COACH RON GUNN

Comments by Hal Higdon (Running Coach and author of 34 books)

" The coach from the top-ranked cross-country program never called back.     Ron Gunn did. Ron Gunn served as track and cross-country coach at Southwestern Michigan College, also its athletic director. SMC was a two-year school, a junior college, or perhaps more politely a community college, in Dowagiac, Michigan (population: 6,583), conveniently only an hour up the road from our home near Michigan City, Indiana. At the end of his senior year with none of the major universities offering much encouragement, Kevin decided to enroll in SMC for at least the first two years of college. 

That was my introduction to Ron Gunn and the nearly two dozen miles of trails that wound through the woods on the edge of the SMC campus. 

Several years after Kevin enrolled at SMC, I would write an article about Gunn’s world for the August 1981 issue of The Runner magazine. But it was less about his successful cross-country teams and more about the classes he taught for beginning runners in this small, rural town. The title of my article was “Marathon 101,” and it began with a portrait of some very ordinary runners, beginners well past their high school and college years:  The class started running through the woods from the college to the Elks Club, and I took off down the trail in front of them, camera in hand. I wanted to get some photos of the Monday night class.  That particular evening in late April, the Monday night class of experienced runners was joined by the Wednesday night class of beginning joggers. Ron Gunn, dean of sports education at Southwestern Michigan College, teaches two adult education classes for runners at the two-year community college in Dowagiac, Michigan. I sometimes assist him. The Monday night class, often referred to not entirely facetiously as “Marathon 101,” has been together for nearly two years. It is now into its seventh 14-week cycle. Many of its 55 or so members have completed marathons in times ranging from three to six hours. The Wednesday night class, with 70 students, functions more or less as a farm team for the Monday nighters. At the end of 14 weeks, those who want to continue transfer to Monday. " [The beginning of MNRC]

He successfully coached several national championship winning track teams and had several All American runners at Southwestern Michigan College.  When the college ended sports at SMC he was tasked with developing a stronger relationship with the community.  The fitness center was upgraded and soon filled with community members along with college students.  His adult running classes soon became marathon training classes.  The final exam was to run the Honolulu Marathon as part of a three island tour.  This lead to forming the MNRC (Monday Night Running Club) as a way for the 100's of adult runners to meet and run.  This fired up group became the core of many weekend and then week-long travels to run at interesting and challenging destinations.  When Ron was  tasked with improving student retention his solution was to develop and offer extreme sports. This was popular and lead to the first two Grand Canyon trips.  At that time SMC was just one of four colleges or universities offering extreme sports.  In 2006 enough adults registered for Grand Canyon to fill 3 buses, but the college closed the community department and dropped the trip.  Veterans of the first two trips pitched in to keep the training going with covert assistance from Coach Gunn and filled one bus.  By 2007 he retired from the college and formed Cairn Stone Adventure Tours, LLC to full time pursue his passion and dream to 

“show really cool people the world.”