Chris Crowell Story

Just Another Runner’s Story May 2024 Written by Gale Fischer

A Life Shaped by Running

“Home is the comfiest place to be.”

—Winnie the Pooh

Many among us consider running to be an integral part of life. It may not be the top priority but its importance is undeniable. It can be the catalyst for a healthy lifestyle but beyond this running provides the perfect balance to keep stress at a low level and joy a dominant presence. Work, family, and other commitments are important, and a constant presence, with running providing respite for many of life’s obligations. Running can offer a natural transition for alone time and reflection but also bless one with a social group of like-minded peers. If looking for a mode to explore the community, running can give glimpses of your surroundings that can be seen in a way, unlike other methods of exploring. The geography of Southwest Michigan offers runners a variety, with nature trails, rural paths, city sidewalks, small town streets, and country roads. The geography of Kalamazoo and its surrounding area, the change in scenery with the four seasons, and the positivity of the running community make Southwest Michigan an ideal location for being a runner. This month’s featured runner, Chris Crowell, has been blessed to enjoy the bounty of being a runner residing in Kalamazoo beginning with his first experience in running as a young child. Running has been present in his life as a resident of Kalamazoo, as a high school and collegiate student-athlete, as a non-competitive runner, and in his career.  

Chris has enjoyed an active lifestyle for as long as he can remember. “My mom was a gym teacher so we were very physically active as a family. My first memory of organized sports was playing baseball in elementary school. Soon I started playing basketball and football.”  The area of Kalamazoo that Chris and his siblings grew up in offered them another unique form of exercise. “We grew up in the Winchell neighborhood. My siblings and I spent many hours ice skating on Wood’s Lake in the winter.”

Running became Chris’ sport of choice upon transitioning out of elementary school. “When I started middle school my sports focus turned to  cross country and track, but I continued to play basketball during the winter.” Chris may not have started organized running until junior high but he has a unique story of how running sparked his competitive drive as a youngster. “My first running experience was in third grade. When I attended elementary school we walked home every day at noon, ate lunch, and returned to school for the afternoon. We lived four blocks from school. I became competitive with myself and would look at the clock when I left school, run home, and do the same when I returned to school after lunch. I would keep track of my time and try to go faster each day. It was always my goal to complete the commute in under three minutes.” 

When Chris started high school he gave up basketball and fully committed to running as a student athlete. “After my freshman cross-country season, my coach, Don Lukens, sat down and talked to me. He told me that I could play basketball and run and be good at both or I could focus on running and become a great cross-county athlete.” The thought of excelling as a runner intrigued Chris. “I asked Coach Lukens what I could do to become a great cross-country runner. He told me that I needed to run every day, year-round. I gave up basketball and began running year-round.” 

Running every day helped Chris to become a competitive and successful high school runner, but not giving his body a break was a risk. “I sustained running year-round for three years but eventually developed an overuse injury. I was diagnosed with a stress fracture in the summer leading up to my senior cross-country season. I had to have surgery and missed my entire senior cross-country season.” Missing out on his final season of high school cross-country was a tough pill for Chris to swallow. “My junior year I had our team’s fastest time, fifteen minutes and three seconds, so I was looking for big things my senior year. Missing my final year of high school cross-country was difficult. I felt that I was letting my team down. I had finished a great summer of training and was anticipating an epic final season.”

Despite having to take off from running due to a stress fracture, tuning in to cross-country and track proved to be fruitful for Chris. “It was a wise decision. Our coach was focused on building championship teams and supporting every kid who came out.” The running culture that existed at Loy Norrix helped to support ongoing success in terms of championships and high numbers of kids coming out to run. “Coach Lukens helped us set mileage goals. Every summer from June 1st through September 1st we had a thousand-mile club for our team. This was an average of about eleven miles a day. We could earn a shirt for doing this and we all were proud to wear this shirt. It seemed like everyone wanted to be on our team. We had around thirty boys run for us each of my seasons.” 

The daily practices, cross-country meets, and team championships helped to create life-long memories, but team bonding also occurred before each season began. “Our team would go to Wellston, Michigan for three weeks each summer to train on the wooded trails. The area was beautiful for running. We would run, eat, sleep, and hang out together. It was so much fun.”

The miles logged and the hard work that Chris put in helped him achieve many accomplishments as a cross-country runner, individually and as part of a team. “Some high school cross-country accomplishments included conference champion and regional champion, with a high school PR of fifteen minutes and three seconds in my junior year. I went out too fast at the state meet as a junior and led after two miles but faded after that, finishing forty-first. Our team took third place as a team.” 

It seems that as a high school athlete, cross-country was more of a love for Chris than track, but he was also able to leave his mark on the oval. “I recovered from my stress fracture and surgery, and trained more for strength and speed and less for distance for my senior track season. I came into track strong. I was able to run a four-minute and nineteen-second mile and break our school’s two-mile record at that time with a time of nine minutes and twenty-one seconds. I ran the two-mile at the state meet my senior season, finishing ninth.”  Typically these times would have been the fastest in the area but there was an elite runner at a cross-town rival. “At this time there was a competitor at Portage Northern who was All-American. He ran a four-minute, eight-second mile, and a nine-minute, two-second two mile. I was second for a conference and regional that year for those two events.”

