more serious about making goals. I wanted to race on trails and continue to increase the distance that I could run at one time, and I also wanted to increase my speed on the road for the marathon distance. I wanted to qualify for the Boston Marathon.”

Des had experienced some success as a runner prior to her first place finish at the Pinkney Trail Weekend without following a scripted training plan but with the goals she had made for herself it was time to change this. “I started getting more serious about training and hired Lorretta Toboskie Horn as my running coach,” Des said. “I qualified for Boston with a finish time of 3:24 in April of 2024 at the Carmel Marathon. I ran Boston in April of 2025. Running Boston was amazing. The weather was perfect and there were so many runners and spectators. To date I have completed four marathons.”

In the midst of qualifying for and running the Boston Marathon, Des was also gaining more experience as an ultra marathon runner. “In September of 2022, I ran the Woodstock 50 miler and finished as second overall female," Des noted. “I felt great after this and felt like I could have run 100 miles. I bumped up to 100 miles in June of 2023 at the Kettle Moraine 100 Mile race in Wisconsin. I was third overall female. To date I have completed two 50 milers and just one 100 miler. I would like to run another 100 miler, a 200 mile race and a Backyard Ultra.” A Backyard Ultra is a last man standing race in which participants must cover a 4.2 mile loop on the hour every hour. Participants keep going with the winner being the final runner who has met the cut-off each hour. 

Although Des is working with a coach and following a script, her weekly training runs are not ideal for trail racing. She would prefer to log the bulk of her miles on trails, but circumstances make this a challenge. “There aren't any trail running options near Coldwater,” Des explained. “My schedule does not allow time to travel to a trail system to run. I am a single mom with four children, a twelve-year old, a nine-year old, a six-year old, and a two-year old, all of whom I have adopted. I also home school my children and work nights and weekends as a nurse. Much of my running is done on a treadmill with some miles completed at a local cemetery.”  Des loves the trails and would love nothing more than to run more on trails, but she has made due with her circumstances and excelled in the world of ultra trail running despite not training on trails. She is a great role model for her children with her dedication to her sport and flexibility in getting her running in while being a mom first.

Des has learned from other ultra runners, especially her coach on how to prepare for races. “For my long races and long training runs I have implemented walking intervals with most of my walk breaks on inclines,” Des added. “I have struggled with nutrition for these long runs, but am starting to figure out what works for me. I take an energy gel every thirty minutes. I hit the aid stations for races using the nutrition offered. Watermelon and pop sicles have become my go to. I also carry a handheld water bottle with an electrolyte drink. When training for an ultra I typically complete a double day long run each week.” 

Running requires a strong mental resolve. Ultra distance puts this mental resolve on high alert. Des relies on her mental focus to get her through the rough patches. “Being an ultra runner has shown me that I can do more than what I think I can,” Des shared. “As endurance athletes we experience physical pain but our minds quit long before our bodies. We can accomplish so much more by remaining physically tough.Whenever I think of quitting, I break things down mentally into manageable segments. I tell myself that I can run another mile and repeat this process for each mile.”

Des’ current sweet spot in her running journey centers around the trail racing ultra marathon scene. The allure of nature that comes from a wooded trail, the confidence that comes from completing distances of 50K to 100 miles and beyond provides her with that thrill. Locking into the mental focus required to run for hours at a time is a task that she craves. 

Everyone has a story.  Stay tuned next month for another runner’s story.

Dennis McKeen Story

 Unretired

“Substitute teaching: where flexibility meets purpose and chaos meets growth.”

Many of the members of our staff spend much of their working years in the education field, starting in their early to mid twenties and continuing through retirement thirty to forty years later. Not all team members have followed this common path, however. Some have enjoyed a career in another field and retired, only to realize that they are not quite ready for what retirement has to offer. These individuals have signed on to work for Harper Creek, to stay busy, and add structure to their day.  Although their experience does not include educating children, the skills they have honed in their previous careers add value to what they can bring to our district. Harper Creek district sub, Dennis McKeen, spent much of his life working in the theater industry. An innocent comment from his five-year-old granddaughter made to him a few years after retiring had him searching for a job working in a school setting. 

