YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- While former Eastern Michigan University standouts Josh Perrin and Kyle Mena cruised to convincing wins in the 5K and 10K, respectively, current EMU men's cross country/track and field Head Coach John Goodridge volunteered to work an aid station for the early morning race. The race capped off the 33rd Annual Ypsilanti Heritage Festival, Aug 22.

"I was greatly relieved and appreciative when Coach Goodridge approached me to offer additional manpower for our race," said Jed Dreher, Running the Rails Race Director and team manager for the men's track and field/cross county programs. "With the Heritage Festival, our chapter's manpower gets stretched to its limits, and having team members come out and support the area's running community was of great value to us."

"Jed did a great job in invigorating this race,” Goodridge commented. “This was a great opportunity for us to give something back to Ypsilanti and the area running community."

Goodridge and team members volunteered for the aid station near the 1.5 mile mark of the 10K race course where they handed out water and Gatorade, and provided words of encouragement to the 160-plus runners in the field. This year, 439 people participated in the 23rd running of the USATF sanctioned race that also included a 5K and half-mile Kids Fun Run.