Rocky Mountain Road Runners

(This article in part is condensed from two interviews and articles previously published describing Joe Arrazola’s involvement in the Colorado running community.)

Part 1: Formation of the Club

When running enthusiast Joe Arrazola moved to Denver in 1956 there were only two races open to “all-comers”, the Rocky Mountain AAU cross country and the RMAAU track and field championships.

Denver Track Club Patches

His first efforts were the organization of all-comers track meets at DU on Friday nights. The parent club from which RMRR evolved was founded in 1959 by Joe Arrazola, with assistance from John Blank. The club which he founded adopted the name of The Denver Track Club, a name which is still in existence in the Denver area today. (Different individuals have suggested that the club actually began in 1960 or 1961, and there is some limited written data to suggest these dates may be correct. However, Joe states the formation was in 1959 during two different interviews so that is the year we are going with.) The club generally adhered to the standard format of running clubs of the time, i.e. track clubs affiliated with and heavily regulated by the AAU. People who were not involved in the running community before the early 1960’s probably have little or no concept of the AAU’s control and influence at that time. More on that topic in a later article.

Joe was an outstanding runner and dedicated leader for the club. Joe served as president of the DTC from 1959-1966. He was present at most of the club sanctioned races in the early years, though not always as a runner. Joe was frequently performing the function of race director or in some other official capacity. He and other club officers did frequently ask for volunteers to serve in this capacity so they could run in some of the races, but rarely did anyone step forward. In the very early years, the club had extremely limited financial resources. Nonetheless, Joe was committed to offering Rocky Mountain Region AAU (RMAAU) track and road racing championship races. Races were regularly held at Washington Park and Arapaho High School. The infamous “one more lap around Washington Park” loop holds the honor of being the oldest fully certified AAU road course in the United States.

Most races in that era were sparsely attended. The runners and race walkers who participated were primarily elite and regionally outstanding athletes. Few others became involved as it was not the politically correct thing to do at that time. A little known fact to most of the runners of the early years was that the cost of putting on such sparsely attended races was such a strain on the club’s treasury that Joe sometimes financed the race expenses out of his own pocket. In recognition of Joe’s dedication and contribution to Rocky Mountain regional racing, the DTC 5 mile race was renamed the “Joe Arrazola 5 Miler” by Dennis Kavanaugh and Ted Cutler. It was held every year until it was discontinued in the mid-1980’s. For many years, this race was frequented by the Rocky Mountain region’s fastest runners in honor of Joe’s efforts.

The idea of handicap racing was conceived in 1960 in order to draw interest from the “average runner”. The DTC’s development of a handicap racing series was an important part of the club’s schedule and a significant difference from other clubs across the country of that era. This unusual concept received some national recognition from AAU. It also ultimately set the stage for a polarization and split of the club several years later. This of course resulted in the formation of the Rocky Mountain Road Runners.

Part 2: The First Ten Years: 1959-1969

I have struggled for several weeks trying to decide how to address this decade of the club’s history. The differences between running clubs with AAU sanctioned races then versus the casual and recreational running environment of today is quite extreme. Because of the rivalry and never the twain shall meet attitude of the AAU and the Road Runners Club of America during the 1960’s, our club (and many others across the country) operated under two different names simultaneously-ie., the DTC and the RMRR. Clubs used one name for membership with one of the sanctioning organizations and the other name for membership with the other. Unless you were personally involved in racing at that time, the entire system will probably be somewhat difficult to believe. At the same time, this period is nostalgic in my own running history.

For example, the running clubs were typically composed of a small group of competitive runners and race walkers who regularly competed against other clubs and schools for individual and team titles and championships. Club membership was more closely akin to competing for a high school team or college team. Can you imagine an annual RMRR versus University of Colorado cross country meet? Well, there was such an annual meet, and the RMRR team members were sometimes rewarded with a free Colorado home football game ticket. How do you suppose RMRR would fare in such a meet today?