Dennis was raised here in Battle Creek. “I was born in April of 1962 at Community Hospital in Battle Creek to David and Gloria McKeen,” Dennis noted. “I am the youngest of seven, with three brothers and three sisters.”  Dennis’ childhood years were in an era where spending time outside and being active was the norm. “I enjoyed playing all sports starting in elementary school,” Dennis explained.  “Baseball was my favorite. I was sure I was going to be a professional athlete. When I was in middle school, I went to football tryouts at Northwestern Middle School. I took a hard hit during these tryouts and decided that football wasn’t for me.”

Organized sports weren’t the only thing that kept Dennis busy as a child. “While not at school, we would play games outside with the neighborhood kids,” Dennis recalled. “My dad would flood the side yard every winter to make an ice rink for my siblings and our friends. Our yard was the neighborhood playground.”

The family unit was an important part of Dennis’ childhood. He reflected on this. “My mom stayed at home when I was growing up, and my dad worked as an electrician for Post,” Dennis recalled. “My brothers and sisters were in charge of watching me when we were outside, and when they grew tired of me, they would put me in an oak tree in our backyard. I was unable to climb down myself, but loved being in the tree.” 

Dennis was named after his uncle, who is a war hero. “My uncle was killed in action during World War II,” Dennis explained. “He was a paratrooper and went MIA on his first assignment when his plane went down, and he was assumed dead. Years later, it was revealed that he survived the plane crash. An ally jeep picked him up to take him to a hospital, but the Nazi’s hijacked the jeep, and he was thrown off to the side of the road because he was in such bad shape. He didn’t survive long after this.” 

Dennis started school in Kindergarten at Urbandale Elementary School, continuing with Battle Creek Public Schools at Northwestern Middle School, and then attending and graduating from Battle Creek Central High School. It was at this time that his focus for a future career began to switch from professional sports to another sector of the entertainment industry. “Much of my extra time was spent working in theater starting in high school,” said Dennis. “There was a girl that I liked who was in theater, so I decided to pursue theatre so that I could spend time with her. We eventually started dating.” Dennis has been involved in all aspects of theater, starting as a teenager and continuing through a long career, including acting, directing, and writing, with his first passion in performance going back to movement and physical activity as a young child. “I fell in love with dancing in high school,” Dennis explained. “I remember watching Fred Astaire movies as a teenager and being captivated with tap dancing. I acted, danced, and sang. I also choreographed while participating in high school theater. I became interested in every aspect of theater, including acting, set design, and props.”

Dennis invested much of his time working in theater while at Battle Creek Central. It became more than an extracurricular activity for him. He hoped that in the future he could earn a living as an adult in the industry. “After graduating from Battle Creek Central in 1980, I went to KCC to get my associate's degree in Theater Arts,” Dennis noted. “I became very involved in theater productions while attending KCC and also began directing.” 

Dennis finished up his associate's degree at KCC in the spring of 1982, then followed his girlfriend to Central Michigan University. Their relationship would end, causing a temporary glitch in Dennis’ pursuit of a career in theatre. “I enrolled at Central Michigan to work on my BA in theater,” Dennis said. “The girl that I had dated in high school also enrolled at Central. She eventually decided that she didn’t want to be with someone who was going to be an actor. I then decided to switch my major to elementary education in an attempt to salvage our relationship, but the two of us ended up parting ways.”

A career change to education didn’t last long for Dennis. He was presented with an unexpected job opportunity in the spring of 1983, and he decided to drop out of school. “I was offered a job as an actor for the musical The Chorus Line, at True Gist Theater,  a little theatre in Homer, Michigan,” Dennis explained. “The Chorus Line gig was a three-month commitment for True Gist’s summer season. I met my first wife, Cindy, who was also working on the Chorus Line, and we started dating.” Fortunately, a plan would evolve following the summer at True Gist.  “One of the directors at the True Gist Theater was also a teacher in the theater department at Western Michigan,” Dennis noted. “He convinced me to go back to school to get my BA in theater.” Dennis enrolled at Western that fall and was back on track. “As I got into my classes at Western, it felt like this was where I belonged,” said Dennis. “ I continued to hone my skills by participating in theater during my time as a student at Western. I finished up the spring of 1987 with my BA degree.”