Despite missing out on his senior season of cross country, Chris was able to make an impression on some college coaches. “My senior year some smaller colleges started recruiting me. It came down to Central Michigan and Western Michigan. It seemed that Chris was destined to remain in Kalamazoo for his collegiate running career and beyond. “I committed to WMU, starting there in 1978. We had an extremely strong and deep team for both cross country and track. I didn’t run varsity until I was a junior and senior. We won the MAC championship for cross-country and track my freshman year. Our coach, Jack Shaw, was a really strong coach and recruiter.”   

Chris’ teammates consisted of some elite runners. Although he was a tier two runner on his team he feels fortunate to have been a part of these teams. “I was a good runner but not a top-tier runner like most of my teammates. It was an unbelievable experience running with these guys. They were a positive influence on me, teaching me about dedication, resilience, and focus as a runner. I am still in contact with many of these guys.”  Under the guidance of his college coaches and teammates, Chris was able to improve as a runner with a PR of fourteen minutes, forty-five seconds for the 5K, and thirty-one minutes, seven seconds for the 10K.

After graduating from WMU Chris was at a crossroads. His plans were not set in stone but he knew that running would still be a part of his life. He had planned to continue with school after earning his undergraduate degree from WMU but Chris decided that he needed some time to catch his breath.  “I had studied biomedical science and chemistry with the thought of going to medical school. After graduating from Western I decided that I needed a break from school. My thinking was that I would eventually go back to medical school. I started working at a running store in Kalamazoo called the Athlete’s Shop and continued there after graduation in 1982.” 

The owner of the Athlete’s Shop was nearing retirement which gave Chris a chance to think about his future. “Bruce Johson, the manager, and I became good friends. We decided that we wanted to purchase the store together. Neither of us had any business experience and we couldn’t afford the price so we had to walk away.” Chris’ future was now in a state of limbo. “Bruce and I loved Kalamazoo and the running culture. We continued to pursue our dream of owning a running store. We had no money, no loan, and no employees. Family and friends helped to provide the money and the manpower to get a business up and running. We opened Gazelle Sports in December of 1985.”

Chris and Bruce had the vision but couldn’t have pulled it off without some help. “One of my core values to this day is the sense of community which was founded because of how the community stepped up to help us. We worked hard at trying to build a company about building friendships and relationships with customers. We wanted to give back to the community and promote people building healthy lifestyles. This was part of our process.”

Chris and Bruce did an outstanding job of opening up to the community and building these relationships but they didn’t have the business sense for financial expansion. They eventually found help in this area. “In 1990 we hired Jean Sequite. She had some business and financial background and this is what helped us grow financially. We opened a store in Grand Rapids at this time with Ken Sung running it. He was a visionary in terms of product and innovation. He completed our leadership team which allowed us to grow.”

As a business owner, finding the time to keep running as a priority may have presented a challenge for Chris, but having a store immersed in the running community helped with this. “I continued to enjoy running after college. The focus of my running became more about the social and health benefits rather than running PRs. It also provided a great way to balance my business. Finding relationships and becoming self-reflective through running became the centerpiece for my sport.” Other than the stress fracture that sidelined Chris for his senior season of cross-country in high school, he has found a consistent routine with running. “Now at the age of sixty-four, I am still able to run. Running fast is great but longevity in running has been equally amazing. I have had injuries here and there but for the most part, I have been able to maintain three or four days a week. I also ride a bike and kayak.”

The Kalamazoo running community has had a profound impact on Chris from the time he ran from his elementary school to his house for lunch, continuing as a high-school athlete for Loy Norrix, followed by his time running for WMU, and for the last four decades as an adult runner. As much as Chris has gained, he has also been a part of the development of the Kalamazoo running community, as one of its great ambassadors for almost forty years, with the work he has done with Gazelle Sports. “We got into developing events such as the One One Run. This was huge. We also started training groups back in the late nineties including Borgess Run Camp. Groups like this grew the running population. The Seahorse Triathlon Club was another group Gazelle Sports organized. We brought Girls on the Run (GOTR) to West Michigan and Kalamazoo after the turn of the century. The community got involved and for a few years, we were the largest GOTR chapter in the nation.” 

As a runner for more than a half-century, Chris has learned about the nuances of the sport and how it positively intertwines into your daily life. “Running is a wonderful time for self-reflection. Let running help you build your social and spiritual connection. You can do this at any pace. Having the time to do this is so valuable. I have done a lot of problem-solving with running. Don’t let go of running but also find other things besides running to stay active.” 

For many years Chris was an integral part of the leadership team for running in Kalamazoo. He still is involved but has graciously passed the reins onto others. He retired from the running store business a few months ago. He may not have become a doctor as originally intended but he has had an impact on others, influencing many to maintain and improve their mental and physical health through running. His love for Kalamazoo and running is undeniable. 

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