IFR Newsletter

Our running clubs have never had a more challenging time the last 30+ years of Front Runners. Many clubs spent the last six months of 2019 dealing with adverse environmental conditions such as floods in Europe, heat waves, floods and hurricanes in North America and bushfires in Australia and North America. The first six months of 2020 have been a period of unprecedented isolation where we have used our ingenuity and the internet to maintain our fellowship as LGBTQI+ runners even when we can’t be physically together. Through Zoom conferences, virtual runs, Strava leaderboards and socially distanced runs we have stayed in touch and in many cases continued to run. Where we haven’t been able to exercise the zoom coffees and happy hours have kept us sane and laughing together through these trying times. Distance is no barrier with many of us able to join in with other clubs around the world when they hold these functions. I recently ran a virtual run with the Seattle Front Runners for their Pride celebrations and was lucky enough to join the San Francisco Front Runners’ Happy Hour. We are about to have our first all-virtual Annual General Meeting, so these are truly unprecedented times. We can see the beginnings of a return to a less restricted running life and we can look forward to getting back together again to run and socialise but no matter what future challenges come our way I know that our organisation will find ways to adapt.

International Front Runners Updates

Interim Secretary Richard Ervais

It has been a tremendous year for International Front Runners since the last Annual General Meeting hosted by San Francisco Track & Field and San Francisco FrontRunners in June 2019.

On a sad note, after losing two very important people in 2018 - our co-founder Gardner Pond and Patricia Nell Warren, the author of The Front Runner from which we derive our name and a long-time supporter and honorary life member of Front Runners - we sadly saw the passing of another giant in our history, Bud Budlong. Bud’s story of the first Front Runners chapter, San Francisco FrontRunners, can be read here. Bud joined SFFR in October 1975, less than two years after the formation of the Lavender U Joggers and quickly became one of the club’s most vibrant leaders. After the demise of Lavender University in 1978, Bud and the other club leaders met and decided to rename the club after Patricia’s book, The Front Runner. Two years later, Front Runners New York was created. And the rest is history. We were so fortunate to reunite with Bud and Gardner when they came back to San Francisco in 2014 for the 40th anniversary of San Francisco FrontRunners. Gardner spent his last years in Palm Springs and Bud was living for many years in Pennsylvania.

The great news from the past year is the formation of seven (yes 7!) new clubs worldwide – Suriname, Lexington, Singapore, Perth, Nairobi, Aberdeen and Dundee. We welcome the members of these clubs from South America, the US, Asia, Australia, Africa and Scotland to the worldwide family of International Front Runners!

We also welcomed our newest president (and only the third president in the 30+ year history of IFR), Chris Rauchle. Chris has been a long-time member of the Steering Committee, representing the Australia & Asia Pacific region. Chris is also the first IFR president based outside of the United States, which highlights the growth of our chapters on six continents, a majority of which clubs are now not in the U.S. You can find Chris running with Sydney Frontrunners on your next trip to Australia. And, a huge thank you for his dedicated service to Danny Luong, our president from 2016-2019.

With the growth of Front Runners clubs across the world, along with the increased visibility of the entire LGBTQ+ community, we have received a bit of attention during the last year. Two huge developments are the International Front Runners / Brooks partnership and the feature story on International Front Runners in the world’s premiere running publication – Runner’s World. The Brooks partnership was announced in 2019 and, to date, twelve clubs applied and five clubs have received grants of $5,000 each. Those clubs are Seattle, Portland, Atlanta, San Francisco and West Palm Beach. You can read about the partnership here.

We were so excited when Runner’s World reached out to us last year expressing interest in publishing a story about International Front Runners for Pride Month. That story came out on June 30th, the last day of Pride Month, and you can read it here. And, in something of an embarrassment of riches, just a week prior, Runner’s World ran an article about London Frontrunners which you can read here.

We are so proud of the flexibility and creativeness our clubs are demonstrating during the pandemic! Pride Runs have gone virtual and are still raising tens of thousands of dollars for their charitable beneficiaries. Workouts and fun runs are either virtual or socially-spaced to keep our members safe and healthy. Way to go, clubs! This crisis will be over eventually and we will all be the stronger for it.

