West Michigan Air Care announced this week that they will no longer be the official carrier of the sick and injured at the Borgess Run for the Health of It. Air Care officials denied that fuel prices were a factor."What we had was an abuse situation," said Janeen Docsa, who got the word when she went to paint the helicopter in this year's colors, chocolate and robin egg blue. "People were faking illness and injury to get helicopter rides."
The situation proved critical last year when "sick" runners filled Kalamazoo emergency rooms, with the remainder airlifted to Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids. "People did enjoy the view of Gun Lake," Docsa conceded. Life EMS, for years a major sponsor at the event, will take over 'sickie' duties.
Race officials are still bracing for a lot of fake injuries and illnesses this year, though. Said Docsa: "You've got people out there because of dares at work, bar bets and such, and all of a sudden, they're thinking, geez, 'I can 'twist an ankle' here, and be in and out of the Borgess ER faster than I can try to complete a half'."
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