Coach Kessler ran high school cross country and track in Western New York in the late 1980s, and continued her running career for four more years at Allegheny College. Post-collegiately, she has mostly focused on the marathon.  Coached by her husband, Mike, she qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials in a personal best time of 2:44:55 — good for 2nd place at the 2011 Detroit Free Press Marathon. She has continued to compete as a Masters and now Grand Masters runner.  She has been teaching English for 27 years, the last seven at Skyline, and has coached cross country and track at Skyline since 2020.  Her son, Hobbs, runs professionally for Adidas, and her daughter Natalie will be a  freshman at MSU this fall where she will run cross country and track.  Both Hobbs and Natalie ran for Skyline.  Coach Kessler loves to drink coffee, read, write, and travel.

Coach Mike ran high school cross country and track at Saline High School and Eastern Michigan University, though his best running performance came after college with a 4:00 flat road mile at the Cherry Festival in 1994. He never did make it under that 4 minute barrier, so his son Hobbs took care of it for him when he ran 3:57 indoors as a high school senior.  A former builder, Mike has been coaching rock climbing at Planet Rock since 2013, and coaching cross country and track at Skyline since 2019.  He is also an assistant coach for the Ann Arbor-based pro group Very Nice Track Club.  In addition to running, Mike enjoys fishing, rock climbing, and mountaineering.

Coach Gehrke started running in elementary school, and was a 5-time Michigan state champ in high school and a 3-time Ivy League champ in college. She continued to train and race for club teams after graduating from Columbia University, and qualified for USATF indoor nationals twice. She has previously coached at the collegiate and club level, and still enjoys competing in local road races. Coach Gehrke is a physical therapist who specializes in athletes, especially runners. She also frequently works as a substitute teacher at her kids’ schools and advocates for kids with disabilities through her work with AAPAC. She and her husband live in Ann Arbor with their 4 kids, and enjoy sports, music, and spending time outdoors as a family. 

Coach Ron retired from the University of Michigan in 2010 after coaching men’s cross country and track for 36 years. A native of New Jersey, he ran cross country and track for Western Michigan University. His team won the cross country national championships in 1964 and 1965.  Ron has coached 6 Olympians including steeple-chase medalist Brian Diemer (1984) and 2-time 1500 meter medalist  Nick Willis (2008 and 2016).  From 1968 to 1970, Warhurst served in the U.S. Marine Corps and was awarded two Purple Hearts and a Navy Commendation Medal for service in Vietnam. In addition to coaching at Skyline, Ron is the coach of the Ann Arbor based pro group Very Nice Track Club.  His son, Luke, a Skyline graduate, attends the University of Michigan.  Ron lives in Dexter with his wife.