We hope to “see” you at our all-virtual AGM on July 19th. Register here.

Member Spotlight: Kelvin Washiko, Nairobi Frontrunners

Kelvin: I am a human-rights activist (particularly LGBQ rights) based in Nairobi Kenya, and also one of the founders of Nairobi Frontrunners, a city based sports club that contributes to my work in creating visibility and raising awareness on LGBQ plight.

Kelvin: Kelvin (me) and Kevin Mwachiro, formed Nairobi Frontrunners in 2019 shortly after Paris Gay Games. Though Mwachiro doesn't live in Nairobi, he champions the group outside Nairobi in Kilifi at the coast of Kenya. Right now we are 24 members (13, 11 both male and female respectively) and still growing. The club is open and welcomes everyone who appreciates the uniqueness of the space. We organise and meet on every first weekend at the start of a new month in one of Nairobi's reserved Karura forests for sporting (running, biking, and football) events.

Budi: How does the COVID-19 pandemic affect Nairobi Frontrunners, and how does it navigate the situation?

Kelvin: Immediately after Kenya confirmed its first case of COVID 19, Kenya’s ministry of health issued a directive ban of all gatherings. As the Government scales up its Safety Net Measures, especially on the ban of public gathering, introduction of overnight curfew and implementation of social distancing guidelines, normal day to day activity of the Nairobi Frontrunners club feels its negative impact. So now people have been running individually and we have a private Whatsapp group to keep in touch and give updates. That’s how we mostly communicate.

As more businesses, especially the hospitality industry, are subjected to mandatory closure and a stay at home directive, the hardship from the crisis has exposed and disproportionately befalls on some of our disadvantaged members many of whom depend on self-employment and informal wage. To mitigate the situation the club through some of our partners has been offering social assistance programs to provide poor households with food, water, and other basic supplies to cope with the crisis, together with advising its members to make their own arrangements and time to participate in the club's activities.

Budi: The Black Lives Matter movement, triggered by police brutality in the USA against its citizens of African heritage, is getting more attention on a global scale. What do you, Kenyans, and Africans think about the issue?

Kelvin: We sympathize and stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the West. Even though our lived reality is different we somehow resonate with their struggles. We Countries across Africa are joining global protests in response to the death of George Floyd and calling for an end to police brutality across the continent. We too suffer under our own police brutality especially the members of LGBTI community.

Budi: We’d love to hear more about the future of Frontrunners in Africa. Where in Africa would you like to spread the Frontrunners movement to? And how can we spark the Frontrunners movement in Africa?

Kelvin: Mombasa and Eldoret (cities in Kenya), Tanzania, and Uganda. It boils down to finding an individual who is passionate about running and they will mobilize the rest. But the initiative has to be theirs and they have to own the process. and I know lots of them… including the Uganda LGBTI refugees that live in Kenya. We also have a Whatsapp group with Frontrunners in South Africa that was formed when we were in Paris for Gay Games. I have access to some individuals there.

Budi: Thank you so much Kelvin! You are doing amazing work and we wish you the best!

Gay Games

Wayne Morgan & Zander Ross

We are just a little over 2 years until Hong Kong 2022 Gay Games and preparations are moving along well and are on course so far. Our sport will take most of the week during the games. Between track & field, 5K, 10K, trail running (short and long) and the longer distance races, half and full marathons, we should be plenty busy. Here are some draft schedules for our activities during our stay in Hong Kong.

Co-Chairs Dennis Philipse and Sabrina Yang Wen (also the Director of Sports) are looking for somebody who would be interested in helping them with the organization of the T&F events. If anybody is interested, please let us know.

I have invited Dennis, Sabrina and Solomon Luk (Athletic Sports Manager) to join us at our AGM in July for a quick informational chat to pump us up for GG11.

The Federation of Gay Games will have their Annual General Assembly in January of 2021, a bit late considering what the world is going thru. This event might be fully virtual or maybe Wayne or myself can travel to London, then we will be there in person. I for one would love to be there for sure.

Australia & Asia Pacific

Like most Frontrunner clubs, 2020 has proved to be an interrupting year for Perth Frontrunners. We’ve been fortunate to have had low numbers of the virus in our state, but have endured a period of no group running events.

