Livsey is no rough diamond at helm
BERWICK — Much like a runner finding the right pair of shoes, Berwick Running knew it had the perfect fit with Margaret Livsey.
That remains true 40 years later as the Run for the Diamonds looks to have another smooth race on Thursday with Livsey as race director.
Of course, being the director wasn't always smooth sailing for Livsey.
"Back then, there were very few women race directors. I was one of the very few in the country," Livsey said. "One of my favorite stories is a phone call asking to speak to the race director. I said 'speaking' and he replied with 'No, I want to speak to the real race director.'
"'Honey, I'm as real as you're going to get. What do you want?'"
Overall, Livsey said she's only been given that reaction from out-of-town runners. Within the community, it was a much different tale and she's been largely well-accepted in her position through the years.
She got her start by helping her late husband, Ed, when the two Bloomsburg-area natives settled in Berwick following Ed's Air Force career. With so many preparations needed for the race, Ed saw an opportunity for Margaret to help out.
"They'd do everything by hand and everyone was very lax. The night before the race, they'd write up the bib numbers," Livsey said. "The one year before the race, he said, 'My wife can do that, she's a secretary.'
"Over time, I started doing more than preparing the bibs and was appointed to what was called the race secretary. All they thought I did was take the minutes, but as I was named race secretary, more and more runners began to know and I sort of took over."
Livsey's focus each year is the race itself. She is committed to doing whatever it takes to make it a good Thanksgiving for all the runners, no matter their age or experience. She roots for cooler, but dry weather because she tends to see more medical emergencies in warmer weather.
She also hopes never to see another pandemic — an event that claimed her husband's life in 2020. The spread of COVID-19 threatened to cancel the Run for the Diamonds for the third time in its long history, but the committee has worked around it. The event was called off in 1918 and 1919 due to the flu epidemic.
"There's nothing even comparable to COVID in my 40 years," Livsey said. "There were times of bad weather including one year it was raining pretty heavy and the temperature was 34 in downtown and freezing by the time they got to Summerhill [Avenue]."
Livsey wasn't in attendance at the 2020 race due to her own battle with COVID, but she was pleased everything worked out and the annual event went off with minimal hitches. Runners were kept in the waves for the pandemic race last year to decrease the virus' spread, but the normal format will be used Thursday.
Of course, over time, unfavorable situations will arise with the event, but there will also be growth. Livsey saw strength in numbers with a raise from 608 contestants in her first year to 1,120. There were less than 70 female finishers in Livsey's first year in charge and there have been increases ever since with 487 women runners signing up as of Monday -- something she doesn't give herself credit for as being a woman in charge, rather saying "the event did that for itself over the years."
That increase also allowed Livsey to hand out diamonds to more top female runners, making the event more gender equal.
"My first year, the top seven men got diamonds and only one woman," she said. "Then as I started working, two women got diamonds, and over the years, the committee and I didn't have to fight hard, but I did have to say 'don't you think we have to make it equal?' And of course, now it is. It was hard to justify when we were starting to get 600 to 800 runners."
The event also saw a growth in technology, making the job much easier in tracking the runners' finishing times and allowing contestants to take care of registration matters online.
"I had three typewriters going at my house because I had so much to do. Then they got a man to bring an Apple IIC to my house and show me how to use it. That's how I learned how to use a computer," Livsey said. "Technology has helped a great deal. With online registration, I have lost some of the personal touch with the runners that I previously had, but that's just the way technology is."
Not all of the personal connection is lost though. Many have evidently gotten to know Livsey over the years and recognize all the effort she puts into making the annual trot a success for the runners and the community -- something she takes great pride in. She gets even more fulfillment out of how much gratitude people show to her.
"I've been doing it so long that recently I had a friend helping me say, 'I never saw anyone get so many hugs in my life,'" Livsey said. "People just stop by and give me a hug. It's a very personal thing for me."
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