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In honor of springtime, even the new Southwestern Michigan College Roadrunner Trails flexible standards spring back up like a Bozo Bop Bag if struck.

The trails upgrade announced last May is dedicated to former SMC Athletic Director Ron Gunn and was undertaken by Zac Sartori, his successor as cross country and track and field head coach for men and women.

“Ron did some amazing things in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, including cutting these trails that we still use today,” Sartori said. “Over the years, some of the trail markings have gotten beat down. One thing I’ve had in my heart that I’ve wanted to do since I got here, walked down those trails and got lost myself early on, is to remap and update the markers so any member of the public can get out there and walk these trails, feeling confident that they know where they’re going.”

There are five color-coded trails. Sartori awaits a shipment of green stickers to finish marking that trail.

“There are also a bunch of unmarked connect-betweens, which will be designated with black decals. The red trail runs all the way through (Riverside) cemetery and Rudolphi (Wildlife Refuge),” Sartori said. “The green trail and the blue trail are the two longer ones out there. The orange and yellow ones are shorter. If you stretched them out end to end, there are probably eight to nine miles that we manage.”

Remarking took longer than expected with some very hot temperatures last summer, a few extreme weather incidents and a rough winter this year. Now that the trails are remarked, Sartori can turn attention to the Monday Night Running Club to develop digital maps.

“They’ll come out with their AllTrails app and follow courses already laid out to develop maps for the view board you can scan with a QR code and follow on your phone. The technology’s pretty amazing!”

When a call went out to pay tribute to Hall of Fame Coach Gunn, 219 individuals contributed.

Thom Janssen presented Sartori with a $5,429.89 check for the SMC Foundation.

“This underscores the strong support of SMC Athletics, the importance of preserving and enhancing our trails and the lasting impact of Coach Ron Gunn’s legacy,” Manager of Development and Executive Director of the SMC Foundation Board Emily Schrock said.

The more than 50-year-old Monday Night Running Club similarly honored Gunn with some park benches they observed at Potato Creek State Park.

One of four composite benches (the other three are at Potato Creek, southwest of South Bend, Ind., Dr. T.K. Lawless and Love Creek county parks) has been placed at the trailhead behind the Charles O. Zollar Building on SMC’s Dowagiac campus.

“Some of us still get together,” Janssen said. “Not to run, but we still can eat.”

“I had talked with Thom Janssen and a few other people who approached me from the Monday Night Running Club and Ron’s Cairn Stone Adventure Tours about building a bridge over that gorge carved out by rain on the rollercoaster hills trail. But because it’s unstable, when I reached out about engineering costs, it was prohibitive,” Sartori said.

“I told them about my idea to improve the trail markings, so they jumped on board with that. Their check covered all the markings and posts. It’s really cool that it’s fully funded by the community.

“Steve’s Run does about three miles on the trails,” so if someone is injured in the woods, emergency responders can be provided with more precise locations.

Janssen has said of Gunn’s style, “When you accomplish the goal at the end, such as hiking in and out of the Grand Canyon, you feel like you won a national championship,” Janssen said. “All of your hard work, blood, sweat and tears, pay off. His super power is motivating and bringing people together. He doesn’t whip you to make you do that, he makes you think you can do something you thought was impossible. You get out there and discover you can do a lot more than you thought you could.

“We’ve been going on hiking tours with Cairn Stone Adventure Tours since 2007. When you pack 50 people on a bus for two weeks, that’s usually not a pleasant experience. But the camaraderie — he brings out the best in people — gives you hope that maybe things could be better.

“We wanted to do something to let Coach Gunn know how much we appreciate what he has done to change each of our lives and there are literally hundreds of us,” from retired judge Susan Dobrich to two-time national cross-country champion Tom Ellspermann.

Interim President Brent Brewer described the outpouring as honoring “the legacy of someone who built the foundation of our running community. Coach Gunn’s impact on SMC and the sport of running in our region is immeasurable. His dedication, vision and passion shaped not only the athletic program, but entire generations of athletes.”