Les James is a gal who trusts her instincts. After high school, she left her home in Louisville, Kentucky for Smith College in Massachusetts without once visiting the campus.  Looking at the marketing brochures alone instilled James with the unshakable belief it was the place for her.  “I knew instantly," she says.  "It wasn't until my Mom and I drove up the weekend before classes started that I realized it was the lesbian capital of the world!"  (Good instincts, indeed.)

James felt that same immediate connection when she bumped into a few rowdy Front Runner women at Cubby Hole late last December.  Accompanying a straight friend on assignment for Cosmo.com, James was not looking for a life-altering event on that fateful evening.  But Mickey Comerford and Sarah Whitcomb proved as strong an advertising tool as those Smith brochures. "I had no idea there was a running club for GLBT people and was instantly hooked," says James.  After a week of nervous anticipation, James made her Front Runner debut on January 5th of this year.  True to form, James followed her gut and quickly made a name for herself within the organization.  This spring she dug her FRNY heels in deeper by becoming co-director of the club's Charitable Foundation with Patty Sequeira. 

Athletics and activism have been continuous threads in James's life.  Growing up she played basketball and field hockey but was also active in the GLBT scene at Atherton High School.  “I started a Gay-Straight Alliance at my high school,” she says, “which aimed to give GLBT students and their allies a safe space to congregate and build community.”  James emphasizes that the outreach at Saturday morning bagels beats those high school showings of “The Times of Harvey Milk.”  Needless to say, the seeds of leadership were germinating in James from very early on.    

For the first time in her life, James did not pursue organized sports her freshman year at Smith.  She was soon sucked into the bleak undertow of the Northampton winter.  Running buoyed her.  “It seemed like a good way to get the endorphins pumping and overcome the winter blues,” she says.  A senior from her hall helped James, who was still unaccustomed to running, improve her conditioning.  In her initial jogs, James could not even finish a mile without stopping.  Her patience and perseverance paid off, and she soon grew to love the sport.  Two years later, while studying abroad in Paris, James would successfully complete the Paris marathon.  “The images I have of Paris while running that race are something that I will never forget,” she adds.

Despite such running accomplishments, James, like many women and men before her, felt very intimidated and vulnerable walking down those long flights of stairs to Rutgers on her first Saturday.  “I have always felt a little insecure about my running abilities,” admits James, “and felt like I was going to embarrass myself in front of all these people.”  The warmth and collegiality of the club immediately dispelled her fears, and she now considers herself part of a real community.  “When I moved to New York City a year ago, I could count on one hand the number of gay friends I had,” she says.  “Now I have a great group of people that I see at least once a week.”

Feeling such gratitude can inspire a person to give back.  James volunteered to be co-director of the Charitable Foundation because she wanted to expand her role in Front Runners and because she sensed that with its current pool of talented and enthusiastic members, the club could do truly great things within the GLBT community in New York. 

The Charitable Foundation was founded by FRNY during quite a different period in club, and in gay, history.  The foundation began as an ad hoc response to the acute AIDS crisis that plagued the club during its first ten years, with members providing vital assistance to their teammates who were dying of AIDS.  In the early 90s, Front Runners galvanized to help Guy Zelenak, one of the club's most giving and beloved members (in whose memory FRNY gives its annual volunteer award), in his battle with the disease.  “Guy was in the hospital a fairly long time and many members would visit Guy on a daily basis,” remembers Gary Apruzzese, a former FRNY president and a founding member of the Charitable Foundation.  “They would bring race numbers, T-shirts and medals – the wall in his room was covered.” 

Seeing more and more friends, family and teammates suffer alone and without financial resources, Front Runners decided to formalize its response.  Greg Valerie, club president in 1992 when the foundation formed, suggested modeling the foundation after one started by Boston Front Runners, which supported AIDS organizations through funds generated by its Yuletide Stride.  FRNY extended the mission of its foundation to include other life-threatening diseases, such as breast cancer, but kept the tradition of giving holiday gift baskets to organizations in need.

Many newer club members are blessed never to have witnessed the ravages of AIDS first hand.  But with that great privilege comes an equally great responsibility to those who were not as lucky.  Knowing this, James wants to honor the original mission of the Charitable Foundation while also extending its reach within today's gay community—not just during the holiday season but throughout the year.  “I would like to see the Charitable Foundation participate in youth mentoring and outreach programs, particularly for GLBTQ youth,” she says, “and to give back to the NYC parks we frequent and also partner with organizations like God's Love We Deliver.”

Actively involved with JPMorgan's Global Pride Networking group, James definitely has the analytical and organizational skills to increase the visibility and purpose of the Charitable Foundation.  Front Runners has evolved and thrived over the last three decades through the energy and talents of new members like James.  So trust those instincts, Les! 

-Rob Lennon

Random Data

Desert Island iTunes – Tiger Lou: “The Loyal,” The Best of Everything But The Girl, and the Philadelphia Soundtrack.

A Scoop of You? – Les would be the flavor Mint Chocolate Chip (“traditional but not boring – a refreshing zesty taste”)

Racing Goals – Breaking 34 minutes in a 4-miler and finishing the Queens or Staten Island Half Marathon in under 1 hour 57 minutes

What's She Reading? – Currently enjoying David Sedaris's “When You Are Engulfed in Flames” and Michael Pollan's “The Omnivore's Dilemma” (incidentally, many FRs have cited this as a good read)

Surprising Fact – “I used to be pretty shy and quiet.  Well, that and I love to shop.”