The Harrisburg Area Road Runners Club (HARRC) has been my running club for over 40 years. There have since been a number of splinter groups, online running groups, running training groups organized by local running stores, Still, HARRC has been the mainstay and the group that welcomed me in as a runner when I didn’t know (and still sometimes don’t know) what I was doing.

HARRC inducted five members into its running Hall of Fame. The inductees are individually and collectively a revered group.

They included Rick Blood, the man who set the standard for the Harrisburg Marathon (HM) with a time of 2:21 in 1981 (Though many have tried to surpass that record, it stands to this day); Carroll Myers who ran the HM 22 times finishing first woman 6 times, her first at age 19 and a best HM time of 2:44 at age 27; Nick Marshall, first president of HARRC 50 years ago and a man who would ultimately be named to the American Ultrarunning Association Hall of Fame in 2017; Walt Greene, another charter member and early organizer of HARRC served as race director of the HM for more years than I can count and ran it himself six times with a best of 3:05, a time he bettered at the Boston Marathon; and Park Barner who has run more HMs than any other participant, provided course measurement certification to meet Boston Marathon qualifying standards for many races, ran an incredible number of miles in ultramarathons and was inducted in the American Ultrarunning Hall of Fame in 2012.

Pages could be written about each of these Hall of Famers, both as athletes and as generally great people.

Over 50 years ago, HARRC created the Harrisburg Marathon and almost simultaneously established HARRC as a member of the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA). Ten years later, HARRC had become the center of the running world in Central Pennsylvania, promoting running through its Sunday runs open to all, and adding to the HM, the many 5K and 10K races it hosted.

When the early ’80s brought me to the Harrisburg area, my only running background was an occasional jaunt down the street for fresh air. One Sunday, I happened to see a brief article in the Harrisburg Patriot, inviting new runners to join HARRC for a Sunday run and to learn about the club. I took them up on the invitation. It was the beginning of a learning curve in running and the beginning of many friendships. Both have stood the test of time.

Had I been aware of the depth of talent in the HARRC community, I probably would have been too timide to join in that first Sunday run. What amazes me now is the lack of any judgement on a newcomer who ran like a turtle and was slow to pick up the now familiar lingo in the running world. The photo above from HARRC’S 8th Annual Kipona 10K in 1981 was likely my first or second race.

Like most club members, I began to volunteer in different roles. Course monitor at mile 17 for a frigid November marathon, sure. Work packet pickup and registration, sure. Help out at the food table, sure. Organize and host a couple of Marathon pasta dinners, sure. Join the board, sure.

Every run and every volunteer job, I was learning. Running has always brought me joy, but at HARRC I also learned the joy of competition. It took a couple of years to get there, but I increased my distance to 1/2 marathons and finally to marathon distance, then a couple of ultras.

Those volunteer stints enabled me to move into a race director role and ultimately provide insight to other beginning race directors when asked.

So, a final shout-out to you HARRC Hall of Famers and all the club members who made Harrisburg the running mecca it became. You built a foundation that continues to reverberate through the streets of our city when any Saturday or Sunday morning, runners are making their way down Riverfront Park and across the Susquehanna bridges. HARRC is my running home.