1 25 2 http://archives.frny.org/files/original/bddebb0a8a290696eef44853c10fe59a.pdf f3e40aa59bda89a17f67c6d253e5b78c PDF Text Text 'the P~\Board of(])irectors wouftf fi~ to tlian{ tlie fo«owine mem6ers wfw provitfed eJ(Jra fo:ntfine support tliis year. n!N't'<Beniflzctors Inger <Beroer IDan f££liot IDafJe a?itcfJes fM.~)lrtfen fM.atc6ifJ8 tf'untf IDonors 'l(lfJin CBrewer fMart qifrain Jfun 'l(jm IJ(p6 Lennon fM.icfJae[ 'Westwood" IDan )lrmstrong Lenora <Bea~ fM.icliae{ <Benjamin James <Brafflion Jim <BritJaitis )lntfrew <Butfer Sean CButfer IDonna CfJeci,pn (l'aufCona James Cooper JosepfJ Criscione tf'ran( IDain IJ(p6ert IDa{{y lPeter IDoe6efe IDaWI IDuncan Scott f£mmons CBenuff£rpen6ec{ lfjc/iartf f£rvais Sue Poster Jolinny tf'raser lDorotfJy tf'uscalifo IJ(psario (jennaro Stwe qer6en (jeoroe (ji{martin lfjc/iartf (jottlie6 {Patrie{ (jui{foyfe IDonors Lee)l66ey <Barry )l6rams fM.ar(jtnsetr UJfeim (l'atric{Jfennessey Slie{{y '}(piing )ll6ert 'l(lenan (l'auf~ne t;;.olifen s_nea~£ James Cooper IJ(p6 Lennon Joan fM.artinez ,S.iffJer .fineai£ Jimmy )lntfrusz.~ <Brian Cruey '1'/iomas tf'ama IDere{fM.cNa{{y 'Tea fM.orin tf'rancisco ~mirez 'Trenton Strau6e fM.att 'Wooff ~tli qurs~ IDtWitf Laurence JosepfJ Lim, Jr. <Bemartf Long 'l(lfsey Louie CBarry LOfJe fM.icfJae{ fM.afJon 'l(lnnetli fM.ajerus 'Tom fM.afco{m Joan fM.artinez fMartfMascotini qeoroe fM.ayer, Jr. 'TrtWis fMcCullOII(JfJ Jerome fM.dDonnetr fM.artin fM.dEIIiiney fM.icfJae{ fM.c!M.afJon f£rii,p fM.oore CBo6 !Nefson Cf'eter ?rwferfofJner fM.icfJae[ Or:z;ecfJowsij qJaW/ a?itclies (('au{ {Prof)ost (l'auf~ne (l'auf~o Leonartf tgpto ~er IJ(p6ison Pourth }lnnua[ Pront (}Qtnners New 'York, }lwartfs tDinner January 28, 2006 7:00 (/!9,1_ 'l(p.ren~co Loraine Simune{ JaySmitfJ fM.artin 'Watijns Stwen 'Wiieefer Cliarfes 'Wiielan IJ(p6ert 'Hiilliams 'Tom Zangas 2006 \Board ~em6ers <Presitfent: 'l(lfsey Louie 'Women's <Vice ~t: f£mi{y Sieflel fM.en 's 'Vice <Presitfent: fM.ii./ CBenjamin 'Treasurer: Joe CJ?LUtz Secretary: IJ(p6 Lennon CDirectors at Laroe: )lntfrew CBut{er, fM~ )lrtfen q'/ie ~ectory 1fa{[of Vnion q'/ieofo!JicalSeminary 3041 (Broadway at 121st Street �,, .. ..vg; �Front Runners New York, iwenfy f.ve years old in 2004, is now ready fo sfart if's nerl chapter in providing a supportive environmenf for gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and the transgendered ro axf'ress their individual athletic abilities fhrough -the sport of running. Front Runners has changed over +he years. What started as a response ro +he political climate of the early 1980's in tandem wah a common inferesf of running has now evolved info a group of over 350 individuals who run, bike and sometimes even swim in pursuif of athleticism within and outside of +he gay community. If's only fitting that we choose fo celebrate the great diversify of our dub wi+h +he actual story lived by our members, compiled here for the first time. Front Runners is more than just a club as is demonstrated wifhin these pages. Enjoy the stories and continue fo work on making your own for our future. Ted Paszek Presidenf 2004 �I can still picture the 1986 December 10 Miler. I was w~ring +hose gold Epirvs shoes(! rnean, who didn'f back fhen?), bvf o-therwise looJcing Et litHe shEtbby gentile, as they fadrully ssrt in New Orleans., A light snow was falling. A perfect dsy for a race, if you ask rne. "Go Leo! Go Jefft" Who's that cheering for rne? I know Leo, ihe lycra-dad ruMer in fabulous +earn colors running besides rne. We'll wage a fur"100s mano-arnano for +he next 70 minutes or so as u~l, but how do his tearnrna+es know rny narne? "Get 'em Leo. Don'+ let Jeff get eway!" The water stop is understaffed. In fact, no one is -there. Just frozen cups on +he table. l+'s a little slip~'ery, and I can'+ quiie get in. leo grabs +wo cups and giVes one to rne. "Hey, Jefft Get Leo! A couple of exceedingly important and ego-boosting fic:ks under 70, we cross ihe line together. There's Joe and Marly, ahead of us - no sol'}>rise. Patrick and Dave +oo. ''Nice flnish guy.sl'" A cool'fe of rnomhs later Tina and I are rnernbers of Front Runners. I can'+ begin to imagine the last 17 years withou+ +he friendshif'>S and racing camaraderie. And ihe fabulous uniforms haven'+ hur+ rnuch either, for that- maHer. Jeff£;ngfelon I remember with gratitude every Front Runner who remained afl-er a race to cheer on fellow +earnrna+es who shared their drearn if not their pace. My rnernories, all pleasurable, extend back five years when I returned to New York frorn Florida. The Front RuMers welcomed me and provided a warrn, familiar farnily in a sornetimes cold and impersonal city. My favorife memories include running ihe Ho+ Chocolafe Run in frigid weather, changing into dry clothes by sfripl'ing in ihe even colder wind, and heading back to Ru+gers Church for bagels. I also love ihe annual Brooklyn Pride run which brings all +he Manhaffaniies to my �back yard where I don't need io commvfe to get to .fhe race. This collection of mofivated runners is wahou+ equal; I am proud every -lime I wear rny FRNY jersey, whether with -fhe dub or by myself, bealuse I know we belong io the closest knit running club in ihe cify. I look forward fo many more runs with this greaf gang and I look forward -fo traveling io other cities CPhiiQdelJ>hia Marathon) and reJ>resenfing Front Runners New York and our message of lGBT strength and unity. Bryce Wunder Has it already been one fourteenth of a cenfury since this small +own Canadian boy gof off the train at Penn Station. shall of wheat in rnooth, reQC{y io t.lke on the big city? My, how firne flies and ·sfill no gray hair. looking back over those years, it is abunclantly clear how cenfral FRNY has been io rny life in New York. a warm bosom in which to seek solace and Imbibe the milk of friendship and a+hle&s.. Indeed -the closes+ friendships I have forged in this beloved cify alrnosf