Nic Lyons was a wrestler, but it turned out that he was better at running.
Lyons, a farmer from Manitowac, ran cross-country in high school, mainly to improve his stamina while wrestling. He discovered he was better at running.
He was also one of the 881 runners who participated in the first Bellin Run on June 12, 1977. He stayed fit working the farm with low weekly mileage – what he calls being “a little mileage guy” – and still qualified for and ran the 100th Boston Marathon in 1996 after completing the first 10 Fox Cities marathons.
“My dad thought I was a little nuts, you know, running so much,” Lyons said. “But he later understood.”
Now in his 70s, Lyons is set to walk the 50th Bellin Run on June 13 alongside his wife this year, just as he did last year, and every year of the event. He was in his early 20s when he first ran the race. Now, he said, he could run it, but a heart problem and back issues would make it too painful.
However, he said the run is not only about the competition.
“The idea of the Bellin Run, it’s just not about the competition, it’s about the multitude of runners,” Lyons said. “Those people are moving – I don’t care if they’re running or walking, but they’re out and about. Everybody you see running, especially when you get later into the race, you see these people are all trying to make themselves healthier.”
A commitment to keep the community physically active
That focus on broad participation over elite performance has defined the event from the start. What began in 1977 has grown into one of the region’s signature races, now featuring a 5K and 10K and over 8,000 runners.
On June 13, they will start together in front of the hospital and wind through residential streets.
The shared start and finish create the camaraderie that draws walkers, first-timers and serious competitors alike.
Linda Maxwell, who has served as race director for the past 20 years, said the anniversary has brought a surge of interest in this year’s run.
Maxwell said more than 8,000 people had already registered weeks before race day, a roughly 20% increase from last year, with many returning after skipping years or wanting to be part of the 50th anniversary milestone.
“We have people who are coming back to the event after maybe they hadn’t done it since before COVID,” Maxwell said.
On June 12, there will be a health-and-fitness expo at Astor Park, 1100 Porlier St. in Green Bay. The expo includes vendor booths, sports-medicine resources, autograph, a pasta dinner and Q&A sessions with elite athletes. Also, a children’s half-mile run takes place the same evening around the park.
Maxwell said organizers provided weekly training runs in the months leading up to the race to help participants prepare. The race itself is a celebration of the effort they have put in, she said.
“That training really is with the physical activity is where the health benefits come from,” she said. “The goal is to get people to be active, so it’s important that we have this goal.”
A tradition that now runs in the blood
For Lyons, the race has become something even more personal.
He never thought that his love for running would grow and be passed on to his children and grandchildren. But it did. All four of his children have participated in the Bellin Run.
Two grandsons are now serious competitors: Coleman Lenci, who runs at Michigan Technological University, and Bennett Story, a senior who helped Stevens Point Area Senior High win recent state cross-country titles.
“I think it’s something that grows on you, runs in your blood,” Lyons said.
He tells his friends the benefits of running: It clears the mind on bad days. And for newcomers, his advice is simple: Show up and test yourself.
“Go out and do your best. Our bodies are a machine. At a certain point, you want to push them to see what they can do,” he said.
When does the race starts and how to register
The 5K and 10K will start 8 a.m. June 13 on South Webster Avenue, directly in front of Bellin Hospital. Online registration closes at 2:30 p.m. June 11, but participants can still register in person from 3 to 8 p.m. June 12 at the Astor Park registration tent.
For more information, visit bellinrun.com.
Ariel Perez is a business reporter for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. You can reach him at APerez1@usatodayco.com or view his X profile at @Ariel_Perez85.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Bellin Run: 50 years of building community health, tradition
Reporting by Ariel Perez, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ariel Perez, Green Bay Press-Gazette | USA TODAY Network