Dennis and Cindy found employment as actors during the summer of 1987. “Cindy and I worked at Amish Acres, a theater in Northern Indiana, during the summer of 1987 for one season, approximately seven months,” Dennis explained. “We also got married that summer and then moved together to southern Florida to work at Naples Dinner Theatre, after finishing the show season at Amish Acres.” After a year and a half in Florida, Dennis and Cindy were ready to come back to Michigan. “We came back home in the summer of 1989 to work at Tibbits Theatre in Coldwater, for one summer,” Dennis recalled. “We also were working in a comedy group with some friends during our time at Tibbits.”

Dennis spent about two years at Tibbits and was also working in the comedy group. The comedy group eventually led to a more stable job. Dennis reflected on this. “My agent secured an audition for my comedy group with an organization looking to start up a comedy murder mystery show to go on tour around the country,” Dennis shared. “We got the job, and I was able to work as an actor, writer, and director. Our home base was Battle Creek. We named our company Top Hat Productions and performed at college venues throughout the country.” Top Hat Productions was in business for twelve years, performing in every state except Alaska. “At our peak, we had three different crews performing at one time," Dennis explained. “We had an agent who helped us book shows. Eventually, the whole murder mystery thing began to burn out, so it wasn’t lucrative for us to continue doing this.”

Top Hat Productions may have run its course, but Dennis had gained plenty of valuable experience building his resume, which allowed him to quickly find another job in the industry. “I ended up working at the dinner theater at Cornwell's Dinner Theater, acting, writing, and directing traditional plays and musicals,” Dennis said. “I worked there for twenty years, doing 187 different shows, 27 of which I wrote. We were shut down during the pandemic and eventually reopened, but by then, I was ready to scale back.” 

Dennis semi-retired after more than twenty-five years of pouring his soul into his passion for writing, acting, and directing. He has kept his hat in the ring on a part-time basis, spending a few summers working at the summer season at the Barn Theatre in Augusta, building and putting together sets for their shows. 

Dennis and Cindy have one child together, Kenneth, who was born in 1989. Dennis and Cindy divorced in  1992, and Cindy and Kenneth now live in Boston. Dennis remarried in 2000. “My wife Holly and I have one child together, Bailey, who was born in 1996,” Dennis noted. “I have one step-son, Greg, who was born in 1993. Greg and Bailey each have two children, giving Holly and me a total of four grandchildren. Holly became disabled in 2018. When Cornwell’s shut down during the pandemic a few years later, I decided it was time to retire from full-time theatre work so that I could have more free time to spend with Holly, which has enabled me to take care of her more consistently.”

Dennis and Holly were also business owners in Marshall for a few years. “We owned Marshall Carriage Company from 2017 to 2022,” explained Dennis, “offering horse-drawn carriage rides through downtown Marshall. These carriage rides consisted of a guided historical tour of Marshall, including ghost tours.” 

After retiring from the theater industry, Dennis didn’t intend to go back to work. A conversation with his granddaughter a few years ago set the wheels in motion for him to join our staff at Harper Creek. “In 2021, my granddaughter, who was in Kindergarten at the time, was talking about her school one day, " said Dennis. “She told me that I should be a substitute teacher. Our conversation got me thinking. I thought that this would be a flexible job, allowing me to work and also be able to take care of Holly.”

Dennis signed on to substitute teach not long after the conversation with his granddaughter in 2021.  He spent a few years taking job assignments at schools in and around Battle Creek. “I started substitute teaching in 2021 throughout the Battle Creek area,” Dennis recalled. “I began a long-term sub job at Harper Creek Middle School in 2023, and then became a district sub in 2024.” Since joining Harper Creek as a district sub, Dennis has spent most of his time at Wattles Park. He enjoyed working with middle school students and wasn’t quite sure of what his comfort level would be at the elementary level, but it has grown on him. He filled in for a few months to begin the 2024/25 school year, teaching Spanish. This fall, he has spent most of his time helping out in a Kindergarten classroom. 