all have a connection with FRNY. From the very Arst -lime I entered Ruigers Church and was warmly greeted by Jan from Australia in January 1999 fo the much appreciated company on ihose pre-marathon long runs, this dub has been a cornersfone of my New York experience. And I look forward fo many more years in your delicious company, at leas+ until your government smartens up and deporfs me. Thank you for being your sexy, sweaty and sweet selves week in week oot, boys and girls. love, Phil. I was an innocent young thing when I arrived in NYC in 1982. SOon after in an attempt io keep up with my pariner, Dave l'ifches, I jOined the McBurney YMCA the Y being one of .fhe few gyrn options available in those days. There I met and started working oot with George Waffle, one of the founding members of FRNY. As is well 4 �known, homosexuals are. always on the prowl in order fo induce ofhers fo join their nefarious organizations. ~ I now find myself a veritable 20 year f'afriarch of the dub. I sometimes feel I shall soon be like one of the old geezers af the Y who would waddle from steam room to shower and back all the while remarking, 'Thurdy yarrhs, l'v bin ah mehmbehr fuh thurdy yarrhs... This year I went back fo racing. (Actually, I never race-1 just do a lof of fun runs with number). In the 80's I was a faithful, plodding, middle of the pack member of FR racing and friafhlon +earns. Now running blistering 9-11 minute miles def'ending on distance, ternf'erafure and humidity, I am incredulous to find I still place around the SO*' percentile in my age group. My absolute favorite FR moment took place during the vituperous discussion on the first racing singlet selection back in 1984 or 5. There were endless debafes about color, size, cut, male/female models, maferial, and whether or not fo include the word "gay". Russell Redmond, designer of the fabulous gray long sleeve jersey with the big f'ink triangle, injected a note of needed levity fo the sifuafion when he remarked, "Racing singlet? Racing singlet? Whaf this dub needs is a racing boal'". Words to ponder. How important is FRNY to me? Had I not the security and mofivation of dub membership, I shudder to think whaf my weight and health sifuafion would be now. Almost all of my friends in New York have come from the dub. I belong to a reading group comprised of other dub members. I sf'end part of every ofher weekend in a FR singlet and most every Saturday morning eating bagels with a lof of really great men and women. And I was able to gain FR infamy as the dumb blonde of the fabled RunneHes. It has been so much rewarding fun. Thanks fo all. Dan Elliott 5 �2004 is not even over, but if's already been a year of farrlaslic memories for me-+he Pride Run, lronrnan Germany, Reach the Beach, and much more. One memory that ~nds out for me is the Mother's Day Half Marathon.... if was a beautiful day in May, perfect conditions for a 13.1 mile run. I had no specific plans for the race; I just wanted to get out there and run as well as I could, using my heart rate monitor as a guide to set my SJ:>eed. (The monitor was my new toy for the season.) Of course, as I stood at the starting line I found myself getting really nervous and wondering what was going to ha!JJ'en; I was also nervous because I was ~nding near the front of the crowd and those other women looked fast! I had to keeJ' reminding myself to run my own race no matter what ha!J!Jened. As we ran the first loo!J of Central Park. I saw a bunch of Front Runner guys running the other way--when they saw me, they started yelling and cheering. ~ far I was having a great race, and they really !Jsyched me u!J. I hit the IOK rnark and noticed that I had gone faster than my best time for that distance-and I still had more than half the race to go. I ~r+ed doing rnafh in my head, and realized I was on my way to a PR--if I didn't blow it. I don't know what it would have been like to try to finish thaf challenge by myself; I was lucky to know that I had friends oot there running +he race, and more friends running the other way who were supporting me, and that hei!Jed me hang on to finish the rae& with a PR of more than It minutes. It was an amazing day for rne, and if was even more amazing because my teammates were oot there with me. There are a lot of great things about being a Front Runner, and to me one of the best is having my friends around rne while I'm racing-you all ins!Jire me every ste~J of the way. Clsvclill Cvmmings 6 �When the first week of November comes around I always look forward to the NYC Marathon, or what my non-running friends call one of my high holy days. The thing I remember aboot the twelve marathons I've run is nof the times or the ~l$:e I csme in but fhe training with my friends that got me to the finish line. Afl.er frying fo train for the marathon in 1985 I had to drop oot halfway through the training becsuse of injury. I had joined FRNY in 1984 and when I read in the newsletter in 1986 that the club was having running classes. I joined and became an active J>arf in the Front Runner family. With the heir> of fellow frontrunners who had run the 262 miles I was no+ only able to stay injury free but exceeded my goal beyond my exJ:>edation. There are so many J:>eOple who not only supt>erfed us in our training but throughout the course and at mile 24 and the finish line. Even though I have not been able to do much running since the or>eration on my foot, and the marathon is a race in my r>ast, I do look forward to the day I can run again with my family of runners. All my besf to those running fhe race this year and to those whose pleasure is working +he race or just cheering everyone on. Pllfrick BsrhJr Front Runners was a very different club when I joined in 1989. firsT, +here was the t>elitical .element which reflected the times. Thousands of gay men were still dying of AIDS. And the battle