The local track clubs and regional and national AAU groups served the running community by organizing various track and road races. There were practically no other races. When you registered for a track or road race you identified your club affiliation, and, of course, verified your AAU affiliation. Membership in the DTC also included membership in the AAU. In the late 1960’s the DTC members wore the club uniform of gold running shorts and a blue singlet. The club name and logo shield was mounted on the front center of the singlet and your AAU membership shield could be mounted on the upper left corner. I wonder how many of these club uniforms are still around in somebody’s closet.

The AAU rigorously policed amateur running (and there was no other type in the United States then). Even the acceptance of a pair of running shoes as a prize could eliminate a runner’s amateur status and bring your career to an end. The enforcement of the widely disliked strict amateur requirements penalized many individuals. However, it did provide some direct financial benefit to running clubs, including the DTC. Any high school or college track or cross country coach that wanted to remain eligible to compete as an amateur runner could not accept their salary for such coaching functions. That would have made them a professional athlete by the standards of that time. Thus they were forced to donate their salaries for these coaching positions to outside organizations. The DTC was periodically the beneficiary of  such donations and this helped keep down the costs of club dues. I have my own similar story from that time period. After taking classes and associated tests to obtain junior high and high school level umpire and referee licenses, I was forced to give them up. I found out that if I began working in this capacity and accepted any payment as an umpire I would have been declared a professional athlete and would have been ineligible to continue to participate in collegiate sports. The Times They Are a Changing.

The system of amateur status and the clubs providing financial support to their own club members led to considerable debate among many track clubs, including the DTC. During this period our club was blessed with some nationally ranked competitors, including at least one US record holder. At that time, one of the primary functions of the clubs throughout the country was to generate financial support and funding to send their elite competitors around the region and the country for competition n the sanctioned races. This meant that a few members were the primary beneficiaries of the majority of many clubs’ treasury. Thus the age-old debate. Is the purpose of a running club to benefit the majority or to support a select few representing the club name? This very issue resulted in more than one instance of the resignation of club officers. This debate ultimately directly lead to a separate Rocky Mountain Road Runners club, and the formation of our club doctrines founded upon the principles of providing an organization to benefit the maximum number of competitors of all abilities. This transition will be discussed in Part 3.

Club members that regularly held officer positions in the DTC and the RMAAU, and provided the leadership and volunteer efforts to keep the club functioning during this decade included Joe Arrazola, Dennis Kavanaugh, Floyd Godwin, Art Caldwell, and Fred Chippindale.

1959-1969 period highlights:

The Denver Track Club was founded in 1959 by running enthusiast Joe Arrazola. Running is already an established local sport at that time with races such as the Pike’s Peak Marathon in its 4th year.

1959-1969: Other track clubs and schools in the area providing regular competition for the DTC in the individual and team oriented RMAAU races were the Colorado TC, the Boulder TC, the Fort Collins TC, the Alamosa TC, the Southern Colorado Striders, the West Kansas TC, the Cornhuskers TC, and local university teams. In reality, several of the noted track clubs were heavily affiliated with their local university athletic programs.

January 1969: The DTC began publishing a monthly newsletter that has now continued for 26 years (34 years as of 2003).

January 1969: A decision was made to supplement the club treasury by selling shirts. In order to reach a larger market than just DTC members, it was decided to have the phrase “Rocky Mt. Road Runners” printed on the shirt with “the symbol of our majestic Rockies in the center of the shirt”. From my research I have not been able to determine why this symbol was used then, but it may be the first use of our current club name and logo together. Cost: $1.50 for members, $2.00 for non-members.

1969 was the first year the club sponsored over 50 running and race walking events. The club sponsored 52 races of various types that year.

Part 3: 1970 – The Year of the Protests about the Vietnam Conflict and High Denver Track Club Dues

1970 was a pivotal year in the history of the Rocky Mountain Road Runners. The year saw both continued growth in club activities and in internal strife concerning the club objectives. Ultimately the club was overcome with the wave of discontent sweeping the country from an increasing number of participants who just wanted to run without having to contend with the rules and regulations intended to govern amateur and national competition. The following is a list of some of the highlights and important events during the year:

In 1970 there were 21 Rocky Mountain Amateur Athletic Union (RMAAU) championship races held in Colorado in which racers could qualify for national AAU championship races.