Dennis reflected on the satisfaction that has come from substitute teaching. “I feel I have some history in teaching. My grandmother was a teacher. Also, my experience in directing shows is similar to teaching. I have enjoyed the day-to-day experience of being in a school. I enjoy watching children grow and learn. It is neat to see when a kid gets a concept after struggling to master it. I have been in Mrs. Shipley’s Kindergarten classroom this fall and have been happy with my comfort level in working with Kindergarten students. My grandkids and the kids I work with bring me a great deal of joy. I have been at Wattles Park primarily for the past two years and appreciate the sense of community and family.”

Dennis has a unique perspective, having spent a career acting, writing, and directing. Pursuing a career in this industry required a leap of faith from him, with long-term financial security not always being guaranteed. “I would encourage others to live the life you want to live,” Dennis shared. “Making lots of money is not always the most important thing. Enjoying your job is important.”

When Dennis originally signed up to substitute teach, he thought it might be nice to work a few days a week, but this plan has changed, and as a district substitute, he has committed to working full-time for our district. Our district subs provide an invaluable service every day. They have committed to subbing exclusively in our district, even when the need for substitute teachers is high for all schools in and around Battle Creek. They don’t know what they will do from day to day, but come in ready to help out wherever they are needed. 

 

 

The Great Indoors

Just Another Runner’s Perspective January 2026 Written by Gale Fischer  

The Great Indoors

“If you wait for perfect conditions you will never get anything done.”

—-Ecclesiastes 11:4

1/22/2026; 11:30 AM: I turned west off of Beade Lake Road and entered Harper Creek High School’s parking lot. A robo call from Harper Creek Schools, announcing that the district had issued a snow day, woke me from a deep sleep six hours earlier. I had planned on squeezing in a run after school but now with the day off from work, my schedule was suddenly much more wide open. I climbed out of bed, completed some paperwork for work, ate breakfast, and spent an hour outside shoveling snow. Before bundling up to clear the snow from my driveway, I hadn’t yet decided if I would run inside or outside later in the morning, but as the weather continued to deteriorate while I worked outside, my motivation radar left no doubt that I would run inside. Wind gusts out of the west sent a wall of snow my way as I drove across the parking lot. Like a superhero bursting through a tunnel of smoke and flames, a runner appeared as the wall of snow dissipated.

From the physical stature and gait of the runner, I had a pretty good inkling of who it was. As I pulled up beside her and rolled down my car window my hunch was confirmed. It was Laurie Oleksa. We exchanged a few words. I told her that I was going inside the high school to run on the indoor track and asked her if she wanted to run inside. She indicated that she only had a few miles to go and she would just finish outside. I told her she was a bad ass. She responded, saying she was a dumb ass. 

Frigid air, road conditions with ice and snow, and winter winds creating below zero windchills challenge the motivation of even the most dedicated runner. It was only mid January and it seemed like this year’s winter had already given us at least a full season dose of bone chilling elements if not more. My legs had grown weary of running on snow, ice, and slush after slogging through too many runs with less than ideal surface conditions starting the weekend after Thanksgiving. There had been days with dry roads to run on since the end of November, but it seemed like I had logged more miles than normal with challenging road and trail conditions so far this winter season. Snow accumulations had been the theme for the past week and with the arrival of below zero wind chills, I had taken my previous two runs indoors on the track circling above the perimeter of Harper Creek’s basketball court. Seven mile runs on a tenth of a mile track was not ideal, but seemed like a better option than a treadmill or traversing through the uncomfortable conditions outside. Although running in a circle for seventy laps may seem like it might require less focus than running on the roads and navigating traffic and unstable surface conditions, a different mental focus is required to count each lap. Laurie had driven to Harper Creek’s campus to run. She still had to deal with bone chilling temperatures, blows to her body from the winds out of the west, and snowy roads surrounding the parking lots to run on, but remaining on campus took away the element of staying out of the way of traffic. 

