RIVER-TO-RIVER RELAY-2001
The Lisle Windrunners formed as a club in 1985 by some of our current club members including Tad Carter, Rick Eckstein, Lew Ludwig, Lance Nogle, John Quinton and Barry Ruliffson. Always looking for new challenges, the club received information about a relay race in southern Illinois called the River-to-River Relay through club member Ben Bigger. The club entered a team in the relays’ first year (1988) and brought home hardware by placing in the handicap division. The Windrunners are one of only a few groups that have continued to enter at least one team in each of the 14 relays held. There have been 71 different runners comprising 34 teams. New members look forward to running in the relay after hearing so much about it and it continues to stir interest in the club. It is a proud tradition!!
Just how special is the River-to-River Relay! Let me share something with you. When I first joined the Windrunners in April, 1988, all I heard about was River this, River that, River whatever especially from Lance "Mr. River-to-River" Nogle. As a veteran road racer, how special could this relay be? I decided to run in the 2nd relay (1989) and I have only missed one since that time (In 1992, I sliced my leg open on a ski slope in Aspen just prior to the relay that year). Even though I have run the country’s largest and oldest relay, Hood-to-Coast in Oregon three times, I consider the River-to-River Relay to be the premier relay event in the country. How many races have you ever been to when the entire crowd gives a standing ovation to the race director at the awards presentation. That is what happened in the early years of the relay when race director, Gordon Pitz, made his presence to give out awards.
The club’s and its members involvement in the relay involve not only Lisle Windrunners teams, but other teams as well. In addition to fielding at least one team in every relay, the Windrunners have almost always brought home hardware! The fastest time ever run by a Windrunner team was 7 hours and 35 minutes in 1994. If you look at the overall times run by every Windrunner team, you will notice many of the same names run on those fast teams including current club members Ben Bigger, Rex Bohn, Dan Martin, Reggie Moore, and Tim Schertz. Other efforts worth mentioning include Gary Moss & Bob Theodore who have run on the fastest team time (7 hours, 20 minutes) ever run by a team including Windrunners, set two still standing course records in the Masters & Mixed Masters categories and were part of a team that finished in first place overall in 1997 as part of the Masters of Shawnee Forest.
This record of history has been created to preserve our running heritage. Every attempt has been made to be accurate, but we may have made a mistake or two. If you feel that something contained in the packet is incorrect, please bring it to my attention. Finally, I have decided to set up a SPECIAL MENTION category that lists all club members who have made a significant contribution to the Lisle Windrunners and the River-to-River relay. To be included in this austere list, a runner must be a current club member and have run in at least 50% of the relays with at least one relay being run with the Windrunners. In addition to the list, please note that two of our club members are members of the River-to-River Relay Hall of Fame- Lance Nogle & Gary Moss. Thanks to R2R race directors, Gordon Pitz & Keith McQuarrie, for their assistance in compiling this booklet.
Bob Theodore