Due to the continuing “feud” between the AAU and the NCAA, as well as US amateur athletes, some of the 1970 RMAAU track and field championships were removed from the scheduled University of Colorado site. The “feud” was just getting started. Pure amateur athletics outside of the academic community ultimately would come to an end.

The 1970 RM AAU 5 Mile Championship saw the first field of more than 50 runners (54) for a Colorado regional road race.

Special club meetings were held in 1970 to discuss the proposed doubling of member dues from $5 to $10. (Note this is not as expensive as the entry fee for almost any single race today.) The increase was required to cover each member’s registration as an AAU member, cost of the annual DTC badge for the team running shirts, cost of publishing the newsletter, and free entry in 24 races – including the 16 handicap races, and the controversial issue of providing financial support to the elite competitors participating in championship events.

In November 1970 the DTC and the Colorado TC began meeting to discuss a possible merger of the two clubs. The first two meetings were unproductive in coming to any agreement because of incompatible club “goals and objectives”. The Colorado TC was directed toward supporting track and field meets, while the DTC (also operating under a second sanctioning name of the Rocky Mountain Road Runners) was promoting long distance running, race walking, and handicap racing. Or so they thought. A  third meeting was held to see if a compromise could be reached. The meeting turned ugly with name calling and “overt criticism” of club members. However this was all within the DTC, with the Colorado TC sitting idly by probably thinking why would we want to be associated with these guys. The rife involved polarization within the club between groups oriented toward race walking, track and field, and long distance road running. That old ugly issue of financially supporting the elite clubs members at the expense of the majority came to a head, particularly for race walkers. This sounds like what revolutions are made of! That’s exactly what happened. The club basically split apart with some of the club officers resigning and the remaining members organizing under a new direction. By December 1970 the young rebels had gained control of the ship and the newsletter. Oh, the power of the pen! The December newsletter included a copy of a new concept for the club, called THE CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS to take effect January 1, 1971. This was issued by resolution or proclamation, and not by vote until a year later. The first and part of the second Articles of the New Constitution are quoted below:

Article I Name – Rocky Mt. Road Runners, formerly the Denver Track Club

Article II Purpose – To foster, develop, and perpetuate, for all persons of all ages of both sexes, physical fitness and well being by running for fun and for competition. Two program areas will be sponsored by the RMRR which are: (1) Long distance running, (2) Handicap program. The programs will abide by AAU Rules…..

Other sections of the constitution reduced the annual dues from $10 to $5. Where else have we heard about taxation without consent of the majority leading to a revolution? In reality a majority of the club members remained with the new organization. This was the beginning of the club as it exists today.

Part 4: 1971-1975 The Start of the Growth Years

Part 3 of the history series described the sudden formation of the RMRR at the end of 1970. Art Caldwell took over as president and held that position for three years until he left Colorado after a Martin Marietta layoff. The race program management was under the control of Dennis Kavanaugh. They were regularly assisted by Treasurer Dave Daubert, who was a Denver Police Officer. With the club under their competent and energetic leadership, the club entered into a lengthy period of continued growth. This period also corresponded to the early stages of the running craze that was to sweep the country for over a decade.

1971: During the first year of the club’s existence, the total budget was $898.63. The majority of this was spent for trophies and awards for club sponsored races. The annual club racing schedule was centered around the 16 handicap races, and numerous scratch and RMAAU events. The Denver Mile High Marathon was first held in 1971. There was a supporting four race series of 5, 10, 15 and 20 miles. All five of these races were to become popular events with good participation for many years. In 1971 the first Mt. Evans Trophy Run was organized by Roger Gerard. The race was won by Zepher Isley. The Mt. Evans races are still some of the more memorable races in my past. Like Pikes Peak, they were frequently more of an internal struggle than a race.

