Best Day Ever

Annual race held in honor of the late Joel Konze will move to September

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No matter what the day brought him, good or bad, Joel Konze always made each and every day the best he could. When asked how he was or how his day was going, Konze would always respond, “Best day ever.”

After Konze passed away unexpectedly as the result of a car accident in 2013, those who knew and loved him wanted to start an event in his honor and felt it only appropriate to dub it the Best Day Ever 5K Run/Walk.

Konze graduated from Sparta High School in 1978. His longtime friend Mike Montgomery began teaching in Sparta that year and got to know Konze as Montgomery was his wrestling coach. 

“He stayed around Sparta and we became good friends through the years,” Montgomery said.  

He began working for the Sparta Area School District in 1986 as a custodian and a bus driver until he eventually became Buildings and Grounds Supervisor. 

“He was probably the most respected guy in the whole district,” Montgomery said. “He was a very positive person. Everybody loved him and he was everybody’s best friend.” 

He was also a constant supporter of the Sparta wrestling program and helped coach hundreds of Spartan wrestlers at the middle school level.

Konze shared his passion for the public school system between two school districts. He lived in Cataract, just within the Melrose-Mindoro School District, where he served as a board member since 2002 as well as a baseball coach.

In addition, Konze took up running in his 40s after his friends, Montgomery and Mike Roddick, began running marathons as well and encouraged Konze to join them.  

“He was short and stocky, and we always teased him that he was never a runner and that he should do a marathon,” Montgomery recalled. “Finally, he decided that he was going to do it and he trained, and it became a passion for him.”

Konze had just completed his 20th marathon the week before his untimely passing. 

On October 18, 2013, which was also his son’s birthday, Konze had stayed a bit later at work than usual as he was preparing to leave on vacation with his wife Nancy. According to Montgomery, a car hit him head-on and Konze was killed as a result of the crash; the father of three was 53 years old. 

“I don’t think he was even supposed to work that day, but he came in because he was trying to get some things done,” Montgomery said. “He was always thinking of others and getting things cleaned up and taken care of before he left for vacation.”

A few weeks after Konze’s passing, his friends and running buddies, Pat Olbert, Mike and Jane Roddick, Montgomery and John Hendricks, organized a race in his honor. 

His family wanted the proceeds of the event to go toward two scholarships for student athletes, one in Sparta and the other in Melrose-Mindoro. “The money that we raise goes toward both of those scholarships,” Montgomery said.  

The race quickly blossomed into a full-scale event with over 200 “Best Day Ever” t-shirts sold. Originally, the event was held in November as the local temperatures plummeted, however, this year the race will be held in conjunction with Cataract Field Days on Sunday, September 12 at 8 a.m. 

The 5K Run/Walk includes a t-shirt and voucher for free breakfast, which will be served from 6 to 10:30 a.m. The 10K Run also includes a t-shirt and voucher for free breakfast.

Pre-registration and t-shirt orders are due by August 22. Registration after Aug. 22 is welcome but will not guarantee a shirt; online registration at www.eventbrite.com closes on September 10.

The race will begin and end at the Longbranch Bar & Restaurant in Cataract. 

“We carried on that legacy of doing races in remembrance of him,” Montgomery said. “We just enjoy having a fun way to be able to remember him.”

Best Day Ever 5K Run/Walk, Joel Konze

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