Community Corner
Local Athlete Promotes Saline Celtic Festival 5K Run
Dan Gamble will serve as ambassador for the inaugural Saline Celtic Festival 5K Run in July.
Dexter area resident Dan Gamble, a well-known runner who has participated in all the Dexter-Ann Arbor Run challenges, is gearing up for the Saline Celtic Festival inaugural 5K event.
Gamble, the only person to participate in every Dexter-Ann Arbor Run since its inception in 1974, has done the 15-mile run eight times, the 13.1-mile run 23 times and the 3.1-mile run six times.
A runner for almost four decades and a member of the Ann Arbor Track Club for 39 years, Gamble has run more than 60,000 miles in his running career, with a personal best of 2:47:35 and average time of 3:07:14 – barely missing a beat despite the replacement of both hips.
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His 26 marathons include events in Rome, Honolulu, London, Boston, Chicago, Toronto and Detroit. So Gamble, who retired a few years ago from a 31-year career at the University of Michigan, was a natural to serve as “ambassador” for the Saline 5K Run, a new addition to the annual Celtic Festival.
The 5K Run will start at 9:30 a.m. July 9 at Saline Middle School, 7190 N. Maple Rd. in Saline, and end at Mill Pond Park at Bennett and Mills streets, before the festival’s opening ceremonies kick off a day of fun.
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Online registration costs $25 until July 8. Registration on race day costs $30. The fee includes a 5K T-shirt, race fees and free admission into the festival. A portion of the proceeds will go to C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor.
Celtic attire is encouraged, and Highland bagpipers will pipe encouragement along the route.
“I’m looking forward to the scenic course, which is mostly downhill,” said Gamble, who is distributing entry forms to his friends and fellow runners throughout the area.
“I believe all the runners will enjoy the colorful Celtic design T-shirts and certainly the free entry to the festival," he said. "Of course, the food vendors and beer tent at the festival will also have appeal. I guess you can tell I’m really looking forward to it.”
Gamble plans to bring his two granddaughters to enjoy the Highland athletics, jousters, clans, rugby tournaments, “Celtic Survivor” contest, Millie the Mill Pond Monster and more.
For more information on the Saline Celtic Festival and for online tickets, visit
salineceltic.org.