Our limits are often higher than what we perceive in the world of running.  Sorting through one’s personal limits as a runner can create a mental and emotional puzzle. It can lead to a series of head games. Limits are never constant. They fluctuate from day to day, run to run, and mile to mile. It’s a constant give and take of where one’s current physical, mental, and emotional state lies at any given time. This give and take is what determines a runner’s limits on any given day.

As a runner of more than twenty-five years, I have logged my share of miles in extremes. I have my own personal limits for running in high heat and humidity, pouring rain, below zero wind chills, and challenging road and trail conditions. These limits vary over longer periods of time but also fluctuate within any given week, month, or season.  I have certainly run in colder temperatures than Mother Nature has unleashed in recent days, and more challenging surface conditions than Michigan has seen the last week. These limits are different when running alone compared to running with others. I have found that the limits of what I can withstand as a runner are typically higher when I am able to run with other runners. Running with others will often raise the bar for what I am able to withstand. 

We are still in January and there are another six to eight weeks of winter remaining. I’m sure I will run some miles in conditions similar to or more extreme than what Mother Nature has unleashed the past week. Perhaps my mental limits will extend to a higher level than what they have for the last three runs.  Although the miles logged this past week have not been the most satisfying, the most relaxing, or the most intoxicating, I am thankful to have had an indoor option for running. As we navigate through what Mother Nature is predicted to pummel us with in the next few days, I hope all of you are able to find a way to somehow keep running. 

Until next time, this has been just another runner’s perspective.

Janine Lewandoski Story

Just Another Runner’s Story                                                                                                                  January 2026                                                                                                                        Written by Gale Fischer  

Running’s Social Pipeline                                                             “If you run, you are a runner. It doesn’t matter how fast or how far. It doesn’t matter if today is your first day or if you’ve been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run.”          ----John Bingham                      

There are multiple social groups that each of us associates with. These social groups are often categorized with work friends, church friends, and childhood friends being different examples. For those immersed in the running community a tight knit band of individuals is often formed with other runners. For some runners moving to another zip code, running becomes a prominent way to become familiar with the layout of a new city, town, or neighborhood. Running also helps these individuals to form new friendships as these individuals seek out others that they share a common interest with in running. For local runner Janine Lewandoski, the running community in Battle Creek became her first social connection when she moved to the Cereal City almost a decade ago.

Janine grew up spending much of her free time being active, but running wasn’t necessarily a part of this equation until early adulthood. “I started playing soccer when I was five years old,” Janine said. Organized sports was only a snippet of what kept her moving. “My brother and I were always outside playing with the neighborhood kids,” she added. “I grew up in a small town and for most of the children in our neighborhood any free time was spent outside playing games and riding bikes.”

Although spending time outside being active with kids from the neighborhood still dominated much of Janine’s free time as she became older, organized sports eventually took on a bigger role in her life. “More options for sports became available in middle school,” explained Janine. “I played volleyball, basketball, softball, and participated in track, during this time. I really enjoyed sports. It kept me from getting bored.” Janine would have to limit her participation in athletics to one sport for each season, after transitioning from middle school. “When I started high school, I continued participating in a sport each season, focusing on one sport in the spring," Janine said. “I loved each sport that I participated in but was always ready to end one sports season and begin another.” Janine was advised to choose track as her spring sport her freshman year, but this only fueled her desire to continue with soccer. “My math teacher was also the soccer coach, and he told me that I would just be a bench player for the soccer team. He encouraged me to choose another spring sport,” explained Janine. “I played soccer just to prove him wrong, which I did. I seemed to have more endurance than the other kids, so I rarely sat on the bench.” Just as Janine’s running hobby as an adult has provided her primary group of friends, her high school peer group also centered around sports. “I went to a small school, Algonac High School near Port Huron,” Janine noted. “Many of my classmates were involved in athletics and most of my friends played sports.” 

