In May 1980, Clark Ensz organized and directed the Wichita Marathon. Clark and I had become friends in 1979, as I — inspired by the books of Jim Fixx and Dr. George Sheehan — went “all in” on distance running. Just weeks before the 1980 marathon, I wrote and produced a public service announcement (PSA) at KAKE-TV to promote the event. The 30-second ad was well-received, and Clark and I soon set our sights on a similar message for the next marathon, scheduled for October 1981.
We scheduled a meeting with KAKE General Manager Martin Umansky to seek approval for a new series of on-air announcements. In the small second-floor conference room adjacent to Umansky’s office, we inserted a 3/4-inch U-matic videotape cartridge into a playback unit and played the 1980 PSA. After the piece finished, we asked if he and KAKE would be willing to support a similar effort for the 1981 race.
Martin replied, “Why don’t we just televise it, live, start to finish?”
Not knowing when to leave well enough alone, I chimed in, “Great, and I’m going to run it.”
Clark and I stepped out of the meeting and looked at each other, knowing neither of us had any idea how to produce a three-hour live broadcast.
Fortunately for us, KAKE had been aggressively pursuing sports broadcasting, including Wichita State University basketball and the Wichita Wings. These initiatives were led by station manager Ron Loewen. In another stroke of good luck, Loewen had just hired Darrell Ewalt, an up-and-coming sports producer who had spent time with the fledgling cable network ESPN. And thus the KAKE-TV/Wichita Marathon was born.
At a marathon planning meeting at Clark’s office near Douglas and McLean, Ewalt explained how he envisioned the three-hour coverage. He assembled a crew of 34 people, a helicopter, the relatively new microwave technology, a microwave-equipped truck, and a pickup truck with a microwave antenna to send in-race images up to the helicopter (SKY-10), then to the station and out to the audience.
On Sunday, Oct. 18, 1981, under sunny skies, then-Wichita police chief Richard Lamunyon fired the starter’s gun, and the live coverage was under way. Michael Hairston from Tulsa won the three-loop men’s race in 2:26:00, and Wichitan Jan Pearce took the women’s race in 3:17:26. There were 247 registered runners with 189 finishers, and broadcast history was made. One week later, ABC produced its first live coverage of the New York City Marathon.
In 1982, KAKE again provided live start-to-finish coverage. The technical highlight was a small wireless microphone wrapped around the chest of competitor Fred Torneden. Fred was intended to provide in-race commentary to give viewers a sense of the lead pack’s pace. However, after five miles, Torneden shed the mic near the broadcast field anchor desk at Amidon and Murdock. Despite the interruption, Torneden won the 1982 marathon in a state-record time of 2:18:08. Gary Gregory made a gut-wrenching effort to take second in 2:19:49, and Kathy Whitcomb set a new women’s state record of 2:48:37.
The 1983 KAKE-TV/Wichita Marathon featured a new course using Douglas Avenue and Central Riverside Park, finishing near the pitcher’s mound inside Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. Live television coverage was replaced that year by a 30-minute special, which aired Sunday afternoon, Oct. 18.
During the ensuing years, several different courses were used. In 1985, the event featured the St. Francis Mile for men and women, a one-mile race on Douglas Avenue. KAKE’s highlight special of the marathon and the St. Francis Mile eventually was added to the Museum of Broadcasting’s collection. By 1999, the marathon started in Derby and included a long stretch on McConnell Air Force Base, featuring a memorable run down the flight line and through a hangar housing a B-1B Lancer bomber.
Clark and I, along with photographer/editor Tim May, spent countless hours at KAKE producing these 30-minute highlight specials. After 32 years with the station — spanning news, promotion, and sales — I left KAKE in January 2005. I joined the advertising firm Armstrong|Shank (later Armstrong Chamberlin Strategic Marketing, and now AC Strategic Marketing) before retiring in May 2021. Today, I offer marketing and production services on a freelance basis. Clark continued to stage the Wichita Marathon until Oct. 10, 2010, when it transitioned to the Prairie Fire Marathon.
I remain proud of this “labor of love” and am grateful to Clark Ensz and the many others who support the Wichita running community. Most of all, I remain in awe of broadcast visionary Martin Umansky, who, in a single 15-minute meeting, changed the course of Wichita’s running history.
Photos courtesy of Mark Chamberlin.
Est. 1976 