for our civil rights had begun. The latter made for an exciting climate as grour>s like ACT UP, Queer Nation and lesbian Avengers competed for attention. Also, Ovlweekwas a must read, especially the notorious outings by Michtael Signorile. Our monthly club meetings were wild affairs, with 30 or more Front Runners cramped info small NYC apartments. The affairs of the dub and cornrnunity at large were discussed at length. I had rny first "That Away to 7 �Piscataway" fun run in ~ernember of 1990. Over 75 FR's affended on a beautiful sunny Sunday affernoon, including now deceased friends Guy and Mickey. I believe it was one of the besf attended "fun runs" ever. We barbecued and enjoyed +he sun unfillafe in the day. The world seemed a.little more welcoming that afternoon. George M11yer FRNY was an invaluable source of su~port and friendsh~ for me when I was first coming out, not just ~roviding me with greet com~anionshi~ but also ~roviding all of us with ev".dence +Nit the gay family is a joyously diverse one-genders, colors, sha~ and running ability. One ~articular treasured memory is crossing the finish line of the 1986 marathon and finding myself wr~ped u~ in a welcome Mylar blanket and an even more welcome hug from volunteer Steve Gerben, former FRNY President. I was also grea+ly flattered to be told by another former ~residenf, Jirn Skofield(wearing a tasteful string of pearls), that I was the gayesf ~erson he knew. l11mes Minier Thanks to Front Runners New York. I was able to join DC Frontrunners. I was living in Washington and absolutely sure that I was not going to fit in with Frontrunners. Even fhoogh Ijogged five days a week,. I never got u~ the courage to join what I imagined were the elite Frontrunner athletes. In the s~ring of 1988, I visited Bob lane, who has since moved to San Francisco, back to New York and back to San Francisco, and joined him on a Frontrunner Saturday morning Central Pqrk run. Yes, many of the boys were wqy out of my league. Now ~ret+y much everybody is way out of my league, but I digress. That spring day in 1988, I felt J>erfectly comfortable at the Frontrunner New York Saturday run. Thtd �weekend changed my life. Ijoined DC Froofrunners. A few months later, DC Frontrunners renfed a van and drove to New York for Pride Weekend. There is nothing like your flrst time trulfching in .fhe NY Pride Parade. Marching wHh Frontrunners was an amazing, empowering experience. I flgured, if I could do Pride Weekend in New York, I could do Gay Garnes in Vancouver and I did. I've me+ rnost of rny friends through Frontrunners. I've been io all the Gay Garnes since Vancouver. If it wasn't for Frontrunners NY, l'rn nof sure thai I would have joined DC Frontrunners, and I would have rnissed out on so rnuch. B11rry /Vopl OC Frontrunners This dub was the first gay thing I ever joined. And boy ern I glad I did. I've run since I was 9, bvt never (to my knowled9e} with a bunch of gay girls. Wow, they're hot. Loren Mooney I was on the cross country team at Marist College in -the 1970's, and we used to talk about how crazy a would be fo run a mar~ how you would train for that kind of distanc.e. ~ our bodies would feel like a+ mile 18, rnile 22, rnile 262.. None of us thought we would ever be that crazy. Nevertheless, I ran rny first rnarsthon nof long thereaffer, in New York in t977, the second year the New York Road Runners used the flve borough course <:before 1976, the race consisted of four grueling la}:»s of Central Park). I understood the basic concept: you had to run your tail off for -three months if you wanted to do well. Most weeks that summer I put in 50 miles, and the yellowed pages of rny running log show fwo half marathon races with tirnes of 1:30 and 1:43. I still visi+ed rny }:»aa'enfs on weekends now and again, and had done sorne of rny +raining with a friend of 9 �mine from high school cross-country, Gary Myers. He and I r>lanned to do the race together. He drove down from Saugerties, my hometown, and stayed with rne fhe night before the rnqrafhon at my ar>artment on Mulberry Street in Chinatown. CSorry guys, sef'al'ekl beds. This is not that kind of story.) On the big day, my morn and dad drove in, with Hat>r>Y the Sr>ringer sJ>aniel, and staked out a .sr>of on the south end of Central Park. All I remember about the race was how easy the first IS miles were, and how r>rogressiVely difficult each mile got after that. Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn seemed to stretch into eternity, and they had carr>efed a lane of the 59fh ~tree+ Bridge so runners wouldn't wear out +heir soles on the steel decking. The last two miles in Central Park were 10 minute miles, a time I'd now be more likely to run at fhe start of the marathon than at the finish. I'll never forget the look on rny J>arem's filces when they saw me coming through mile 25, and my dad's exclamation of surprise: "Bobby!!." There were about 5000 flnishers, and I carne in I,632nd in 3:26 even, a time I have never since matched. Gary did a 2:52, but had to get oxygen in the emergency fen+ because he had an asthma attack at the finish line. Somehow we found my folks, and I remember hobbling down the subway stairs at -,ztd and Central Park West to get back to Chinatown. Mom had baked a lasagna and I had invited some friends over for a sort of postmarathon reception, not realizing that I would not be that interested in socializing after running a marathon. I refired to the bathroom to soak in the tub before dinner. When the lasagna was ready, they had to come and wake me up: I had fallen asleer> in the bathtub. Would that every marathon was as good as the first! Bob Nelson I'm a new member of FRNY, having just joined in A!'