1972: The first ever RMRR race (and probably Colorado road race) with 100 runners was the June 1972 2-Mile Handicap Race at Berkeley Park. The fastest finisher was John Lunn in 9:38, pretty fast huh! This was followed by a new Colorado record of 132 runners in the national AAU 15 kilometer championship in August 1972. Long time RMRR member Jerry Wischmeyer won the October 1972 3-Mile Handicap race, and he is still running strong as a member of the club today. Way to go, Jerry.

1973: Due to the increasing number of club sponsored races, as well as the rapidly increasing number of race participants the functions of the race directors were becoming more time consuming. In addition, finding sufficient volunteers to direct all of the races was becoming a bigger problem. Effective Jan. 1, 1973, club rules were instituted that require each of the previous year’s handicap trophy series winners to be responsible for directing a club race the following year. To offset the opposition to this new rule, all race directors and nonrunning officials automatically received ½ of the total possible handicap points for that race. (Race scoring at that time was quite different than today, with the number of possibly points related to the total number of runners.)

In June 1973, the current and inactive former RMRR membership roll increased above 100 for the first time, at 104. (The active dues paying membership rose above 100 for the first time in 1974.) In August 1973, 247 runners participated in the Pikes Peak Marathon, becoming a new Colorado record as the largest race held in the state.

In December 1973, AAU notified the RMRR that less than 25% of the membership were AAU card carrying members and that club members would no longer be eligible for participation in AAU sanctioned races unless RMRR obtained a blanket AAU sanction status. The club applied for and obtained AAU membership and sanctioning of all 1974 races. The club did not renew its membership in 1975, instead we joined with the Road Runners Club of America in 1975, never to be affiliated with AAU again.

1974: Beginning in 1974, the handicap race series was changed from a 16 race format to the 12 race format that exists today. The scoring system was also revised at that time to the system that exists today. Most of the handicap scoring at that time was done through the efforts of Tom Baily. We owe thanks to Tom for putting the original system together. A new scoring change was also attempted in 1974 where only a runner’s best 10 of the 12 races would be counted for points. This attempt met with such confusion and opposition early in the year because it meant that no one really knew any meaningful standing until after the end of the December race. This type of scoring system was dropped early in 1974 and has never been attempted again. (Editor’s note: RMRR currently does use the best 10 out of 12 race scoring system.)

1975: The 50 mile Boulder Dash held on June 15, 1975 was probably the first ultra marathon race held in Colorado. The race went from CSU to CU campus. Three individuals finished the race, as well as some relay teams. The first RMRR 150 participant handicap race was the 5 Km July 1975 race.

Part 5: 1976-1980, The Big Growth Years

This five year period saw the largest growth in the club’s history. The active membership role went from topping 100 for the first time in 1974 to pushing 1000 active members by the end of the decade. (The magic 1000 active member level would finally be reached for the first time in 1984.) During this period of growth, the club was blessed with strong leadership from our presidents. Ed Hagerman led the club for two terms in 1974-1975. Buzz Yancy was a very enthusiastic and inspiring leader for three terms from 1977-1979. Those around in this era learned that there was “no such thing as good enough” if you planned on meeting the standards set by Buzz first for himself and second for the club. In 1980 the club was under the leadership of Lucho Van Dyke. During much of this era Bill Michaels volunteered significant amounts of time and efforts as Vice-President of Events and Vice-President for Sponsored Races. In this capacity Bill performed the functions of several of our current committee chairpersons.

1976: Bob King became the first person to break the 900 point barrier in the handicap trophy series with a winning total of 929 points. Two other runners also broke the 900 point barrier that year.

1977:  The long standing $5.00 individual membership dues rate was raised to $10.00 at the end of the 1977 calendar year. The family rate was increased to $15.00 per year. This was the first increase since the controversy over the proposed high dues ($10 per year) that contributed to the parent club split in 1970.

1978: The T-shirt of the month is currently awarded by the club to recognize outstanding volunteer efforts by individual members. Years ago, this award was given to a member for various types of outstanding achievement, volunteer efforts, or most any noteworthy running related activity. The January 1978 award was made based upon one of these noteworthy activities. Tom Crump had completed his warm up for one of the Arapahoe Series races and removed his sweat suit for the start of the race when he “felt a rather brisk breeze. He looked down to view the situation and, that’s right folks, discovered he had forgotten to include a certain item of dress”. Further quoting the newsletter about the award, it was “no big thing”.

