Profile: First Draft

Reliving a Legacy

by Jenny Thomson

“Have you heard the story about the runner guy?” Bruce Johnson asks me, smiling.

“No, I haven’t,” I reply. “What runner guy?”

It’s 7:00 AM on a Saturday morning, and Bruce, Kalamazoo College alumnus and Co-founder of Gazelle Sports, recruited me to help him set up the “world’s longest aid station”. The Borgess Half-Marathon is this morning, and 2,000 runners are going to be rejuvenated, resuscitated, and reenergized as they speed by mile three hidden somewhere along the Kalamazoo Mall.

Bruce is obviously used to this, because I yawn as he gives me one of those life lessons that is sneakily concealed in a story about “some guy”.

From what I gather, “some guy” started running in his late 30’s or early 40’s. He was a decent runner for his age, achieving 32 minutes for ten-kilometers. As he got older, he became slower, so he stopped running. He figured that if he couldn’t run fast, he shouldn’t run at all.

Bruce Johnson, I realized, is still running. Despite the fact that he recently underwent knee replacement surgery, he planned on loading eight banquet tables and sixteen jugs of water into a van himself. He never doubted that he could do it. The “world’s longest aid station” is a Borgess tradition, a legacy started by Gazelle Sports and maintained by Bruce and numerous volunteers.

Bruce Johnson knows from experience, you can’t forget a legacy. You have to keep telling your story until everyone knows it.

Bruce’s legacy began in the summer of 1973 when he bought a bus ticket to Atlantic Mine, Michigan. Traveling 14 hours to the heart of the Keweenaw, Bruce was attracted to the International Frisbee Tournament, hosted there since 1958.

Something must have caught his attention to drag him close to 500 miles, to a little known town, to attend a little known event, to participate in a little known sport.

The tournament was started by a local family, who, horsing around with a Pluto Platter flying disc, invented the game of Guts Frisbee. The cutthroat game pins two teams opposite each other, each one zipping the Frisbee at the other. Teams score by making a difficult throw that isn’t caught. Scoring is prevented when the receiving team catches the disc.

The event hosted teams from all over the country, as far as California and Boston. Besides Guts, people competed in throwing and accuracy events. They also competed in Ultimate. That was what really got Bruce excited.

“There were these guys there from Maplewood, New Jersey. I remember they had these shirts on that said CHS – Columbia High School. These were the guys that invented Ultimate. At that time, Ultimate was only played on the east coast. It seemed like a cool game, so I learned to play.”

Bruce had the right idea. A couple guys donning maroon and gold – Calvin College colors – learned to play with him. They kept in touch, and Bruce hitchhiked home with Ultimate on his mind.

He kept in touch with those guys from Calvin, and Kalamazoo CollegeCalvin College at Angell Field. played its first game versus

Bruce does some quick math to figure out the date. I can’t believe he remembers. It was the summer of 1974.

After returning from study abroad in Munster, Germany, Bruce changed his major.

“I was on campus for five quarters in a row. I only got to go home for a day or two. It was really hard.” Never one to miss an opportunity, Bruce used his presence on campus to recruit freshmen for the Ultimate team.

Little did he know that his recruiting efforts would soon pay off.

In 1979, Bruce attended the wedding of one of his younger recruits. He sat down at a table, and everyone moved away, except for one girl – the groom’s sister. They got to talking. She worked at The Athlete’s Shop in Ann Arbor.

Once again, Bruce didn’t miss the opportunity. He called her soon after the wedding and set up a visit to Ann Arbor. He spoke with her store manager and dropped off his résumé.

They called him on Monday and offered him assistant manager.

Bruce was there for four months before the stores were sold. Knowledgeable about running and retail, Bruce was eventually put in charge of the Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids stores, now under new ownership.

When the owner was looking to sell, Bruce offered to buy the store.

“I got the loan, and then the owner decided he wanted $5,000 more. I quit on the spot.”

Scoffing the possibility of working at MC Sports or another corporate store, Bruce began brainstorming. His friends wanted to buy their gear at a local store that had good service. He knew he could deliver. At that moment, Gazelle Sports was born.

Through Gazelle Sports, Bruce ensures that legacy can continue at Kalamazoo College. You would be hard-pressed to find a student on campus who doesn’t know about Gazelle’s. The store’s logo is sported by students all across campus on T-shirts acquired at different college-sponsored events.

“I could tell Bruce was one of those who really enjoyed his time at ‘K’,” says Heather Jach, a Major Gifts Officer at the college. “He is very concerned about his own community, and is willing to do something about it.”

But legacies aren’t just monetary.

“Stories go so far. People sharing their experiences help us relate to each another. Stories are such a great part of what happens, but we don’t use that to our advantage, because people want to hear them, including me,” Jach said.

Bruce’s story has lasted, even today. The Ultimate team can be seen practicing almost every day. Students are often spotted tossing discs across Academy, hoping to make par on one of the campus’s Disc Golf holes – the very same that Bruce set up 30 years ago.

“Passion is the legacy I left there,” Bruce says.

It is a passion that is evident in everything he recounts. Bruce’s story helped me relive his legacy. And, he loves to tell it. You should listen.