Janine graduated from high school in 2011 and went on to college at the University of Michigan. For the first time in her life physical activity was not a part of her routine. “Coming from a small community I had to adjust to a big school and shifted my priorities,” explained Janine, “and I was inactive my freshman year. During my sophomore through senior years, I played some intramural sports. As I approached college graduation in 2015, I began to try to focus on having a balanced life and adding physical activity back to my routine. I started running some on my own to lose a little weight and to establish some healthy habits. It was very sporadic. I would usually run a three-mile loop a few times a week starting from the house that I lived in and going around the football stadium and basketball arena.”

After earning her college degree, Janine experienced another major life transition common for college graduates with the true beginning of independent adult life. She would lean on physical activity to ease the transition. “I started working at a consulting company in Southfield after graduation,” Janine recalled. “It was a bit intimidating being a professional. I began going to the gym, which was a new experience for me. At the same time, a friend of mine from high school, who had never been active, had an itch to run the Detroit Half-Marathon. I decided to sign up to run it with him.” 

Committing to run a half-marathon moved Janine from casual runner to serious runner. “I had researched some ideas on the internet for how to train,” said Janine, “but I didn’t follow anything specific. I was running on my own about four days a week, usually around five miles for each of these weekday runs, with a longer run on the weekend.” Reaching the double digit mile barrier seemed like the mental push Janine needed to give her the confidence she needed to know she could run for 13.1 miles. “I remember building up to ten miles for a long run,” noted Janine. “My thought was that I should at least complete ten miles for a training run before race day. I was also going to the gym a few times a week to do some strength training. I was really excited when I ran the race that there was Gatorade at the aid stations. I guess I wasn’t expecting this.” 

All and all the race day experience was a positive one for Janine. “My goal was to go under two hours, but I really wasn’t sure how things would go after ten miles,” said Janine. “I had trained alone, and it was exciting running with others and having spectator support. I was tired after the race, but felt like I could do more. I thought that I could run a marathon. What stood out to me was the diversity of runners with young, middle aged and older runners, and runners with different body shapes. It was inspiring. After this, I kept training.” 

At the time Janine ran her first half-marathon, she was still working and living on the east side of the state but began to spend some time in Battle Creek with her work. “Kellogg's was a client of the company I worked for,” explained Janine, “and early in 2016, I started coming to Battle Creek for a few days at a time on different occasions to help as a consultant for Kellogg's. I would stay at the McCamly Hotel, so occasionally I would run around downtown when I was in Battle Creek. I would also do some strength training workouts in my hotel room.”

Although Janine wasn’t living in Battle Creek full-time, she was becoming familiar with the area surrounding Kellogg’s Headquarters through running. An opportunity would eventually bring her to Battle Creek full-time. “Kellogg’s offered me a full-time job during the summer of 2016,” said Janine. “It seemed like it would be a seamless transition to go from working for them as a consultant to working for them full-time.” Reaching out to other runners seemed like the best way to make the transition socially from Southfield to Battle Creek.  “I sought out the running community to get to know people in the area,” she noted. “My mom researched and found The Kalamazoo Area Runners online for me. I decided to show up to a group run on a Tuesday. For this first run, I met Holly McKee, who helped to introduce me to different weekly group runs in Battle Creek. It was a bit awkward at first, running with others, but it was a great way to get to know others outside of work. To this day many of my friends in Battle Creek are from the running community.” Soon Janine began running regularly with the Sunday run group from the Battle Creek YMCA with Matthew Santner. She began to run more during the week with Matthew and other runners who ran a faster pace that she was accustomed to. It gave her something to aspire to as a runner. 

As time went on, Janine began to meet other runners who also were active as cyclists and swimmers. “Many of my running friends in Battle Creek were participating in triathlons,” Janine noted. “This was kind of my introduction to biking and swimming competitively. I did my first triathlon in 2017. I have done a handful of triathlons. Most of these have been sprint triathlons. I had started training with the Cereal City Triathlon training group. Some in my training group decided to train for a Half-Iron Man triathlon. We did the Steelhead Half -ron Man in Benton Harbor in 2018. The water was very rough on Lake Michigan that day. It was like swimming in a washing machine. It was uncomfortable swimming in a crowd.”

