Before the Great Train Race started in 1995, the YMCA managed annual youth-oriented races at Pratt Park.
Kevin Breen and Coldwell Banker sponsored and directed the Carriage House 1 Mile for kids 5 to 12 from 1982 to 1986. The race had multiple heats and 270 runners in 1982,
In 1986, the YMCA hosted a 4km run for youth 17 and under.
In 1988, the Great Kids Race was held at Hurkamp Park for children ages 7 to 12. The YMCA and Salvation Army managed this one-off event.
Starting in 1991, the YMCA held the Spring Fling 2km for kids 17 and under for four years,
I researched the existence of local running clubs.
Dale Saylor is a co-founder of FARC. He told me that he had started a club in the 1970s. He moved to San Diego for a couple of years, but when he returned, the club had disbanded. I could not find anybody who remembered a formal running club until FARC started in 1994.
The Free Lance-Star did have a few club-related references.
In May 1978, the Rappahannock Road Runner Club met at 802 Brompton Street to watch the movie Life on the Run. Before the movie, there was a fun run at Hugh Mercer School, which I assume was the name of the Maury Stadium building at that time.
A week later, there was an article on the Fredericksburg Runners Club. Dale Saylor founded the club in 1977, and it ran on Tuesday and Thursday nights at the Mary Washington Golf Course.
The Fredericksburg Roadrunners were mentioned in the 1980 Historic Fredericksburg 10km pre-race article.
Was this reporting three different clubs or one with an identity crisis?
From Dale Saylor’s memories, “The Fun Runs held at James Monroe led me to organize a running club. About 15-20 runners met at my house on Ferry Road to decide what we wanted to do. Since I was already a member of the DC Roadrunners and the national organization and did almost all my running on sidewalks and roads, we became the Rappahannock Road Runners. Aside from the social aspect, we carpooled to races and met monthly. We went as far as Oak Hill, WVA. But in 1979, my employer, Sperry Univac, sent me to San Diego for program support. While I was gone, the club sagged. When I returned the following year in 1980, the club had folded.
“Our first president was Kevin Breen, a national class runner from ETSU and Ireland. But with starting his real estate career, he asked to step down. That made me president. And the following year, I continued. In the third year, I asked Randy Washburn to become president.
“RRR went to a lot of races. Not as a team, but to carpool and enjoy a good race. We had a team in Williamsburg with a distance relay race of 10, 7.5, 5, and 2.5 miles. Since I was the slowest, I suggested I take the last leg. It was an international meet with athletes from Germany.
“RRR put on many small races, primarily the Aquia Harbor 10K.”
To answer my question, one club with inconsistent reporting in the Free Lance-Star.
In the mid-80s, Willard Dameron organized informal off-season training for many High School Cross-Country and Track athletes. With this exception, most people I talked with ran alone or with a few friends. The females felt comfortable running solo and admitted that seeing women running was abnormal.
Returning in April 1985 Free Lance-Star issues, the Rappahannock Road Runners held group runs on Saturday mornings at 9 am from Lafayette Boulevard and Lee Drive. Willard Dameron may have submitted this listing.
Finally, in the November 9, 1993 paper, the “Runners Club Forming Meeting at 7 pm on December 8 at the YMCA” was announced—the John Robbins initiative.
During this time frame, the Rappahannock YMCA and Free Lance-Star tremendously supported the running community as either event coordinators or sponsors. Barney Reiley, the current YMCA CEO, was the Special Events Coordinator and the director of many races. Lee Wolfe was the Sports Editor of the Free Lance-Star, with Steve Deshazo, Gary Rhodes, and Kurt Nichols reporting on races.
The first running specialty store in Fredericksburg opened in the 21st century. Runners had to buy shoes, but where? Options included Eastbay mail order, Athletic Attic, Foot Locker, Koenig Sports, and Sports Enterprises. Alexandria, Richmond, and Charlottesville were the closest options if a runner needed to be fitted.
I did a shallow dive into the Free Lance-Star archives for this article. I looked at April, May, and July issues from 1976 to 1993. I looked into a few years of September issues based on interview responses. Lastly, I reviewed issues for November 1993. Contents of this article came from the following dates: (1977 – May 14, 21, 28, July 5), (1978 – May 12, 19), (1979 – April 23), (1980 – April 4, 21, July 5, September 9), (1981 – April 27, July 6, September 10), (1982 – April 20, 27, May 4, 7, 8, July 4), (1983 – May 6. 10. 17, June 28, July 5, September 8), (1984 – May 4, June 28, July 5), (1985 – April 2, 5, 19. May 19, July 3, 5), (1986 – March 31, April 1, 18, May 2, 9, 12, July 3, 5, September 9), (1987 – April 3, 10, 13, May 4, 22, July 3, 6), (1988 – April 1, 5, 26, May 22, 27, July 2, 5), (1989 – April 10, May 2, July 3, 5), (1990 – April 6, 16, 27, May 22, July 3, 5), (1991 – April 1, 8, 9, 23, July 5), (1992 – April 3, 13, 28, May 4, 26, July 2, 6), (1993 – April 1, 5, May 7, 18, July 2, November 5, 9).
I received responses to interview requests from Dale Saylor, Kevin Breen, Debi Bernardes, David Lovegrove, Jeff Peterson, Jannette Martin, Jim Davis, Matt Boyd, Chris Koehler, GW Dameron, and Terry McLaughlin.
Though I ran after college, I considered myself an inactive runner. I bought a pair of shoes in 1982 and used them until March 1993, running five races. I found the content for this article from interviews and research rather than personal memories.