>ril. Running has always been a great joy for me and has seen me through r>eriods of 10 �sadness and emotional sfress as well. Having ended a long term relationshij:> in March of this year, I found myself looking towards my Central Park jogs as resj:>ife---a time for reflection and emofional release. Sa+urday mornings wifh rny new FR friends took my mind away from this transitional anxiety helj:>ing me to focus on the shared comrnunify of the "run". Now that I'm feeling so much beffer and beginning to enjoy the nex+ cha~er of my life, I arn haj:>j:>y to have the camaraderie and friendshij:> of the guys of Fronf Runners. !lowllrcl Rossen You never forget your first time. If if's good for you, you'll wanf .fo do it again and again. I had a great first time marathon, thanks .fo our coaches frorn +he good old days, Donna Checkan and Jeff Singleton. Congratulations .fo all of you who will run your first marafhon fhis year in New York. Here are Coach Jeffs seven marathon rules (with -edded cornmenfs) +hat will get you from +he sfarflng line fo the finish line: I. Run the tangents. (It's +he shorfest dishlnce) 2. Draft. the big guys. (If works, esj:>ecially if you're one of +he liffle guys) 3. Don't zig-zag. (It's longer that way) 4. Run tall and look ahead. (Don't look down; your feet are still there) 5. Ernj:>hasize the downhills. (Especially in Central Park at the end) 6. Remember, all marathon setbacks are ternj:>Orary. (Yeah, rightD 7. If rule 6 doesn't seern .fo be working, counf stej:>s .fo 100. (it takes your mind off the j:>roblem) Psul Rseine 11 �I joined FRNY in the autumn of 1982-shortly affer finishing my second NYC m~:~rathon-qnd was delighted to find Q like minded grouj:> of gay men and women who knew how to sweat, strain, work towards PR's...and do so with humor, style and more than a little sarcasm. In those days, ~rday morning and Wednesday evening runs would draw anywheres frorn 15-25 runners, enough so you were j:>ushed, but not enough so that we couldn't fH into the small Greek coffee shoj:> to which we aft-erwards rej:>aired for j:>ancakes and chit-chat. I felt at horne almost at once and that sense of belonging to a community so rnany of us seek early in our "coming-out" j:>hase. The next year, a small grouj:> of us who were training for the '83 NYC Marathon would rneet at 7-;:-J Street and Broadway for once a week training runs uj:> to the GW bridge and back. The grouj:> ofl-en induded(but was not limited to) Bill Beehouwer, Bill Dolan(who always wore tube socks on his hands instead of gloves), Mark Mascolini, Bob Brins, Dave Mose, Jon Livingston, Marty King, Marty Perl and myself. Sometimes Sue Foster would join us for at least a six mile leg of the twenty rnile 'burner". I rernernber huffing and j:>uffing, waiting for my second wind to kick in and watching enviously as Sue---by far the strongest and savviest runner in the dub---glided serenely along ahead, seemingly oblivious to the effort of clicking off those seven and half minute miles-a j:>retty stiff j:>ace for me to hold in those days. Our reward for having made it through the run was always a banana daiquari(no alcohol)at the Orange Julius stand on B'way and 72nd. And j:>ancakes. And rnore j:>ancakes. And still rnore j:>ancakes....The day of the '83 marathon dawned cold and and dank with a threat of aj:>j:>roaching rain. As we boarded the buses that would take us out to Staten Island to the staging area, we first heard about the horrors of the marines killed in the Beirut US Embassy 12 �bombing. It was a somber day••• .As the race skirted, if began to drizzle.•• by the time we hif 4*' Avenue in Brooklyn, if was a steady, cold rain. When I ht:ld though+ about rain during my training, fhe thought was always unnerving--suJ>pose my socks got soaked all through and Ct:~used blisters?.•.sui>J>Ose I seized uf> and began suffering from hY!>ofhermit:l?...suJ>I>Ose...(fhe marathon runner has 1000 ways to indulge in self tor+ure..}--but once I was in it t:~nd the rt:~ln showed no signs of letting uf>, something inside me rel~ed t:~nd I settled down and jus+ ran.•.the miles clicked off one after another and my qnxiety vqnished. For the first time, I wqs f>ref>t:~red for the roar of sound from the Sf>edQfors on First Avenue in Mt:~nhat+an as we cqme off the Queensboro Bridge and headed north. As I hit the bridge into the Bronx, I heard that Kiwi Rod D"ocon has t>assed a struggling Geoff Smith in the last quarter mile to win the men's rqc.e...l t>uf my head down and ran and ran. I ran through the glory of the Mount Zion Bat>fis+ Choir tn full chorus in Harlem; I ran the terrible, short incline from S*' Avenue and into Central Park. I was almost surf>rised when I turned the corner from Columbus Circle back into Central Park and the finish line loomed ahead. I ran under it t:~nd was elqted to see my finishing time---3:18:11 ....a f>ersonal best. As I moved down the chutes, a figure, six runners ahead of me in the chute, turned and Ct:~lled my name. "Jimbo!" It was Bill Dolan---as wet and bedraggled as I was...and still wearing those silly tube socks on his hands. We both burst into laughter and we were still laughing as we got wraf>f>ed in our mylar blankets and--stiff legged--began the oddly long walk ('as+ the Sheef>'s meadow towards the waiting buses and our dry clothes... .lim Skofleld 13 �I first joined Front Runners because of the rumors of hot locker room adion. I soon found, though, that I heel made some great friends and that the locker room action was really just for showering. Bvt seriously folks, Front Runners is like church to me---l value the community of friends, the focus on health and the sur>porf of a great group of people....e.specially Phil Wahba (he told me to write that). MtiH livy In 1986, I fell down a flight of subway stairs, tore up my right knee and following two surgeries, started a course of phySical therapy which eventually led to my taking up swimming, cycling, power walking and strength training---things I never did beforel When I felt strong enough, I further challenged myself in a