Questions

Why did you join Front Runners? I felt like I was not that connected with the gay community and was missing something in my life that I needed to fill in. After joining, I started meeting people almost immediately so I stuck around.

 

What is your first interesting memory of the club? It was a Tuesday. We ran the Iwo Jima route. We ate dinner on Dupont Circle afterward. It was a warm, soft-lit summer evening; we were just lounging, soaking in the city. It was so pleasant that it sprouted a shoot of desire within me to stay with the club.

 

Has the club changed since you joined? Yes. It seems much younger now. When I joined there were only two or three people my age but now I see that the majority are under thirty-five years. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the beginning when it was more dominated by people in their forties and fifties. It was nice to connect with gays older than I who are having fun and are wonderful to talk to. Because when you are gay in your twenties you have this fear that once you hit thirty, life will be over and you’ll just sit at home and knit all day.

 

Are we over-competitive? I don’t think so. I think competition is good for people - to push themselves and be pushed by others. Of course it’s wrong to give people the cold shoulder for not being up to your level. But it is good to foster an atmosphere where people are challenged – that’s how I got better at running.

 

What do you like about the club? I love the people, they make me look forward to running up a hill in the snow on a Thursday night. When you run with people you develop a chemistry and relationship that is almost non-verbal. I am not one of those who like to talk when I run but I still develop different relationships: I keep an even pace with some runners, have more of one-upsmanship with others – it’s very enjoyable.

 

What do you not like? I’ve not had a negative experience with the club that was because of the club. I don’t know that there is much I would change. I suppose maybe the Happy Hours in Virginia are the one thing I dislike!

 

You’re unusual for a runner with your shaggy hair. Why did you decide to grow it long? Like most great decisions in my life it was born out of laziness. Over the winter I had neglected to get a haircut for a long time. I was about to get one as it was looking ridiculous when a friend said: ‘wow you look great - all British and cool.’ It seemed like the longer I grew it the more compliments I got, so I kept it long.

 

Any tips for hair products? I do not use much hair product. I think if you grow your hair long you need to use very good shampoo and conditioner and be meticulous about drying it quickly to give it that rich, full feeling as opposed to the frizzy, poofy, cotton-ball look.

 

You recently ran 3h14 in the Marine Corps marathon. How have you improved your times?  I always feel like I should be the best at whatever I do and running is no exception. When I ran with the group I was thinking ‘I should be hitting the mark with those guys up there’ so I would try to hang with those who were faster than me. Eventually I was sticking with them all the way and even passing them.

 

Was there anything else? Yes. Running took on a very spiritual dimension. For me there was no better feeling than seeing my shadow looking good going over a bridge and seeing myself pulling away from people a little - it was such an exhilarating high it pushed me to try that much harder.

 

Which Front Runners have inspired you? I think Lennie Carter and Allen Rose are inspiring from a life perspective. It’s good to see people older than you who have become pillars in the community. That inspires you to lead a better life and think more about what you are doing. From a pure running standpoint, I always enjoy running with, and measuring myself against, Seth Kalish. I also have a lot of fun with Jack Bury because he races you a lot.

 

It’s our 30th anniversary in 2011. What are your thoughts about reaching this milestone? It’s amazing to me that the club started when I wasn’t even born. It’s hard to imagine how the club would have been when the AIDS crisis hit when people were dying – or even just when it wasn’t okay to be gay. It is so good that the club was able to survive and flourish all those years.

 

If you could reincarnate yourself as a political leader from history: who would it be? It would have been great fun to have been a Byzantine Emperor like Justinian: building the Hagia Sophia, conquering Italy, beating back the Persians. I think the big issues then were more fun than the prosaic economic things of today.  

 

 

Interview by Brian Beary, Design by Marcel Acosta

December 2010