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SPOTLIGHT
THE 2019 BONFIELD EXPRESS STARTING LINE. PHOTO BY DIANNE HILINSKY
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Downers Grove’s Thanksgiving Day 5K tradition will continue under a new moniker
Across the nation, Thanksgiving has come to mean food, fun, and football with family and friends, but for more than a decade and a half in Downers Grove, Thanksgiving Day has become synonymous with the Bonfield Express 5K. Thousands have made it an annual tradition to kick off the festivities early and earn their slice of pumpkin pie by running or walking the race’s 3.1-mile course through downtown Downers Grove, Denburn Woods, and other surrounding neighborhoods. Even when the pandemic prevented the large-scale event from taking place, the Bonfield Express lived on. Last year, a virtual version of the race allowed participants to run or walk five kilometers at the time and location of their choice, report their results electronically, and share race photos to the Bonfield Express Facebook page.
However, in July, the Bonfield Express Foundation announced the discontinuation of the annual race after a strong 17-year run. Annette Bonfield – president of the Foundation and wife of the late Jim Bonfield for whom the race was created as a memorial tribute – said she had originally thought the Bonfield Express “might be able to get to 20 years, but with the pandemic and everything, it was a good time to end. And,” she added with a laugh, “I’m not getting any younger.”
Though grateful for all that the Bonfield Express Foundation put into organizing the 5K for so many years, community members of all ages expressed deep disappointment at the news. They envisioned a Thanksgiving Day that would feel incomplete without the Bonfield Express.
BY VALERIE HARDY
JONATHAN TWITTY, JANET ALIKPALA AND DON RENNER HELP KEEP THE ANNUAL TRADITION ALIVE. PHOTO BY DIANNE HILINSKY
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Within days of learning that the Bonfield Express had reached its finish line, numerous individuals and organizations approached the Foundation and the Village of Downers Grove to express their desire to see an in-town Thanksgiving Day race continue and to request permission to be involved in the process. Among these organizations reaching out were the Education Foundation of Downers Grove District 58, the Rotary Club of Downers Grove, and the Roadrunners Soccer Club.
Roadrunners treasurer Don Renner explained that each of the organizations submitted independent applications to the village in hopes of becoming the new host organization for the race. Ultimately, “the village brought us all together,” Renner said.
He added that he was initially skeptical about how it would work for three separate nonprofit groups to coordinate one event and disperse the proceeds, but “within half an hour of meeting, it was apparent that we would work well together.” Thus, in August – just a few months before the Nov. 25 race day – the newly minted Grove Express, an unincorporated association, was formed to continue the beloved community tradition.
In addition to Renner, leading the Grove Express are Janet Alikpala, board president of the Education Foundation of Downers Grove District 58, and Jonathan Twitty, president of Downers Grove’s Rotary Club. Beyond the mutual goal of keeping the tradition of a Thanksgiving 5K alive and continuing to raise funds in support of education, each of the Grove Express founders had an individual interest in seeing an event similar to the Bonfield Express continue.
Twitty only participated in the Bonfield Express once, but he recognized “how big it is for the community,” he said. “From a Rotary perspective, we want to expand upon what the Bonfield has created.”
Renner has had a front row set for the race for years. He lives near the intersection of Maple Ave. and Brookbank Rd. on the 5K’s route. Both his family and his wife’s come in town for Thanksgiving and have a combined total of roughly 20 runners participate in the race each year. Feeling “personally disappointed” that the Bonfield Express would no longer take place, Renner thought, “Why can’t Roadrunners get involved? We have resources and manpower…”
For Alikpala, the motivation to reach out about continuing the race was also personal. “I’ve known the Bonfields… and I felt personally connected to carrying on Jim Bonfield’s legacy,” she said.
Annette Bonfield had hoped to see the Thanksgiving 5K tradition continue and happily passed the baton to the Grove Express organizers. In fact, Annette Bonfield and others from the Bonfield Express Foundation – including Race Director Will Kupisch and Marketing and Communications Director Debbie Hare – have met multiple times with Alikpala, Renner, and Twitty’s team to ensure a smooth transition.
Hare was touched by the outpouring of community response the Bonfield Express Foundation received. “We knew people liked having a Thanksgiving Day race but maybe didn’t understand how much they enjoyed doing this race. The members of the community loved this race as much as we loved putting it on,” Hare said.
Describing her work with the Bonfield Express Foundation as a true pleasure, Hare said, “The best way to put it: there is a new group of people who now get to experience that joy. A very good group of people.”
The Grove Express organizers aim to bring the community a familiar experience. “If you’ve got a good thing, there is no reason to recreate it,” Renner said. Besides the name of the event, the only difference runners and walkers should expect is, once again, a new color of race shirt, he added.
While the Grove Express is the new race in town, the Bonfield Express Foundation remains. They have given out $966,500 to date, including 319 scholarships, annual donations to each District 58 and 68 school, and funding for District 99’s multi-needs program. Last year the Foundation also provided monetary support to various local nonprofit organizations struggling due to the pandemic.
Annette Bonfield expects to surpass the Foundation’s lifetime goal of giving away at least $1 million when they issue their annual scholarships this spring. She said, “We wouldn’t dissolve the Foundation until we’re out of money.”
While the Bonfield Express Foundation continues to disperse existing and any newly contributed funds, the proceeds from the first- ever Grove Express 5K will be split evenly across the three nonprofit organizations behind it and used to support youth and education in much the same way the Bonfield Express Foundation has: keeping the “three Cs” that were so important to Jim Bonfield – “character and commitment to community” – at the core.
Both Jim and Annette Bonfield were longtime educators within the community. Jim not only served as a teacher during his 32-year career at Downers Grove South High School but was also a dean and athletic coach. He was a loving father to his son Jim and a friend to many. After he passed away in 2003 of complications from Hodgkin’s disease, leukemia, and rheumatoid arthritis, his family, friends, and neighbors came together to create the Bonfield Express 5K and corresponding nonprofit organization. Annette Bonfield said it “made something that was negative into a positive” and explained that the specifics of the race stemmed from the fact that Jim Bonfield’s favorite holiday was Thanksgiving, and “although it wasn’t his main sport, he loved running.”
The Bonfield Express grew from approximately 400 participants to 6,200 participants. Alikpala said the Grove Express hopes to see this steady growth continue. “If the Bonfield could do it for [17 years] from the ground up, I think we can try to do so for the foreseeable future,” she said.
As for the Bonfield family, they wish the Grove Express the utmost success but plan to sit out this year’s race. “It’s weird,” Annette Bonfield said. “My son and I both agreed about ending the race, but now he asked what we are going to do that day.” Her answer: “Same as everyone else. Not get up at 4 a.m.”
WILL KUPISCH AND LANE BLONDELL (RACE DIRECTOR AND ASSISTANT) AT THE 2018 BONFIELD EXPRESS PACKET PICKUP. PHOTO BY DIANNE HILINSKY
Thanksgiving Day race but maybe didn’t understand how much they enjoyed doing this race. The members of the community loved this race as much as we loved putting it on.” — DEBBIE HARE Marketing and Communications Director, Bonfield Express Foundation
Grove Express registration is open through race day. To register, visit groveexpress.com.
Not in town for Thanksgiving? Consider making a direct donation instead. Contact info@ groveexpress.com for more information. To learn more about the Bonfield Express Foundation or to make a donation, visit bonfieldexpress.com. ■
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