Firstly, we held fortnightly Zoom parties. This was a good opportunity to remind each other that we’re still a cohesive group.

Secondly, we had two virtual batons being passed around the group. If the baton came to you, you could do a 5km run or walk, post a picture of you doing so, then nominate the next person to carry the baton. With members all over Perth, we can say the baton saw more of our beachside city than our organised runs do in more normal times.

When restrictions started to lift, we all emerged from iso and hit the road with a vengeance. We started running our usual Saturday morning runs in Kings Park, which is a massive central city park in middle of Perth. Since then, we’ve been getting great numbers, a lot of new members, and we are looking forward to our annual Pride festival and run which coincides with our club’s birthday in November.

As we write this article, interstate travel in Australia and overseas travel generally is a pipe dream. But that isn’t stopping us thinking big and planning our individual trips to visit other IRF clubs when we are able to again, and have our members represent us at the Gay Games in Hong Kong 2022!

Brisbane Frontrunners has been running continuously since 1999 up until the COVID-19 restrictions this year. Due to isolation restrictions and bans on group meetings, we suspended running at the end of March 2020. When we were allowed to meet in groups of 10 at the end of May we recommenced and got around the number restrictions by dividing the group into multiple groups of 10 and met in different areas. We are now allowed to meet in groups of 20 so are still doing the multiple groups but not quite as many as before.

In order to keep the social aspects of the group going, we arranged fortnightly Zoom video conference cocktail hours where everyone had the opportunity to have a chat, a laugh and catch up on what everyone had been doing. Many of the runners and walkers continued exercising by themselves during the break with quite a few of them doing far greater distances and more often than they did prior to the lockdown. Several have also participated in virtual runs including the Pride 2020 Run.

The biggest issue we have faced with the group is the personal interaction. We are a very social group and do quite a bit of socializing outside of running so this was hard to deal with. However, things are looking good here in Oz and hopefully we will be back to a reasonable sense of normality very soon.

As we entered the COVID pandemic and with the banning of sporting events and sporting
club meetings, Melbourne Frontrunners (MFR) committee had to find a way of keeping our
members engaged. For MFR, as we are sure with other FR groups around the world,
although fitness is one of the reasons people join our groups, it is the social interaction that
is the most important aspect. To be able to join a welcoming, safe and loving environment
has seen many of our members find a place where they can be themselves and have a loving
‘family’ around them. With the bonus of getting fit!

Our coaching team and committee came up with a number of ways to keep our members
engaged and involved over the last few months and we have been blow away with how
much positive feedback these initiatives have received from our members and how
successful it has been.

We will resume small group (10) training (with guidelines in place) from next week over
three sites and build on that as restrictions ease. From here in Melbourne we hope that you all stay safe and healthy and we out running
soon.

COVID brought about the cancellation of our group runs and walks from mid-March 2020 but we did our best to keep active and in touch during lockdown ….. virtual group races, solo training, Sunday afternoon Zoom drinks, and getting everyone to upload photos of their walks and runs to our Facebook page. It was so good to see people remaining active, even if it wasn’t in person.

We have been super fortunate in Sydney with restrictions starting to ease and so have been able to see each other in person for group activity …. but we are exercising social distancing and keeping within our Government’s rules.

On 21st March in what would be our final Frontrunners before the enforced shutdown was our annual Lloyd's Fun Run Raiser event. This special run provides education scholarships to students from poor families in Nepal to help to pay for school fees, uniforms & books etc. Lloyd raised $370 this year to provide scholarships for 15 students. Considering the small size of our group this was a fantastic result.

We then went into our Frontrunners COVID-19 hibernation for 2 months and emerged on the 16th May for a couple of "mystery runs". It was a mystery as due to the 10 person limit members had to book a spot and run location details were provided to those who got a place. Thankfully I didn't have to turn anyone away!! Just 2 weeks later 20 was the new limit so we returned to fairly normal operations, cafe bookings were a bit problematic with the restrictions though. It was great seeing everyone again and to return enjoying what we like doing running and walking all over Canberra and have a rewarding brunch afterwards. Being a smaller group we are lucky that we were able to get back up and running a lot sooner that we thought.

