(above) Members of The Rose City Runners Dick Helmer, Carol Angle and Lynda Brush, manned a table during the recent Bottle Hill Day. The group is celebrating their 40-year anniversary and new members are always welcomed. Visit RoseCityRunners.com for more information.
The Rose City Runners 40th Anniversary
The Rose City Runners are celebrating their 40th Anniversary with a party at the Madison Community House in November. In addition, Barbara Rushman, a founding member, is publishing a book “The Rose City Runners – The First 40 Years” which details significant events and key members through the years with supporting photos, newspaper articles and a timeline of 550 milestones. The Rose City Runners is a social running club with a long history.
The first meeting of the Rose City Runners was held at the Madison YMCA in early 1979. The name was chosen and dues were set at $5. The first president emerged, Dennis Maloney, a fourth-grade teacher in Madison. He held the position for 7 years. He also directed the club races from 1979 to 1985, with the exception of 1984 when Don Growley, a Madison High School teacher and coach took the lead.
In the early days, the club held their annual 10k Race in Madison in June. The first year, 1979, the 10k started under the railroad bridge on Green Avenue at 1 p.m. The course used part of the Giralda Farms site and returned to town, finishing in front of the Hartley Dodge Memorial Building on Kings Road. It was over 85 degrees that day and one of the lead runners was taken to the hospital with heat exhaustion. After that year the race was held earlier in the day. The race start and finish moved to Dodge Field on Central Avenue and used the north side of town. It was associated with the Rose City Festival back then.
Club members were novices at producing a race in the early days, but grew and changed to keep up with the latest race timing and scoring technology. The June race was not as popular as the Madison Jaycees’ 10k race in November that finished at the Madison YMCA. In 1985 the club dropped the June event and joined forces with the Jaycees. The November race moved to Giralda Farms that year where it has been held ever since. The Jaycees discontinued their involvement after the initial joint year. The Rose City Runners put on the race from 1985 until 2017 resulting in substantial donations to the Madison Community House and the Morris County Parks Commission. In addition, the club provided scholarships to Madison High School seniors. Although proud of their involvement in the race, in 2018 the club gave up ownership of the Giralda Farms Run to the Barwick Group, a race promotion company that promised to continue the scholarships. It is being held this year on Nov. 10.
The club used the Madison YMCA as their meeting place for a few years before making the Madison Community House their home. The club is a social one, having several annual parties and events each year. The most popular being the annual Glug Run in Jockey Hollow on Christmas Eve morning. Several holiday related events are held in December as well as a St. Patrick’s Day party, a summer pool party and a Superbowl party.
In 1997 a second race was added to the club’s activities that was held for 20 years. The Hounds and Harriers Run was a 3-mile run for dog lovers and their canine training partners. First held in Loantaka Park, it was moved to South Mountain Reservation in 2012. This event donated 100% of the proceeds, around $190,000, to various local shelters and rescue groups. This event was so popular it was covered by Runner’s Gazette for its last 18 years. It also was covered in Footnotes Magazine, Dog World Magazine and was selected by Runner’s World as the pick race of the month.
In 2008 the club formed a USATF racing team that is still active. The team competes against other New Jersey clubs at USATF Championship races around the state.
The most central activity of the club is Saturday Morning Runs held from the Kitchell Road parking lot of Loantaka Park. The club meets at 8:30 a.m. from April – October and 9 a.m. from November thru March. No matter how inclement the weather or impassable the streets there are always a hearty few that make it to the park. The club is made up of slow, fast and medium paced runners who typically cover between 3 and 8 miles. The best part of Saturday morning is sharing breakfast after the run on a picnic bench. In the winter a member builds a fire in the shelter to keep warm while share coffee and goodies. The club has been known to roast marshmallows and make S’mores.
Recently the club has experienced the loss of a number of members due to moves out of state. The club has been working to recruit new members by having a presence at Bottle Hill Day and by posting fliers around Madison and surrounding towns. They have met with some success but are hoping to attract more new members. If you are interested in learning more about the club show up in Loantaka Park on a Saturday morning, visit the website RoseCityRunners.com, or contact BarbaraRushman@yahoo.com.
