Pat Neubert is a running columnist for the Butler Eagle.

Running a race for the first time is like making a new acquaintance. It may be a chance encounter quickly forgotten or lead to a lifelong friendship.

I ran the Butler Road Race for the first time in 1979 when the event was already three years old. As a new runner I was amazed that first, anyone could run that tough 10k and second, that so many not only survived but conquered the steep climb up Alameda Hill with speed and grace.

At the time I couldn’t imagine wanting to run Butler Road Race again. But now it’s hard to imagine not running the annual event on the last Saturday in June.

This year’s 42nd Annual Butler Road Race, the oldest consecutively run event in the region, will be the last. Most of Butler Road Race, Inc. board members have been working/ running the event for more than 30 years. Some, including Board President Mike Franko and Race Director Mike Blessel, have been involved since the race was merely an idea discussed over post-run beers.

Frank and Shirley Macefe began running the event in the late 70s and soon became involved with the organization. Shirley currently serves as a board vice president.

Over the years the Macefes have only missed a handful of Butler Road Races. This year Frank and Shirley will be joined by their two daughters and sons in-law and five grandchildren ranging in age from 14 to 9 months old.

Shirley says she will miss the camaraderie of the post-race gathering in Diamond Park. “I always enjoy seeing everyone, especially the people who used to run but come back just to visit,” she says.

Greg Sloan is another of the Butler Road Race volunteers who have been with the event since the beginning. Greg served as race director for four years during the 1980s when the event offered prize money to top finishers.

Greg has also designed more than 20 shirts for Butler Road Race over the years and will design this year’s final commemorative tech shirt. He is still finalizing the design but reveals that it will be a full-front design with sponsors’ names featured on the back.

Greg still runs four to five miles each morning and may run this year’s Butler Road Race though he hasn’t raced in years. Greg’s racing and design career will be on display at the Butler Road Race in the form of a quilt made from 20 of his race t-shirts including Butler Road Race, Perpetual Motion 10k, Butler Hospital 5k and many more from the “good old days” of Butler racing.

Mike Franko, one of the original Butler Road Race founders and current Butler Road Race, Inc. president, says that he will miss the student-athletes most when the Butler Road Race retires. In the past 23 years, Butler Road Race has awarded $389,550 in scholarships to 741 graduating seniors from Butler County high schools.

Mike considers himself privileged to have helped “some of the best kids in the county.” “It’s refreshing to help kids who appreciate it and have such positive attitudes about life,” he says.

Whether you’ve run every Butler Road Race or none, consider lining up on the start line on June 24 for the last running of a classic in so many ways. Visit www.butlerroadrace.org for more information, online registration or to download an application.