Canberra Frontrunners meet every Saturday morning in locations all around Canberra but have moved for the first time to 09:30 starts for the colder Winter months. Visitors are always welcome.

We’re a LGBT and allies running group in Singapore. We started off mostly on a friends-of-friends basis but expanded in recent years through social media and working with other community-based groups in Singapore.

The MGR Runners turned 6 in February 2020 and we’re real glad to have joined the IFR Network the following month—though it wasn’t the best of times.

Like many other parts of the world, Singapore went into a lockdown shortly after where we weren’t allowed to socialise at all. Individual sports like running were allowed but strictly alone and so we decided to form a virtual running team. For each of the 12 weeks, we ran alone, took selfies and formed a collage. It was a way for us to keep each other going and be there for one another. We also kept in touch over virtual meetings.

In mid-Jun, the lockdown eased, and we could gather in teams of up to 5. So, we’ve been coordinating small team runs over Google Sheets. It’s been awesome being able to run together and the timing was great as 27 June was PinkDot- Singapore’s de facto Pride. That day, we ran in pink in its honor, alone or in small teams, and did a collage (the picture below).

With Pride Runs around the world going virtual this year, some of us also took part in the ones organised by other IFR members abroad but we hope to physically run with the many IFR clubs around the world in the future. You’re always welcome to run with us in Singapore too!

There has been a challenge for OutRunnersHK/ORHK club here. We had a couple of key persons who have relocated to other cities in the past year, and at present, I am the only person trying to manage/organize the club. Trying to ask around for any additional hands have proved difficult too. Please see below to share the stories during the pandemic.

As soon as other FR clubs started cancelling the regular running events due to the this COVID-19 outbreak, ORHK also made a difficult decision to stop all the ongoing running events as early as in March 2020. Even though there was no lockdown in HK, however, the HK government had advised the public to stay indoors, as well as eventually with the introduction to restrict number of people from social gathering and distance. We still advised our runners to communicate via Whatsapp for reaching out any support needed, and if they had to run outside, tried running alone and staying away from the busy areas.

In May, HK government started to increase the number of people from gathering in the public, we started out the unofficial running events within the team. And by the end of May, we began the host the running events more officially due to the further ease on the social gathering and distancing. And it is nice to be back on the roads again for us and socialize over a coffee/cuppa after the event.

Canada

Representative: Wally Mah

Newfoundland and Labrador
David McConkey

They are not meeting right now although some members are active by participating in virtual events such Keep Moving Forward At Home - Throwing Bones, Grand Canyon 69.5K through www.racery.com and the virtual event Run Across Nova Scotia (RANS) of just under 800 kms across Nova Scotia.

Halifax
Bruce Greenfield

They have not started running together yet. They did have a Zoom get togetherabout a month ago which was nice. Several members are running together as pairs, which is easier to negotiate with the distancing rules. Social distancing is a factor in meeting up as a group especially for their usual indoor coffee chat and there are no public washrooms open.

Montreal
They have started running on Saturday, June 20th, but not meeting at their usual brunch spot ”Bagel Etc.” after their runs. They instead picnic at a park next to the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Monument in Mont Royal Park. see newsletter

Québec City

Galopins Québec Frontrunners are walking/running as a group again. They will be having a virtual Pride Run/Walk at the Québec Rainbow Festival on Sept. 5-6th. Details have yet to be announced.

Toronto

Toronto Frontrunners hosted a virtual 5K Pride Run/Walk on June 27th to fundraise for the Supporting Our Youth (SOY) program at the Sherbourne Health Centre. Toronto Frontrunners matched donations up to $1000. They raised over $4000!

They are not running together as a regular group, but meet up on Zoom every Saturday at 11:00 am. However, they have a sign up sheet for groups of four to run together.

They are working to combat racism by encouraging a diverse membership, creating a safe and welcoming environment for people of colour, ensuring racialized people are well-represented in decision making and communications, and encouraging white members to acknowledge their privilege and to denounce it or share it or leverage it to address wrongs.

