It all started more than 30 years ago because of a bet between a city councilman and a police officer.
Gheral Brownlow, the owner of the Holiday Shop in Whisky Row, who was also a city councilman, bet police officer Steve Rafters that a man could beat a horse in a 50-mile foot race.
Brownlow was a horseman. Rafters was a runner.
It was on!
The first race had about 30 participants and the horse won, said Ron Barrett, who now is in charge of the race each year.
These days, about 300 racers test themselves. The winner gets a belt buckle and bragging rights. Barrett donates the money generated from the event to local food banks for the needy for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“We’ve donated a lot of money over the years,” he said.
Barrett is the owner of Interior Logic. “We do flooring and counter tops.”
To blow off steam, Barrett is an ultra runner on cross-country trails. He runs regularly and also rides horses. One of his favorite things to do is race his horse on 50-mile treks.
The Man vs. Horse event is in October, but over the years, it has changed a little. The first race was point-to-point from Williams and ended in Sycamore Canyon on the Verde River. It was every man and horse for themselves.
Barrett changed it to a loop race, a more difficult course beginning on Mingus Mountain.
The event draws ultra runners from around the country.
Of course, his day job is flooring. But Barrett didn’t start out in flooring. He wanted to be a teacher and maybe a baseball coach, but when he learned how much teachers and coaches were paid, he began looking elsewhere.
“At the time, way back then, teaching pay was not that good and the flooring business was very lucrative,” he said. “I got married and had kids and this is where I ended up.”
His mother-in-law was in the flooring business and he joined her. Interior Logic has been in business for more than 30 years, although under three different names. It started out as Letco; then they changed the name to Floor Works.
“We ended up selling our business to Home Depot,” he said.
Home Depot bought a few other similar businesses in a few other states and named them HD Supply.
Barrett and the other owners continued to work for Home Depot and it was a good union. After a time, however, Barrett missed his relationship with people and customers and once again struck out on his own opening Interior Logic in 2008.
The business has been able to weather the ups and downs of the economy, he says.
“We managed to survive the ‘80s, the ‘90s and now this last one,” he said of the regular downturns in the economy.
Its main office is in Tempe, with an office in Tucson and one in Prescott, where he lives.
Barrett was born in Minneapolis, but moved to Phoenix with his parents at the age of 10.
He played football, basketball and baseball at Maryvale High School. He went on to play baseball at Glendale Community College and Grand Canyon University.
Barrett has two sons and two daughters who gave him eight grandkids. All of the children live near him except for one daughter who lives in Colorado. He appreciates being able to own a good, reputable business.
“We probably do the majority of new home construction in this town and we’ve been able to weather the storms.”
He stays active by his running and riding and hopes to retire soon. “I will continue to help out in the community,” he said. “I love doing community service and I will continue doing the race, although I have about 150 volunteers to help me. I am glad to be able to donate money every year to help feed the hungry during the holidays.” QCBN
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