Front Runners Dallas

Result:

Rick Wilson — Half Marathon — 1:56:29

Liz Spector — Half Marathon — 2:20:48

Relay Team — Five Alive! with Bryce Summers, Don Gore, Gunes Bender, Randy McKinley and Lyle Shipton (C)  — Finish time: 03:30:54. Top 10 in open male group

Relay Team — Rainbow Express with Lin Wang, Matt Mather, Alfred Brown, Greg Brow (C) and Dave Collins — Finish time: 03:31:07.

The two relay teams had one of the most intense competition you could ever imagine. Both crossed the half way point at exactly the same time, and team 5 Alive! claimed the victory against team Rainbow Express by 13 seconds, or merely 0.1% advantage.

Congratulations!

It is inevitable that we always bring much more food in any party than what we can eat. But at the minimum, we can coordinate our effort by diversifying our dishes. Please help fill the poll and try to avoid to choose a category which has already been claimed by multiple persons! Thank you.

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Despite the rain, the FIRST EVER Dallas Pride Run 5K race went very well under cool weather. Many have PRed in the race. There are 225 registered runners and 154 finishers.

Here is a list of finish time of our members:

Andrew Bottomley 18:25.6 (3rd place overall)

Raul Martinez 20:33.5 (Houston Front Runners)

Don Gore 22:02.3

Bryce Summers 23:10.0

Matthew Mather 23:33.1

Mark Gorka 23:33.4 (Were they two running side by side?)

David Brackus 25:28.8 (Houston Front Runners)

Sam Seeger 25:59.9

Allan Wood 27:54.4

Dale Robinston 28:01.4

Congratulations to all!

Thank you to Charles Dosher, Gunes Benders, Scott Lober, Chris Mabile, Allan Wood, Dale Robinson from our club for volunteering! Special thanks to our DJ, Greg Brown!

 
The inaugural Dallas Pride Run on Local Channel 4 News.

@Start line

Dear members,

As you have probably heard from the news, there were three robberies last weekend on/along Katy Trail, specifically targeting runners and walkers. One of them happened at the Blackburn entrance, which is only a few hundred feet away from the Hall Street entrance which we normally use.

I am sure that the security will increase in the near future. And the robbers will probably not act again very soon. However, it is not the group run during the peak time that I am worried about because I know many of you run alone during the week. Please take the following advices when you run alone, especially during the off peak time.

1. Be aware of what’s around you when you approach the trail. In all three cases, the robberies happened not on the trail, but off the trail.
2. Try to leave your valuable property at home or hide them in the car. One of the targeted items in the robberies is iPhone. I know it has some wonderful app to track the distance and speed, but perhaps you are familiar with the trail enough that all you need is a simple watch.
3.   Lastly, if possible, run with a pal. It is unlikely that robbers will approach a group. You can always post something on facebook and invite others to join your run.

As for the group run, I think we will easily outnumber most robbers. So relax and waddle on!

I had the opportunity to run last Saturday in Philly with Philadelphia Front Runners.  It was a beautiful morning along Schuylkill River. Many college boating teams were busy carrying boats in the famous boathouse row. Many more runners were stretching in front of Lloyd Hall, where Philly Front Runners meet. I was greeted by Marty, whom I ran with later.

Philly FrontRunners have been running for three decades. One of the original members, Kevin, is still active with the group and ran a super fast 5 miler that morning. Although the group peaked in the 90′s, according to Marty, currently they are a fairly small but steady group. On that particular morning, there were 8 people (including me) showing up.

Unlike Front Runners Dallas, Philly group currently are exclusively male runners. It reminds me of Pittsburgh Front Runners in which dedicated runners who love socialize and food form the core group.

Baseball and swimming are big in Philly gay sport. Running, in general, has also picked up the trend, partially due to the dramatic increase in population that live in the center city.When I ran Philly Marathon in 2005, there were only 8000 runners and at least half of them ran the 8K. Now the annual marathon has joined the super sized marathon league.

The trail is mostly asphalt, although part of it has a separate trail with crushed limestone. It is mostly flat, with gorgeously river view and spring flowers.

Like Katy trail, the trail can be used as an out and back trail with 2.5 miles marker as the turning point. If one wants to run further, an eight-mile loop can be made by running along both sides of the river through a bridge connection.

Philly is one of the most walkable cities in the world. A different run on early weekend morning can be arranged by touring around major sight seeing such as society hill, city hall, penn landing, fairmont etc. Next time you are in Philly, make sure to contact with the local front runners and you will be received with their brotherly love!

Although it is likely that we will use the current logo, nothing is set to stone. So here are a few options, please cast your vote on facebook And if possible, please leave your additional comments and thoughts. Logo will be finalized before the end of April. Then our first batch of postcards will arrive soon.

Please consider this is a race for mostly runners, not just GLBT community. Also please consider that the logo will be used for both printed pamphlet and t shirts.