variety of charity events: bike rides to fight MS and lung cancer, walk-a-thens, and swim-a-thens to support local AID~ organizations, etc. Then, one day, I saw an ad for a local duathlonC2 mile run, 10 mile bike ride and another 2 mile run). Figuring that rny walking (and o+her workouts) was sufficient training for this (Boy! Was I ever wrong!), I entered a race-and carne in 3'd place! (OK, so there were only three women in the race---but doesn't "showing up'" count for something?!) ~rtly after that, I contaced Front Runners, an organization I had heard about, but never joined 'cuz I never thought of myself as a "runner". Thanks to Front Runners' coached classes, I learned "r>roper" running technique and entered many races in Central Park. I ran SK's, 4 and 5 milers, IOK's a'"'d a 10 miler (alongside Fred Lebow, who was then training for the NYC Mara+honO. Eventually I discovered Jeff Galloway's marathon training program, and using his run - walk system, I ran the Marine Corps 14 �(shaving 20 minutes from my flnish timeD, followed by the NYC Marathon, Steamtown Marathon in Sc.ranfon, PA (my "PR") and And now fhat I have five J>rovd "notches on my belt", I've decided to run across the country, finally, the Richmond Marathon! 13.1 miles at a time. And through it all, I maintained my ties to Front Runners. "Giving back" is the reason why many of us fake on leadership J'Osifions in the club. I felt if was my turn to give back in 1995, and so I ran for, and was elected, Women's VicePresident. During my vice-presidency, I produced several events to benef'.t the Front Runner's Foundation and did my best to encourage increased women's particil'afion through a variety of outreach activities. For my years of volunteer service, I was humbled to receive +he flrsf "President's Award" from FRNY President Patrick Barker in 1997. I end this tribute with a special thank you to the many Front Runners who supJ'Orted me throughout my 5-1/2 years tenure as Co-President ofTearn New York. When I was looking for a competent co-president and treasurer, FRNY's former president Gary Apruzzese and then treasurer Mike Mahon, answered the call. When I needed volunteers for TNY's program, again and again, I turned to my club. Front Runners was always therel And thankfully, it continues to be a strong and vibrant organization, at the forefront of NYC"s LGBT community and NYC's running community! I cherish the many friendships +hat have develoJ'ed over my years of membership in this club. Thank you, front Runners! Happy 25th Anniversary! Rvfh Gursky 3 lronman finishes 2 NYC marathons All wearing a Front Runners uniform. 15 Auclra Farrell �In Cold tual Event. in the style of A Fidional Account of an Ac ey call, wife of the late Hurnf:>hr Blood: Screen legend Lauren Ba :>s ht in Central Park jus t steJ gart, was assaulted last nig Bo r Miss Bacall was walking he e of her Dakofa apartment. outsid the park ly 7 PM, when she enfered dog, Bogey, at approximate of about iately encountered a group on 72nd Street. ~e immed l'afh and ing in a circle on the park 20 semi-dressed men stand of the gh them. Aijer passing a few fried to make her way throu h one leash became entangled wit bare chested men, Bogey's the tween the screen star and n and a verbal barrage be ma ing the rbys overheard Miss Bacall ask perpetrator ensued. Passe through I'Ublic path to let her pass man to step aside on the and a fclad only in maroon shorts wi+h her dog when the man, a tirade ass her. The man unleashed shir+, started to verbally har r weight r, making references to he of verbal quit>s wi+h the sta the abusive man and left- to As she untangled the leash form hips s seen with his hands on his tinue her walk, the man wa con later e a 31 inch waist!.. If was uting, "I don't think so, I hav sho to r closing the r>ark entrance mined by the t>Oiice office deter York, a n was Front Runners New traffic that the grout> of me for the in the r>ark. A spokesman grout> of gay men who run n was nied the abusive half-dad ma organization this morning de t, never d "he jus t showed Ul' tonigh one of their members and sai at the member, but we figured, wh saw him before, he's not a d not?" Miss Bacall's press agenf sai hey, he's gay and runs, why nigh+ r ar>ar+ment and slel'f the the star returned to he rase g in her sleet:> twice the ph acefully, except for screamin t>e s The agent was not sure if Mis gey! They almost got you!". "Bo dog or her husband. Bacall was dreaming of her SIX NY Post M11y d" 2002 PAGE 16 �I joined (p~id dues) rn'!ny years '!go bllf never C'lrne to any of the meetings. I was afraid I would not feel included. Then on Sa+~rday several years ago I met Michael Orzechowski and Dan Armstrong who both made me feel like I was a long lost friend. I've been corning ever since. Oan Carrier September 1983---1 am running in Riverside wah my j>artner and mention to her tha+ I am going to the Avon Women's Half Marathon in a couJ>Ie of weeks. It is the tradaional warrn-uJ> for the New York City Mara+hon. She says, "What the Women's Half?'' At that moment I realize tha+ I am going to need better suJ>J>Ort than that in order to run my second marathon. I start going to the FRNY Saturday and Wednesday runs. November 1987---rny fourth New York. I must be In glycogen deJ>Ietion of something, because I am a liitle dizzy during the 2r, 23rd mile. Corning into the 24 mile water station I cry "Frual I need frual" What better J>lace to ask for frua? (Of course I got a.) {I must mention, by the way, that a's 1988 when I finally made my goal: 3:58:26.1 For me, as a lesbian, runner, and J>resident of the dub, FRNY was instrumental in my corning to understand myself as a gay J>erson, an athlete, and the head of a .500 J>erson organization wah a $60-70,000 budget. What did I like best about being J>resident? Being able to ham a UJ' at the Saturday runs. And sifting in +he Williams