Reagan Run 5K: Race a family affair for Schmalzer

The first time Stephanie Schmalzer ran the Reagan Run 5K, she had no idea what she was in for.

She also didn’t realize that it would be the start of an annual tradition that she has spread throughout her family.

The summer before her junior year of high school, Schmalzer (née Bailey) decided to join the cross country team. Soon after, teammate Jessica Schauff convinced her to join the team in the second annual Reagan Run.

It was a running experience that Schmalzer, a 2003 Dixon High School graduate who now lives in Palatine, will never forget.

“I was totally blindsided by the whole thing,” Schmalzer said. “Jessica won it a couple of times, and she was on the cross country team and was one of the ones who convinced me to do it. I had never even seen a cross country or road race before, and everybody lined up and then sprinted off the line. I remember thinking, ‘Why are they sprinting? Isn’t there 3 miles to go?’

“I didn’t want to be left behind, so I started sprinting too; that turned out to be a mistake. I ended up walking parts of it and finished in a little under 30 minutes.”

But that didn’t deter Schmalzer from participating in the event the next summer. In 2002, with a year of cross country under her belt, she ran the whole way and finished in 24 minutes without having to walk at all.

A tradition was born.

“After a few years, I thought, ‘Oh my God, I’ve done it five years in a row now, let’s see if I can make it six,’” she said. “Now this year will be my 22nd in a row, and I can’t ever miss it. I only wish I would’ve known about it the first year [in 2000], so I could qualify for perfect attendance.”

It hasn’t always been easy for Schmalzer to get back for the Reagan Run. She lived in San Diego for four years and flew back every year; she also lived in Coppell, Texas, and made it back every year. In 2012, she postponed a trip to Italy to meet some friends by a few days so she could run in the race; she flew out to Italy late in the afternoon following the race.

“I’d fly home for it every year while I lived in San Diego, and I was also doing a lot of traveling internationally then, and I had to plan all those trips around the Reagan Run,” Schmalzer said.

She met her husband, Brian, in 2012, and he quickly learned how big a deal the Reagan Run was to her.

“He just thinks it’s hilarious, and says sometimes I might be taking it too seriously,” Schmalzer said. “When we plan family vacations, I tell him, ‘Not over the Fourth of July!’”

Now, Brian runs in the race as well, and their sons, Finn, 7, and Owen, 4, also take part in the festivities; Finn has run in the Kids Fun Run the past few years, and Owen did it for the first time last summer. Both boys were May babies, and Schmalzer was thrilled that she was even able to run in those years.

“Postpartum, you’re supposed to take six weeks off from running,” she said. “Luckily, the timing worked; the first time running again both of those years was the Reagan Run, because I just didn’t want to miss it.”

But that’s not the only reason it’s become a family affair for her. As a sort of self-proclaimed ambassador to the race, Stephanie has taken it upon herself to get other family members involved.

To date, she has gotten her mother, Kenda, to do it, and her aunt, Sandy Forbes, has been doing it for the past decade now. She’s also gotten her sister and brother-in-law, Allison and Tyler Klotz, involved in the race. Last year, her cousin, Lindsey Richards, came down from Wisconsin to run it for the first time and loved it.

She has also gotten her father, Steve Bailey, participating in the race, and he’s become a mainstay as well.

“By my fifth Reagan Run, I convinced my dad to do it; he’s done it every year since. I think this is 18 years in a row, and now he’s as committed as I am,” Schmalzer said, before adding with a laugh, “I’m not yet 40, and he’s over 65, and it’s still frustrating that every year he beats me. He tells me very year that he thinks this is the year that I’ll beat him, and every year I’m just trying so hard to keep up with him.”

There is one family member that has so far resisted Schmalzer’s efforts to rope him in – but that’s something she hopes to fix in the future.

“My goal is to one day get my brother, Ben, to do it,” she said. “He lives in Oregon now, and has been in California and Washington, so my future goal is to get Ben to come back and run it with me.”

This year, there’s an added celebration for Schamlzer: her 20th class reunion. She and a few friends started organizing it, then found out another classmate, Jenna Dempsey, has been on the Petunia Festival committee for the past 15 years. Dempsey jumped in and she joined them to help plan the reunion around the Petunia Fest. It will be held from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday.

But first, Schmalzer will once again run through the streets of Dixon earlier that morning in her 22nd Reagan Run.

“The main word I always use is tradition, and it’s definitely a family tradition now,” she said. “I have so many fond memories of running the race, and it has had a huge impact on my life. I just feel like I have to be there every year to run.

“And I’m not even going to the race to run a great time; some years I’m super slow, some years I feel good and go fast. It’s just a matter of doing it and enjoying it, and now that I’ve been able to spread the joy of running to my family, it’s even more special.”