Going the (short) distance to make a difference

by Zinta Aistars
Published in Southwest Michigan's Second Wave Media
September 26, 2013

TOM JAGER ORGANIZED THE IDEA OF THE FIRST ANNUAL ULTIMATE EXTREME ULTRA .1K RACE with event planner Sarah Kerry - ERIK HOLLADAY

How far would you run to help hospice? Well, the good news is you don't have to run far to help raise funds for hospice programs such as grief support for adults and children, massage therapy, and music therapy. Zinta Aistars has the story on the zany event with a serious purpose.

It is entirely possible that saying the name of this fundraising race may take longer than running the race: the First Annual Ultimate Extreme Ultra .1K Race benefiting Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan. By the time you catch your breath after that mouthful, you may have crossed the finish line 328 feet away. The race takes place Saturday, Sept. 28, at 11:30 a.m. on the downtown Kalamazoo Mall.

Sitting on the board of trustees for Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan, located at 222 N. Kalamazoo Mall in Suite 100, is Tom Jager. The .1K race was Jager’s idea, formed when Jager and his wife Laura participated in a similar race in Grand Rapids about a year ago. 

"That was a fundraiser, too," Jager says, "and for all outward appearances, it was a running event. Sure, you saw a lot of goofy stuff, with some dressed for a serious race and others showing up in high heels. We thought Kalamazoo would be the perfect place for such an event, with people experiencing our downtown. It would be like a big block party."

A big block party with a cause. 

Julie Waldron, grief counselor at Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan, agreed that the .1K race would be a fun way to show the greater Kalamazoo community "that hospice is an important addition to the quality of life." She says, "The race goes along with the concept that hospice is about enjoying life to the fullest."

Matching the fun event to a cause important to him was a natural for Jager. "I lost my son, Grant, about five and a half years ago," Jager says. "He was the light of our life. The people at Rose Arbor Hospice Residence were so great to us during those days."

When Jager brought up the idea of the .1K race as a fundraiser for Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan, which includes Rose Arbor Hospice Residence along with its other hospice programs, to his colleagues at Nulty Insurance, he had his first sponsor. Nulty Insurance was soon joined by the Millennium Restaurant Group, Gazelle Sports, Absolute Video & Multimedia, and Catalyst Development Company, LLC.

"We needed about $10,000 from the sponsors to fund the event," says Jager. He was not on the board for the hospice yet at that time, but he was soon appointed to it. With the help of Sarah Kerry, event planner at the hospice, the event was under way. 

"This event has tremendous potential to ..."

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