History of Great Black Swamp
The Toledo Roadrunners Club and race director Dave Payette held a race in the late 1980’s that eventually became the Ft. Meigs Half Marathon, which closely resembled the current Churchill’s Half Marathon course route.The race was a huge success thanks to the hard work of volunteers and their effort to secure sponsorship, including Larry Barney’s Industrial Machine company, Nova Industrial.
Larry and Randy Raker were business partners, running buddies, and best friends. Randy, Larry, and Bruce ran together often, and a friendship was formed over the miles, as often happens in our sport. In the early 1990’s, Randy began having severe headaches that continued until after a race at Promenade Park. Randy collapsed while talking to a group of running friends and had his first seizure. A few years later, brain cancer took Randy’s life and he left a large hole in the running community. It was only natural that Bruce decided to ask TRRC to change the name of the Ft. Meigs Half-Marathon to “Randy’s Race.” Over the next decade or so, the club held the event in various places and raised money for the American Brain Tumor Association in honor of Randy. Many of his friends and family volunteered, donated, and supported this race. His children even handed out medals at the finish line.
In 2013, the club decided to switch the timing of Churchill’s Half Marathon and Randy’s Race. Changing the name of the event to the Great Black Swamp Festival of Races, in the process. Despite changes to the name and schedule of the event, the tradition of the memorial last mile that began with Randy’s Race still continues. Next spring, visit the last mile along the Great Black Swamp course, and take a moment to read the names on all of the signs, and know that just like Randy’s, there’s a story behind each of them.
