In the fall of 1993, John Robbins took the initiative to organize local runners and form a club. A liver transplant recipient, he wanted to find people to run with.
In November of that year, he advertised for an organizational meeting at the YMCA in the Free Lance-Star to determine interest and start organizing. John, Chris Campbell, Dale Saylor, Terry McLaughlin, Barry Fitz-James, Greg McCracken, Bill Spach, John Ellis, and I attended the meeting.
The group was receptive, and another meeting was scheduled for the following month. After the meeting, I approached John Robbins and volunteered to help him with the organizational and financial details.
I don’t recall all the attendees of the second meeting, but most of the original group returned. We decided to pursue membership as a Road Runners Club of America club and wanted a non-profit 501(c)3 status.
To be an RRCA club, we needed a constitution, by-laws, and a board of directors. I volunteered to write the documents.
We picked a club name. We didn’t want to be exclusive to Fredericksburg City. Runners from Stafford, Spotsylvania, King George, Caroline, and Culpeper were welcome. We wanted the same footprint as the Free Lance-Star.
From the YMCA name “Rappahannock Area YMCA,” we pulled the “Area” term. The city gave an easily identified center. We discussed Fredericksburg Runners, Fredericksburg Running Club, and Fredericksburg Area Running Team and landed on Fredericksburg Area Running Club.
Bill Spach proposed a foundational initiative of a Saturday morning group run starting at 8 am from the parking lot on Sophia near George Street. In the 1980s, Dale Saylor helped organize a local running group. Then, he transferred to the west coast for work. The group had disbanded before his return, and Dale did not know where to reconnect. We didn’t want this to happen to others and adopted the idea.
The group run has continued for 30 years. Sometimes, the groups were small. For the longest time, the group consisted of three constants: Matt Boyd, Dale Saylor, and Andy Provorse. But, it continued uninterrupted.
Runners like post-run food and coffee. In 1993, there were no downtown coffee or donut shops. Scotty’s had closed, and Paul’s second shop on Caroline Street was short-lived. So, we picked the parking lot option.
Finally, we decided that Dale, John, Chris, Terry, and I would meet to review the constitution and by-laws I wrote.
We met in early 1994. We approved my writing and appointed John Robbins as President, me as Treasurer, and Dale, Chris, and Terry as Directors. All we needed then was ten members to apply for RRCA membership.
John started promoting the club, and Barry Fitz-James was our first non-board club member. By April, we had 11 members: John Robbins, Dale Saylor, Chris Campbell, Terry McLaughlin, Michael McLaughlin, John Duker, Barry Fitz-James, Sherry Dowdy, Janey Scaccio, Bill Spach and me.
At a meeting on April 7, 1994, the members approved the Constitution and By-Laws, and we became an official organization, a member club of RRCA, and a 501(c)3 non-profit.
Later, in 1994, Janet Scaccio was appointed as a director.
Early that year, Chris Campbell started planning the Downtown Mile as the first club race, and John organized the Big 5 Series. Chris drew the Downtown Mile shirt artwork that included the Fredericksburg skyline. We adapted that artwork for the original club logo.
In May 1994, I wrote the first monthly club newsletter, “Fredericksburg Running Notes.” In the second issue, we had a contest to name the newsletter. Teresa Freeman’s submission, The Relay, was accepted, and the printed newsletter with that name continued until December 2019.
Hyperion Esspresso opened on William Street in 1994. The group run wasn’t moved to that shop until the 2000s. Eventually, we overwhelmed that corner and moved across the street to the current location.
Starting in May 1995, Chris organized eight weeks of track meets at James Monroe High School track. On alternating Wednesday nights, a short and long meet was held. Races in the short meet included 100, 400, 1500, and 3000 meter distances and a 4 x 100 meter relay. The long meet included mile, 200, 800, and 5000 meter races and a 4 x 400 meter relay.
On Wednesday nights, Café DaVanzo in Gateway Village had an unlimited pasta special for $5.99. After the track meet, a group headed in that direction.
In 1995, Matt Boyd acquired the farc.org domain name and created the original club website. With an online presence, members and others had a source for upcoming meetings and race information.
In December 1995, we had our first club election. Over time, officers and boards have changed, races have come and gone, the domain name has changed to runfarc.com, the newsletter is emailed, and we’re on our third version of the logo. The group run is still here.