luncheonette (gone now) on Varick Street, oJ>enlng the Front Runner mail wah my niRy letter oJ>ener. In my first year as J>resident (1990), I saw us move our Saturday runs from Jason's (remember Jason? An ex-J>riesf, I believe} to Rutgers, and our Wednasclay night runs from 57" Street to the American. And we fixed our finances. And that first year as J>resident I went wah the dub to Vancouver for the 17 �the s, and had a ball, running on +hird (rny second) Gay Garne from eting other Front Runners +rack and the roads and me m LA ecially the Front Runners fro around the world, seeing esp of women from San Diego, all (hi Bill and lorraine!) and +he for the went out to ~n Francisco whorn I'd met when FRNY ting +o s in 1986--oh, and also ge+ second (my firs+) Gay Game !). In rs be+ter Chi John and Gene. know the ~ydney Front Runne Pride w York. our lesbian and Gay 1994, wifh Gay Games in Ne race , with a then record se+ting Run because a SK fun run gay n was there with us, as were istration. Pa-tricia Nell Warre reg e to over the world who had com rnen and lesbians from all o join r me, as for the runners wh participate in the Games. Fo place was a family, a community, a the club now, Front Runners to the you are. Though I don't go to And yourself and be who rs changed a~n still say, Front Runne runs every week anyrnore, I rny life. Lenore Bu ky ebra+e , and I are preparing to cel My parfher, Geoffrey Perry played the star+, Front Runners has our tenth anniversary. From met In fact, we would have never a very key role in our lives. . and I, offrey was a rnernber ·in D.C without Front Runners. Ge year, of the New York dub. That at the time, was President rk. to be a gay a+hlete in New Yo 1994, was an amazing year It was all the cliches-unreal, life Gay Games a~me to town. rk was hard work. A lot of tha+ wo affirming, fun···and a lot of not Runners New York. I will done by members of Front s tting someone, but the Garne ntion names for fear of forge me ed e without them. I was privileg would not have been the sam fless, e and to work with such sel to be President at that tim with t my flfteen year membership dedicated people. Throughou lR �l, life-long Front Runners, I have rnade some wonderfu that year. The legend friendshi~s, but never more fhan during we actually goes thaf Geoffrey and I met during the Games, bvt e u~ from DC mef during Marathon weekend thaf year. He carn the l'asfa to run and I was being the good host. We cNtHed af He blew me party. We chatted more af the J>Qncake bre$fast. the ~ne a kiss as he was running u~ First Avenue. We ran up moved u~ bills and kept Amtrak solven+ for almost a year. He York, he the following August. When he did move ro New and made found Front Runners ro be so very welcoming ners have immediate friends, as well. Running and From Run debafed been constants for us over the ten years. We seriously Saturday buying a weekend house because we would miss the ng around runs. We still do miss them and are resolved ro stayi held office more off.en to do them. Over the years, we've both e f1ir>l*f for the dub (Geoffrey was VP) and volun+eered. We'v . We've pancakes. cut bagels, r>oured Garorade and rnade l'asfa . Whafever coached, ayoled, cheered, set ur> and deared qway what we've we've done for the dub is one small fradion of le and Will goHen out of it. If is a J>arf of who we are as a coup always be. run. I In 1992, Sam Lafata invited me to a FRNY Saturday 's wha+ we showed up wea.ring basketball sneakers (hey, fhaf Harold wore in high school gym) and soon met Harold Brueland. the darinet and I discovered fhaf we both played +he cello and of nowhere p and the . iano, and grew up on.farrn.s in the middle c, hafed (Harold MN, me NH). To+al agreement: loved the musi running in the farm. Harold suggested +haf I rnighf want to fry S'feve Mcl vre running shoes. 19 �was in the lengihy of getting over a failed relafionship, had litfle self I started running in 1992 by myself. ~rocess I Piest cam~. confidence and in general was nof +he haJ> ers as a Wtrf +o ~meone suggesfed +ha+ I fry Fronf Runn meet other gtr{ improve my running and have the op~rtunny +o I recall taking +he men and women in a sup~rtive environment fhe middle of subway uptown and siffing on a bench in r +he Rufgers Broadway summoning up +he courage fo ente fs and no shirt Church. I recall a guy showing up in yellow shor , I was fofally with a fantastic build going through fhe door , +hey must all thrown, I don't look like +ha+.J can't go in there t on and on in my be built like gods (and so the committee wen cl the courage head). Well push came fo shove and I sumrnone > of men and and went info Rutgers, there fo meet 8 great grouJ nof fo be that women. The bod in yellow shorts turned out much better. I "godly" but apparently from 8 distance looked a bit earlier than started running with Front Runners, usually fhe fellowship mosf; I enjoyed the solitude of fhe early run and *! me end +hat of the group afl.erwards. Front Runners hell a new confldence period of isolation and alienation and gave me in myself for which I am eternally grateful. 