The smallest margin of victory in the handicap trophy series was recorded in 1978. Ken Prince (892.3 points) edged out Rod Butler by 0.9 points. Rod could be heard for months saying if he had only passed one more person during any race that year he would have won. In the words of Allen Carlson, after scoring the third highest handicap score ever recorded up to that time in the 1982 series with 964.2 points – and only finishing third that year, “You pay your money and you take your chances”.

1979: The largest and probably the finest road racing field ever assembled in Colorado up to that time participated in the July 1979 Diet Pepsi 10K at Washington Park. For those of you who were not involved in the running scene back then, this race was part of a big time national series of races. There were 3,653 entrants that included the likes of Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, Garry Bjorklund, Dick Quax, and James Rotich of Kenya. When the smoke cleared, Frank Shorter was the winner and a local 21 year old favorite Jon Sinclair was second. Winning time, 29:17.

Wade Biggs won the 1979 handicap trophy series with 888.0 points by a 53.8 point margin. The noteworthy thing of his victory was that he was the first and only person to win the series while only running 11 of the 12 scheduled races.

Part 6: 1980-1985, The End of the Big Growth Years

Membership in the club continued to grow during this five year period, however, there was a definite decline in the growth rate relative to the previous five year period. There was no shortage of outstanding volunteer leadership from club members during this time. Bill Reef served as president in 1981-1982, John Cable in 1983 and Richard Friedman in 1984-1985. All three of these guys stand out, by my standards, as exceptional leaders. They had a lot of help during this era from Gary Dickinson and Dick Van Wagenen.

1980: The 1980 handicap trophy series was the only family sweep in the series history. Through the June race, long time member Ed Gussie, his 13 year old son Jeff, and 11 year old daughter Kim were dominating the top three positions. Kim broke her arm in a roller skating accident in June and the trio were separated by the end of the year. Father Ed came out on top of the standings 28 points ahead of Jeff, who finished second. Kim ended up in the seventh place for the year. The Gussie family is the only family to place three members in the top ten in the same year.

1981: The RMRR membership was shocked to learn that avid supporter Dr. Frank McCabe was bed-ridden after being diagnosed with cancer. Dr. McCabe had always admired and encouraged vitality, endurance and physical fitness, but did not start long distance running until he was about 50. Frank assisted others in founding such mountain races as the Idaho Springs to Central City, Como to Breckenridge, and Mt. Evans. He was a regular at triathlons and major events such as Pike’s Peak, Mt. Evans and Boston.

The May 1981 Mile High Marathon illustrated the expanding participation and outstanding performances that were regularly occurring in the early 1980’s. There were 1900 participants in the marathon with a new women’s state record of 2:54:32 by Debbie Anderson, a men’s masters record of 2:34:48 by Ken Schei, and Bob Shopnitz set a state wheelchair record of 2:49:24.

RMRR member Bob Poppe, age 59, ran his 100th marathon at Gage Oklahoma on May 23.

1982: The longest RMRR newsletters every published were the 26 page monsters edited by Charles Jordan in 1982. You needed several cool ones to get through the newsletters in those days.

We have all heard or know of running compatriots that have died of cardiac arrest while running. The most tragic event for the RMRR occurred during the May 1982 handicap race. Club activist Rich Klassen fell with an apparent heart attack during the last mile of the 9 mile race.

1983: One of our former traditions was the annual Left Foot Award given each year to runners who completed all 12 handicap trophy series races but still did not collect one of the trophies. In 1983, LaRee Morris was the lone winner. In accomplishing this special feat she won one of the individual races and was in the top 15 ribbon places in 2 others. Even with these accomplishments she managed to stay out of the trophy standings. I never understood how she did it.

1984: The club first reached the 1000 active member plateau during 1984. Membership would continue to grow for a few more years, then started declining rapidly.

