History of the Tidewater Striders, 1977-1981

1977 Introduction by Mel Williamsclub had a debt of $391, which consisted mainly of ex- Raymond Ochs, in his History of the Tidewater Striders, penses owed to a sporting goods company for shirts and noted that by August the club had 116 members, which trophies. Several club members, particularly Grey and included 24 females. As the number of members in the Bocrie, donated funds to the club to help pay expenses. Tidewater Striders continued to increase, the governance The following line actually appeared in the flyer for the of the club would gradually evolve. Northwest River 9-mile race that year: Club Operations ENTRY FEE: Entry fee will consist of $2.00 donation Perusal of the newsletter for this year revealed only two to the poor Tidewater Striders. officers: However, the future looked bright. Later in the year the President –Don Grey president noted that the Shamrock Marathon may become a prominent East Coast event and will afford the club sub- President-elect – Bob Jennings stantial financial benefits as this was to be the last year the However, recall from the previous year that the President- Rotarians will be involved in its production. elect was to serve as the secretary. No mention of a trea- A general meeting of the club convened in February. The surer was uncovered. Don Grey served as president until club, which had been meeting monthly, decided to meet August, resigning because of heavy business responsibili- bimonthly in the future. General meetings continued to ties and the feeling he could not devote sufficient attention be held at Old Dominion University, with a morning run to the club. Bob Jennings, the president-elect, assumed the before the meeting. In April, under the direction of Presi- position for the remainder of the year. dent Grey, the club held its first annual Strider banquet at In the September issue of the newsletter, a president’s mes- the Pine Tree Inn in Virginia Beach, and all club members sage noted that the club is going through a period of transi- were invited. The speaker was Robert Boal, a professor tion, mainly changing its leadership organization from the and runner from North Carolina State University. current one to one of governing by council, similar to the way local city governments are run. Subsequently, in the Newsletter December general meeting, from a list of 20 nominees the Carl Griffler continued to serve as editor of the newsletter, following nine members were elected to the new council: and over the course of the year its title would vary, includ- Jerry Bocrie, Ron Brinster, Connie Ellis, Charlie George, ing Strider News, Strider’s News, and The Strider News. A Maria George, Bob Jennings, Ken Lampert, Rudi Schus- total of six newsletters were published this year. President ter, and Mel Williams. Jennings served as editor for the November issue. Jordan Levitin, in his History of Walking in the Tidewater At the December meeting of the club, Jennings suggested Striders, noted that the first meeting of the Striders Ex- the newsletter develop a stylized heading and be called ecutive Council was held on December 22, 1977, at the the Striders Times. However, the name was not changed president’s home. The council consisted of the president, in 1978. vice president, treasurer, recording secretary, membership As noted, the newsletter began to profile key Strider mem- chairman, publicity chairman, women’s representative, bers last year, and several club members were profiled meet coordinator and assistant meet coordinator. in the newsletter this year. The February issue profiled Dues for members at the beginning of the year were $4.50 Dr. Rudy Schuster, who competed in the 50 and over age for individuals and $10 for family, which increased to group. Schuster was noted for recently finishing two mara- $5 and $10, respectively, on February 28. Unfortunately, thons, the New York City and Marine Corps, within two Ochs noted that things weren’t going so great for the club weeks. The May issue featured Monica George, who was financially. The club had only $205 in the bank and the about to turn age 15 and has been running for five years. - 13 - Monica has run in many club races, as well as for Kemps- • The Tidewater Striders 6-kilometer run, formerly a ville Junior High School, and recently ran the mile in 5:45. 5-kilometer run, was held in May. Diane Hastell was In the November issue, edited by Jennings, the newslet- the first woman with a time of 28:18 and Ken Lampert ter profiled Jerry Bocrie, who was identified as “The Fa- was the first male with a time of 18:43. ther of the Tidewater Striders Track Club.” Bocrie was • In the Sandbridge Trail Run, Ken Lambert won with a the driving force behind the formation and operation of time of 33:32 and Claire Griffler was the first female the club in its early years, and was the creator of many of with a time of 48:49. the areas key races, including the Shamrock Marathon and th the Elizabeth River Run. Jennings also highlighted some • The 5 Annual 24-hour Relay was again held at Fore- of Bocrie’s running accomplishments, including being a man Field in June. The team, Willey’s Sporting Goods, former national class 440-yard runner, finishing the Bos- set a new record of 261 miles for the event. The team ton Marathon near three hours, and completing the JFK members, several of whom were Striders, included 50-miler. Jennings writes with humor as well, noting that Ed Lee, Len Phelps, Harold Goldsbury, Alan Carwile, Bocrie is probably one of the most infectious carriers of Randy Cook, Gary Rowell, Guy Crane, and Gene the disease known as runmania. Jennings knew by per- Crane. Robbie White and Steve Sawyer started, but sonal experience, indicating that he caught the disease and dropped out due to injuries. went from someone who thought that a marathon was a • The summer track meet, again with a complete sched- candy bar to someone who has run in and finished the Bos- ule of track and field events, was held at Indian River ton Marathon. High School in Chesapeake. The 1977 archives contain Besides listing local running events, the newsletter would the then current records for each age group scheduled also contain pages of upcoming regional and national run- for each event, including the year the record was set. ning events over the next six months or so, which was a • The Portsmouth City Park Run was held in September. reprint from the Virginia Masters Newsletter. It was one of the first meets with four age groups for women, but still six for men. Running Running and racing were becoming increasingly popular • The Neptune Festival and Tidewater Striders sponsored throughout the Unites States. For example, the second the 10-kilometer run in October at Seashore State Park. running of the Marine Corps Marathon had over 2,300 Ken Lampert won with a time of 34:06, which was a entrants. The number of races and number of entrants be- new course record. gan to increase rapidly in the Tidewater area as well. More • The first Northwest River 9-mile race, held in Chesa- women were entering races. However, Striders’ races con- peake, was run in November. Ken Lampert won with a tinued to have about five age groups for males, but only time of 46:55, and Betsy Ries was the first female with one age group, Open Women, for females. A few races a time of 67:45. began to move somewhat in the direction of equality for • In December, the club held the Seashore State Park 10- female runners and would have three or four age groups mile race, along with a 1-mile fun run. In those days for girls and women. there was no entry fee for fun runs. Barry Heath won Most of the Strider races during the year involved the con- the race with a time of 52:31. Mary Pitchford was the tinuation of annual events conducted in previous years. first female with a time of 72:02. Eighty-four runners The following are key Striders’ races for 1977: completed the race. • The Shamrock Marathon was held in March, and this Elite Club Runners was the last year the Rotary Club of Virginia Beach The following highlights some of the key race perfor- would be a sponsor. There were more than 400 par- mances for club members over the course of the year. As ticipants. The winner of the marathon was Chris Cham- noted previously, many club members could be recog- bers, with a time of 2:26:05, and the first female was nized for their racing performances, but the nature of this Barbara Jones with a time of 3:30:39. history restricts coverage to a select few. • The Azalea Garden 8-miler, whose official title is the Ken Lampert was the lead male runner throughout most of Norfolk City Road Race because it is sponsored in part the year, but Barry Heath joined the club late in the year by the Norfolk Recreation Bureau, was often referred and has had some impressive performances, including a to as the Botanical Gardens race. This year, the race 2:22 in the Marine Corps Marathon and a first-place time was shortened to 6.6 miles by misdirection. The overall of 51:03 in the Ahoskie 10-mile Race. winner was Barry Heath, with a time of 35:54. Heath recently was stationed in the area with the British Roy- Bill Hoss finished the New York City Marathon with a th al Marines.

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