By Dan Courtney, NIFS Correspondent

It’s hard to believe that 26 years has passed since NIFS member Dean Behrmann became the first local runner to win the prestigious Indianapolis Mini-Marathon. At 5-foot-10 ½ and 170 pounds, Behrmann looks like he could still battle for the lead in the Mini. But he realizes the shorter runs are more to his liking these days.

“I run the 5Ks now,” said the 49-year-old. “It was 2000 when I last ran the full mini (13.1 miles) and it was really hot that year.”

Behrmann was the “hot man” in 1979. However, reflecting back, never in his wildest dreams did he ever expect to win what has become the most famous half-marathon in the United States. It was the third year for the Mini and professional runners Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers had captured the two previous Minis.

“I came into the race in pretty good shape after having just run the Lilac Bloomsday Run in Spokane, Washington,” recalled Behrmann, who was 22 at the time. “I was just hoping to be in the Top 5. A guy named Bill Gavaghan was the pre-race favorite.”

Behrmann recalled the race being on an overcast and humid day. By the first mile, when the course used to wind by Crown Hill Cemetery, he had taken the lead and never relinquished it. He finished in a very “easy” 1:09.17 against a field of 2,700 hard-core runners. Gavaghan fell to fourth.

“I was pretty relaxed the whole race,” said the former scholarship runner at the University of Montana. “I wish I could have run a full marathon that day, I felt so good.”

For his victory, Behrmann was given a medal and four tickets to the Indianapolis 500. (Today winners receive a monetary payout that has attracted several top Kenyan runners.)

Behrmann was working in Montana the following year and did not defend his title. However, the Arlington High School graduate was third in 1981, fourth in 1983 and second in 1984 to cement his status as one of the best runners in the local Mini.

“I never thought today there would be 30,000 participants in the Mini,” said Behrmann. “Back then it was a big deal for all the local runners. Now it’s more fitness firsthand.”

Today Behrmann still runs between 20 and 30 miles a week, compared to the 70 – 80 he logged in the 1980s. He said one of the reasons he enjoys NIFS so much is the use of the indoor track in the winter. He also uses the machines on his off days from running.

“My days of being a front runner are behind me. But as that guy used to say on Saturday Night Live, ‘Running has been very, very good to me.’”

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