Completing a Half-Iron Man piqued Janine’s interest in the next step as a runner. “After completing the Half-Iron Man, I started thinking that I could run a marathon,” said Janine. “The Half -ron Man took me six hours to finish, which in my head was more time than I figured I could run a marathon in. In the winter of 2019, I signed up for the KAR Beyond Marathon training group and traveled to Kalamazoo every Saturday morning for my long runs. My training that winter went well. It was exciting to complete my first twenty-mile run. For the first marathon training cycle, there are so many firsts in terms of milestone distances. I can remember my first twenty-mile run being on a hilly course on a snowy day.  In the spring of 2019, I ran my first marathon, the Kentucky Derby Marathon in Louisville.”

It was a memorable first marathon experience for Janine. “There was a group of fifteen of us who went to Louisville and stayed in an Airbnb, with some running the half and some running the full.,” Janine recalled. “ It was a great first marathon. The course was not too hilly, and the weather was perfect.There were people who were out spectating and were really engaged in the experience. My finishing time was 3:50. I knew that I wanted to run more marathons after this. It was exciting to finish my first marathon and feel good about it.”

Janine has completed another six marathons since her first in Louisville. She has improved her time with her PR coming at the 2021 Carmel Marathon in Indiana, with a finishing time of 3:27 and a Boston qualifier. She completed the Boston Marathon the next year in 2022. She was running well for the marathon distance but an injury would stall her progress a year after her Boston debut. “In 2023, I had been training for the Green Bay Marathon,”  Janine said. “I had just finished a twenty-mile run a few days earlier and was in my taper. I felt some pain in my lower back and leg in the middle of a five-mile run and had to walk home. I took a few days off and tried again a few days later to run, but still felt the same level of pain. I was unable to run the marathon. The doctor I went to diagnosed it as a bulging disc.” 

Janine was forced to take some time away from running. “I spent the following summer not able to run while also going through PT,” explained Janine. “I was able to swim some during this time, and I walked a lot. Looking back, I feel that it was good and that my body needed a break, but it was frustrating. I introduced running intervals with my walking in the fall of 2023. It took a while, but eventually I returned to a more normal running routine.” A year later Janine went through a major transition in her life. She reflected on this.  “I moved to Mexico for work for a year in 2024. I ran a lot on the treadmill in a gym that didn’t have air conditioning. I was really nervous about keeping my running routine while there, but it worked out. It was hot, and it was 6,500 feet above sea-level.”

Since her return from Mexico, Janine has reacquainted herself to running with friends she has made in Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. Working and running in Battle Creek the last five years has allowed Janine to grow professionally, personally and as a runner. She will soon be on the move again but will take her experiences from the last five years to guide her through this next stage of her life. “I have a new job with Denso and will be moving to Southfield,” she noted. “I will hook up with the running community there and have already done some research to find groups to run with.”

With her time in Battle Creek coming to an end, Janine reflected on running and on the connections she has made. “Running has been a good way to blend my social life with being active.The local running community here in Battle Creek is open to anyone at all levels. I credit my improvement in running to the running community, but also to Rob Lillie, who has been my trainer. He has kept me in the game physically, but also lets me and his clients know that, at the end of the day, running is supposed to be fun. When I moved to Mexico for a year and ran on my own, I came to appreciate what running can also do for my life individually. Running can be there for you to provide whatever you need.” 

For those who are fully immersed into a running routine there is no denying the positive impact it can have on your life. It can help to maintain and improve physical health. It can give each participant a confidence boost and an emotional lift that will benefit all aspects of life. It can provide a much needed dose of positivity in the midst of a bad day. Perhaps one of the most appreciated benefits of running is the friendships that it can provide. Running alone can make your life better. Sharing running with others can build on this. 

Everyone has a story.  Stay tuned next month for another runner’s story.