During this pre-AIDS era, Malcolm Robinson founded Front Runners New York after learning San Francisco had just formed the first lesbian & gay focused running club. At this time, Jimmy Carter was president, Martina Navratilova was winning tennis grand slam championships, Star Wars series and ET were movie hits, and Michael Jackson just released "Thriller".
Below is a first-hand account of what past club president Steven Gerben remembers of the beginnings of Front Runners New York:
When I became president in January, 1981, the club had about 35 members. By the end of my last term in 1985, there were over 400 members. The club was a combination of social & serious runners, with many participating in races. (To the right is a photo from one of the Central Park fun runs in 1980. On the bottom row are Guy Zelenak, Mark Mascolini, and Malcolm Robinson.)
Our most prominent member was Sue Foster, who regularly placed among the top women finishers. The one thing that really distinguished us from the other clubs was our sponsorship of a race, beginning in 1982, called the Gay Pride Run. In fact, Sue, who was FRNY Women's VP at the time, was the first female finisher of the first New York City Gay Pride Run. Also, Sue was nominated as top runner in her age group several times by the NYRRC. (Sue is pictured to the left after her 1st place finish at the first Front Runners New York Lesbian & Gay Pride Run in 1982. If you look closely, volunteer Guy Zelenak is in the background. Yes, that t-shirt is 100% cotton; there were no dri-fit or coolmax running t-shirts back then.)
We had a Saturday AM & Wednesday PM fun run, and a once a month fun run on Sundays that was held in different parts of the city & suburbs. Social activities included parties, musical events, theatre, etc. One of the most memorable events was a benefit for Gay Men's Health Crisis, in 1982 or 1983, that was a performance of the Ringling Bros Circus at Madison Square Garden. They bought out the entire performance and we had almost 200 seats. It was an incredible night. We volunteered at the Mile 24 water station of the New York City marathon every year, even to this day. (Pictured above are FRNY members at the Mile 24 water station of NYC Marathon back in 1982.)
I believe the basic dues was $10, later raised to $15. We made up a brochure describing club activities & put them in bars, restaurants, and clubs to help advertise and promote our running club throughout New York City.