A. Current logo.

B. Rainbow Sky

C. Rainbow Reunion Tower

D. Pegasus in Rainbow Reunion Tower

E. Rainbow Trinity River

Call for volunteers who can join me to form a Front Runners Dallas Race Committee for the Dallas Pride Run.

I will take the race director position. But there are four other positions that you can help. Feel free to ask me about the detail. Also one position can be shared by multiple people if you feel that you alone cannot meet the demand. I will be behind all four positions, and will back all your effort.
1. Volunteer Liaison Chair

• Update the list of volunteers from other organizations to manage four areas: start/finish line water station, midpoint water station, food/snack station and race day registration/package pick-up.
• Keep communicating with volunteers through emails and phone (on race day)
• Send volunteers directions and instructions before the race day
• Designate an coordinator from each volunteer area and maintain constant communication on the race day
• Respond to special need requested by the race director on the race day

Note: Volunteer Liaison Chair will not be able to run in the race.

2. Vendor Liaison Chair

• Maintain constant communication with different vendors (in particular, the race management company and the city Park and Recreation Dept)
• Maintain itemized race day equipment/supply list and check with different vendors through the race preparation
• Instruct vendors about race day logistics (when, where, what, how much)
• Help vendors setup before the race

Note: Vendor Liaison Chair may participate the race. Contract/payment is not part of scopes for the vendor liaison chair.

3. Start/Finish Line Chair

• Start/Finish Line Chair works as the vice race director throughout the event
• Respond to ad hoc requests on the race day
• Work closely with the race director and race management company on timing/course/equipment/volunteers/result
• Help instruct the runners on start-up issues (bathroom, parking, pickup, start-line etc)
• Help move the flow after the race

Note: Start/Finish Line Chair must not participate the race.

4. PR/Communication Chair

• Maintain website content update (especially sponsors page)
• Maintain positive outreaching through social media
• Reach out other running group (DRC, RAW, other front runners group etc)
• Design pamphlets for distribution
• Write press release
• Website building experience preferred
• Social media guru preferred
• Race day photograph (not during the race)

Note: PR/Communication Chair may participate the race.

Lincoln is the second largest city in the state of Nebraska; yet I have never given any thought of Nebraska until when I visited my friend last weekend. “Lincoln is small, so everything is within reach.” my friend commented about the city. That of course includes running trails.

In fact, Lincoln, a city with a quarter million population, outshines Dallas with respect to the running trail system. The city has more than 80 miles of commuter trails, including 11 miles of crushed limestone surface, the best kind for running.

I love Katy, yet I do think the soft surface is too costly to make the trail extended the whole way to the White Rock Lake. And ask any seasoned runner, no one would prefer concrete surface, which is scheduled to be used to link the current Katy trail to the White Rock Lake in future. Crushed limestone on dirt road has enough traction, cushion and even fun for outdoor running. Back in Pittsburgh, the 20+ mile-long Montour trail, transformed from the railroad track (just like Katy), is all crushed limestone covered. I had many great runs there.

My friend lives next to the Holmes Lake, which has one of the most beautiful trails of the city. It is like a mini version of the White Rock Lake trail except you are always next to the water and the whole loop is only 2.31 miles.

It was quite windy last Sunday. And I defied my friend’s suggestion that I should take the defined trail. Instead, I wanted to make it longer. That, unfortunately, required to run on different unexpected surfaces for the first two miles, from grassy pedestrian roads to a golf course.

Near the end, I was on the levee of the lake. The sun came out yet the temperature was still in the lower 50′s.  I didn’t feel tired at all. The scene kind of reminded me of the levee along Regal Row which is said to be converted into a six-lane toll road based on the city’s plan. Hadn’t we had enough highways that isolate different neighborhoods and deprive our need to connect through foot? “In the middle of nowhere”, as illustrated from my great run in Lincoln, can be far more dangerous if individuals are stuck in seas of traffic of the metro DFW.

On behalf of IFC Films, we would like to welcome the members of Front Runners Dallasto attend a FREE advance screening of the documentary film HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGE (Synopsis below), hosted by the USA Film Festival. Director David France will be in attendance for a Q & A following the screening. We would like to offer you complimentary passes to the screening on

Wednesday April 25th at 6:45 PM

At

Angelika Film Center

5321 East Mockingbird Lane  

Dallas, TX

SYNOPSIS:

Faced with their own mortality, an improbable group of mostly HIV positive young men and women broke the mold as radical warriors taking on Washington and the medical establishment.  “How to Survive a Plague” is the story of two coalitions — ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) — whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition.  Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time.  Having pursued and unearthed a treasure trove of never-before-seen archival footage from the 1980s and ’90s, director David France’s immersive, powerful film puts the viewer smack in the middle of the controversial actions, the heated meetings, the heartbreaking failures, and the exultant breakthroughs of heroes in the making. Director David France will be in attendance to introduce the film and will host a Q & A following the screening.