8ulch Slolins/cy ple who would FRNY is the place that I met most of +he J'e<) I've had +he good become my "NYC" family and +he place where ence. We bofh fortune to meet my life J>artner, D&V.d Laur renf cities - rne moved here a couple months apar+ frorn diffe delphia. I rnoved frorn the Los Angeles area and Dave from Phila g one anofher here back in 1983. And Dave and I started seein annual outing fo in 1984 afl.er that year's WONDERFUL FRNY FRNY will star+ Jones Beach....a tradifion that rnaybe one year 20 �ur> again. As things worked out, rnos+ of our closes+ and dearest friends are fellow Front Runners. Front Runners NY has "giVen.. so rnuch to rne that af+er being a rnernber a few years I was happy fo have the chance fo give some+hing back by holding various board offices and working on various cornrnittees and eventually becoming the President in 1985. That year was one of the busiest year's that I can remember. But it was also one of the best! A few of rny rnos+ enjoyable rnernories over the years include helr>ing out one year io corne ur> with the clues for a sr>ring Meet-the Mernbershir> Run that included a scavenger hunt around our usual run route around the park; hurrying ur> to Rutgers af+er work on a Friday evening io catch the chartered bus for one of the FR weekend trips io either Philadelr>hia, Washington or Boston (the bus rides were good tirnes had by rnost of rny fellow travelers beaiuse they gave everyone the chance to spend tirne with old friends and io rntd<e new ones on the long rides io or frorn our destinafions); and having the or>Jx>rtunity io hos+ and befriend a cour>le who were rnernbers of FR Paris who carne in for the Gay Garnes that were held in NYC. FRNY has been a terrific place io rneet so rnany wonderful people along the way in this life's _jOUrney. Mike McMshon My rnernories of the club are of the rnany good firnes running with the club in races. I rernernber when our tearn's uniform included day glow pink shorts. It made it easy to pick Front Runners out frorn the field of runners. The Tappanzee Race was one of the races that I recall going up a hill and seeing all these splashes of pink in the distance. I had never run a race before joining the dub. One of rny rnernories include running with Andrew Khoo, a forrner Front Runner, before running rny 21 �>s of Central Perk. flrst Brooklyn half. We did a slow iwo lc:>o~ the half would be He said if I could do the iwo looJ's of the ~'ark y. I dill like to easy. He often referred to races as a big I'Sri think of races that way. Owe Lsurence in Front Runners. A ~aturday, August lsi 1998 -- My flrs+ dey a+ G in July 1998, friend of mine Dominic larnf:>eSi who I rnef lesbian runners. told rne about a running dub for gay end at the age of 1:7, I Having just moved to NYC flve weeks J'rior, with the same love was eager to rneet new like minded JX!OJ'Ie and was totally for running. I had only been running for a year the day so ViVidly. committed to this new interes+. I remember ning where we Dominic brought rne to the dub that mor usoal ~rday changed and went over to the park for the e in Amsterdam for announcements. Many of the rnernbers wer ouncements. He the Gay Garnes, so Michael Mahon did the ann a few of us raised had asked if there were any new runners and of those narnes: our hands. PerhaJ's .you will recognize a few Brigeitis. Aft-er Michael Orzechowski, Reuben Danzing end Jirn and before long we our run, I SJ'Oke to Michael, Reuben and Jirn sy Center dances, became good friends, going-to dinners, chee What I eJ'J'reciafed and movies. We always had a great tlrnel rnernbers paid to frorn the dub was the attention and interes+ II, buf Sf*tk;ng for us. ~orne of you rnay say we were fresh mBI e I didn't have any myself only, I truly enjoyed the aitention sinc how rnuch of en friends in New York. What I didn't expect was truly blessed I irnJ'acf this dub has rnade on rny life end how friends. SO rnany feel to have rnade such beaufiful and loVing e in rny heart end J'eoJ'Ie from day one heve a Sflecial !'lac SUn Bvf/er always will. 22 �Eleven years and counfing as a member of Fronf Runners New York and some of my memories are weekly runs, fhe breakfasf brigade, marathon water stations, ~nad<e breakfasts, pasta dinners, out of town triJ>S for road races, sl<i trq,s, holiday parties, blue line runs, a mld-winfer dqnce, running fwo NYC Marathons, numerous road races, including fourteen Gay Pride Runs, FRNY track meets and cross c.ounhy evenfs, and most memorable, my three years as Men's Vice President. Happy 25ih Anniversary Front Runners and many rnorellll 011n Armslrong If was early fall of 2001 and I felt invincible in my runs and so I decided to test my fortiiude. I got whiff of ihe Hartford Conn. Marathon and decided I'll try fhat one. My mission was fo complete 50 marathons by the time I was 50 years old (I'm .dill . i ! . not 50 yet). I signed up and ran with a frienc:LI lost her by ihe 3M mark. ..at mile 6 I turned BACK fo flnd her. Met her at mile 4 and then ran with her until mile 9. ~ was moving too slow for my liking and so I took off. I saw her on fhe way back...l was at mile ll ...she was approaching mile 10. I caught up fo people who had seen me going in +he other direction and fhat caugh+ +heir querying mi~Where were you going before? TO FIND MY FRIEND THAT I HAD LCK'Tl. Where is your friend now?...Back there somewhere...! Jeff her because she's moving too slow for me...l feel good fodayiJ I pushed along very smoothly and nicely hit my wall at 22 miles...not because I really hit the wall, but because befween miles 22 and 24 the course was a bunch of convoluted turns and I got frustrated by it. Affer clearing that hurdle it was a matter of time fo the Anish. I crossed the line in 5:08:09 and then turned around and wenf back 25 miles info the course fo pick up my friend and ran 23 �eeks at day was over. Three w as I done?.... racing for ih e her in... W d a very Similar experienc e NYC Marathon and ha later I did th ed and waifed instead of Only this fime...l stow ng with her. +he line I keJ>f walki and when I crossed d in turning around antfhon #23 for me an nday, . it will be rn forward. Next ~u plete marathon #24. I'll wing I'm ho~ng fo com three weeks follo mark of 50 going fo achieve ihat nexf ~ril. So I'm nof be 50 . maybe...l'll be 25 at 50 at SO... but maybe..~usf P1111leHe Meggoe ers New York A Salute fo Front Runn fhin a few hundred to fry to enca('SUiafe wi It is a daunting task me, so w York has meant to that Front Runners Ne words all Today d a until +he lr" hour. fa d that I've !X>sipone daunting in ing of the American ' Anniver~ry of +he Homecom celebrate th e 2S" marks +he t?