March 1984 saw the introduction of our current folded booklet newsletter format.

1985: For the first 25 years of the club, we were lead by unpaid volunteers. By 1985, the club’s local presence had expanded into most of the major area events including the Mile High Marathon, Governor’s Cup, Denver Symphony Run, Cherry Creek Sneak, and the Bolder Boulder. In addition, the club was seriously debating entering into the already competitive local professional race management business in Denver. As a result of all these and other factors, the club embarked upon a new direction and created the executive director position. Former club president Bill Reef was hired for this position. The formation of this paid position was a significant new direction for our club, or for that matter any running club. Bell held the position for four years before moving on.

Part 7: 1986-1995, The 90's

This will be the final part of the series of articles covering the history of the club. Since a higher percentage of the current members are familiar with the more recent years of the club’s history, I have grouped the last 10 years together in this final article.

The mid to latter 1980’s saw a national trend toward the end of the big growth years in health and fitness organizations, including most running clubs. Do you remember the sudden growth and rapid disappearance of health clubs during this same period? The RMRR membership fell off rapidly from a peak level above 1000 in the mid-1980’s to approximately half that number by 1990. Bill Carey has been closely monitoring the trend during the last several years. The trend appears to have become fairly stable during the last 5 to 7 years.

1986: The Trophy Series races were expanded in 1986 to include the highest cumulative scoring for fastest female and male scratch time runners. Cheryl Beckwith won the first women’s title. This was the first of three consecutive titles for her – pretty impressive since no one else has ever repeated as a winner. Hal Wheatley won the first ever men’s fastest scratch time title.

1987: This year saw further expansion of the Trophy Series races by the addition of a Racewalkers category for all races of 10k and shorter. Bob Carlson, age 63 at the time, won the men’s scratch time Racewalkers division and Alice Bagley, at an age more mature than Bob’s, won the women’s scratch time Racewalkers division for the year. What is this myth that says younger aged people are suppose to win the scratch times titles?

At the January race Betty Willis completed her 73 consecutive Trophy Series race and surpassed Bill Michaels’ former record of 72 consecutive races. Betty would go on to complete 88 consecutive races.

1988: The 1988 (December 1988) Christmas Party and Awards Banquet was the largest ever to that date. The activities and large participation at this Banquet paralleled the peaking of our club membership and reflected the departure of several long standing club leaders. Part of the activities included recognition of the departure of Bill Reef (after four years as Executive Director of the club) and John Cable moving on after years of volunteer service to the club. The resolute runner award was renamed the John Cable Resolute runner Award in recognition of all of his previous efforts. I remember Chuck Thies and myself looking at each other and discussing how difficult it would be to replace these two work horses. Fortunately for everyone, Nancy Van Dore took over as President and Chair of the Board and was a fantastic motivator and leader directing the club into something similar to our current configuration and format. For those of you who never knew Nancy, she was just a great person to be around and to work with as she led the club into the 1990’s.

1989: The 12 race Trophy Series was reduced to 11 races because of a snow storm during the Waterton Canyon race. This is one of only two times that I know of a RMRR sponsored race was cancelled because of weather. (There was a third race that was stopped in mid-race because of weather that I remember very well.) Patrick Kamins won the series this year by a 129.3 point margin, the largest margin ever.

Certain individuals stand out for consistent volunteer work during this period. No one will probably ever know how many hours Jim Fuller gave to the club while expanding and updating the computerization of race scoring and the membership database. Add to that his volunteer time while performing the month by month scoring of races for years. In the most recent years, the club has benefited from several husband & wife teams such as Bruce and Mary Ann Plocher, Phil and Kathy Leyva, Harry and Lo Over, and Dan and Donna Baxter. More recently Bill Carey has stepped forward to guide the club after several years of considerable amounts of supporting volunteer work. Somehow, some way, no matter how many former key leaders leave us and move on to other things in their lives, someone new surfaces into the positions of leadership. My bet and hope is that this will continue for a long time to come.   

Thank you from all of us.