* (AREA) and fo also Run for +he End of Aids ledge once qgain +he NY and I want to acknow Anniversary of FR ed in +he creation of l role that +he club r>lay absolutely essentia tion of +he 20 month · >rf throughout +he dura AREA and its sup!X ose outside ht seem strange to fh ound America. It mig Run Ar anged my y +hat a running club ch R~nner family fo sa the Front nners are many other frontru but I'm sure that there of life forever, ined FRNY in the fall way as well. When I jo who feel this impact +his would have idea of +he incredible I 1984 I had no ance and camaraderie, + only did I And accepf upon my life. No challenges and deep, ding ground for new discovered a bree BeneAt e club's >S. Parficipenng in th meaningful friendshif y turn and catalyst for rne fo finall r GMHC became +he Run fo itive action D~ and fo take !X>s ar and desr>air about AI face my fe and +he if no f be en for FRNY e and an activist. Had ak. as an athlet rnernbers as Guy Zelen I received frorn such support +hat r 24 �Marty King, Jirn ~field, Dave Welr, Howard Kessler, Lenore Beaky, Steve Gerben, Richard Walker, TJ Storch, Mickey Zacuto, Charlie Carson, Patrick Barker, George Mayer and so rnany ofhers, I would never have run 16 rnarlrihons and rnore than 9000 rniles around America. I would also have never run a thousand rniles frorn San Francisco to Vancouver wifh the Rainbow Flag to Gay Garnes Ill nor led a +earn of six inline skaters to bring the Rainbow Rag across America frorn San Francisco to NYC for Gay Garnes IV. Had a not been for rny rnernbershij:> in FRNY, I would never have served as President of Tearn New York for four years nor as a charter Director of the Federation of Gay Garnes for 13 years. Nor would I have found the courage to go info the streets with ACT UP and be arrested and incarcerated rnore tirnes than I care to remember. All of these irnj:>Orfant events in rny life can unequiVocably be traced back to rny being a rnernber of Front Runners New York. I wish I had the oj:>j:>Ortunity to acknowledge each and every New York frontrunner who has rnade significant contributions to rne and to rny efforts for the Gay Garnes and the fight against AI~. Fortunately, I arn finally working in earnest on a book abovt AREA and subsequent events and you can be sure that Front Runners New York will receive the j:>rorninence in the story that it so richly deserves. I regret that in recenf years the J>hysical toll that all of this has taken, as well as rny work schedule, has kej:>t rne frorn particlj:>atlng in the club the way that I once did. I arn grateful to all of the rnernbers who give of thelr iirne, energy and cornrn;trnent to keej:> the club such a shining exarnj:>le of the best of what the LGBT Cornrnunity has to offer. Front Runners New York will forever hold a Sj:>ecial place in rny heart and the well being and longevHy of the club always be remembered in Brenf Nicholson Earle rny j:>rayers. 25 �org~, is one of the Frontrunners, our infernationsl running sJ'Oris dubs for lesbians oldest and most successful recreational .men decided sf the last and gay men. I+ all started when iwo e reflnishing. The dub minute no+ to offer a class in fvrnHur d, intended to lead a class founders, Jack Baker and Gardner Pon er U, a gay exJ>erimental as j:>art of the 1974 session of Lavend d workshops on various college in San Francisco, that J>rovide e reAnishing as a hobby and to~ics. Pond enjoyed fvrnHur his j:>ar+ner, could not suggested if as their offering. Baker, brainstormed for a while. muster enthusiasm for this, so +hey • session, offering weekly They Anslly decided on a 1earn to jog function in 1978_.-fhe runs....When Lavender U ceased to dub, the Arst gay and members dec.ided to become an official in the Amateur Athletic lesbian running club wi+h membershi~ e: They also selected a new nam Union (AAU). of Frontrunners started Frontrunners...The long distance growth m Robinson, a nationally in the s~ring of 1980, when Malcol York CHy. The new ranked runner, started a club in New ncisco's: it adopted byorganization modeled itself after San Fra and welcomed all runners. laws, elected officers, collected dues, es quickly followed New It also took the club's name. Of.her citi in Boston, los Angeles York's exam~le: char:>fers were active Ltoday more than 100 and San Diego by the end of 198 char:>fers are active around the world. s/ nfPages archiVes ofFR /nfernsfion From fhe Fro the warrnih, love and Within Front Runners, I've come to And no+ And in the oufside understanding of a family that I could world. Tee/ Paszek 26 �25 YEARS OF PRESIDENTS MALCOLM ROBI~ON 1979-1980 STEVE GERBEN 1981-1985 RICHARD WALKER 1986-1987 JIM SKOFIElD 1988 LENORE BEAKY 1989-1990 GREG VALERIE 1991-1992 MARTY KING 1993 GARY APRUZZESE 1994 MICHAEL Mc.MAHON 1995 JIM GIBB 1996 PATRICK BARKER 1997-1998 KEN MAJERUS 1999-2000 i I JANET AITCHINSON 2001 ! MICHAEL ORZECHOWSKI2002-2003 TED P~ZEK 2004 �·1 I I •I l i I I I ! I l \ � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Other, 2006 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Fourth Annual Awards Dinner [program booklet] Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digitized Oct. 31, 2014 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2006 Events:Awards_Night Year:2000s Year:2006 http://archives.frny.org/files/original/0c9d4e0906b891bc5d5da7a9465516d9.pdf e01ecd40bae8c69bb2998e779c1c2afd PDF Text Text �~[R{@~lf ~~~~~[R{~ ~ V(Q)~[}( New York' Only Running Club forth Sat rday orning Fun Runs • 1r Long- 1stance Raci g Opportuni tie eekl:y R n an attan & Brooklyn � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Other, 2006 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Run Girl Run [flyer] Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digitized Oct. 31, 2014 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2006 Year:2000s Year:2006