Winnipeg

Winnipeg Frontrunners resumed their group running on Saturday, June 6th. They will be
having their virtual Pride Run during September 7-11. You can register here.
After nine years, Wally, the leader, will be resigning at the end of the season.

Edmonton

Edmonton Frontrunners have been group running for several months now and have
had some new runners/walkers join their group.

Calgary

Calgary Frontrunners resumed their group running on Saturday, May 23rd.

Vancouver

Vancouver Frontrunners will be hosting their 15th annual Pride Run and Walk as a
virtual event for the entire month of July. They are fundraising for Out in Schools and
LOUD Foundation’s Pride Youth Scholarships. Their goal is to raise $20,000.00.
Register here. They are back running since the middle of June, but no post run dining.

Ottawa
José Perez

Ottawa Frontrunners resumed its activities with the first Gatineau run on 13 June with seven members attending. The runs and walks in Ottawa will resume on 23 June, meeting at Ottawa City Hall. The club's AGM and election were held virtually on 20 June. The incumbents were re-elected: Maya (co-chair), José (co-chair), Doug (Finance), Marcel (Races and Training), Alain (Social), Vincent (Translation and Gatineau runs), and Christopher (member at large). The fifth National Capital Pride Run will be going virtual; registrants will have until 29 August to complete a 5 km run or a 2.5 km walk. Funds raised again will go to Bruce House.

Mexico, Central, and South America

In Surinamese we have a saying “ala ogri e tja wan bun” meaning out of every bad situation comes something good.

Last year November, I was invited to the Gay games AGM in Guadalajara Mexico to talk about LGBT and sports in regions which are underrepresented during the games.

This is where for the first time, I learned about the Frontrunners family. Wayne Morgan of the Sydney Frontrunners inspired me to start a group in my home country. Suriname used to be a Dutch colony (known before as Dutch Guyana) before becoming the smallest independent mainland nation on the north eastern coast of South America.

In the first couple of weeks of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Suriname seemed to be lucky with very few cases. This was also when Suriname Frontrunners was officially established, on April 1st 2020, because it would be a good way to stay happy and healthy during these difficult times.

When the corona situation worsened in Suriname, and we were forced into confinement we moved to the online platform Zoom to do HIIT cardio workouts simultaneously.

The group now exists of 10, from marathon runners to 5K walkers and everything in between.

Suriname Frontrunners will be part of our local fight for equality through sports and we look forward to joining the Frontrunners family in events around the world.

USA - Eastern

Many of the Front Runner groups in the Eastern Region hold a Pride each year. And this year, we saw many of the races go virtual. Front Runners New York, Philadelphia Front Runners and the DC Front Runners (DCFR) all held races to mark Pride.

For the DCFR, we postponed our in-person race and partnered with Pacer's Running, a DC area business, to organize the first-ever Run for Love. Because of the overwhelming success, DCFR raised more than $11,800 for the Pride Run 5K charities. This helps the Foundation meet its commitments to these charities, and most importantly, it enabled DCFR to provide those donations now.

USA - Southern

Front Runners Atlanta’s Virtual Pride Run & Walk in support of Atlanta-area HIV healthcare agencies raised over $16,000. Their goal was $15,000 so kudos to Front Runners Atlanta!

Austin Front Runners is hosting virtual runs every Saturday, starting at 9:45 AM! Lace up your shoes, find a nice trail and get ready to run with AFR. Visit austinfrontrunners.org/events for login information.

Nashville Frontrunners held their socially-distanced Pride Run on Wednesday, June 24th.

USA - Central

Representative: Randy Hite

Albuquerque NM
Danny O’Hara

This is a new club, formed in 2018 when a former Frontrunner from Los Angeles moved to Albuquerque. The Albuquerque Frontrunners are meeting up on Saturday mornings for our 8am run/walk now. We have about 3 regular members each weekend. We wear our masks and practice the social distancing rules.

Chicago IL
Greg Barton

We started meeting in April at an alternate location since the lakefront trail (where we have always met) was closed, and we served coffee at the end since restaurants were closed. That was really great in getting members to hang out and socialize. The trail opened this week so we tried it today, 6-27-2020, but due to parking restrictions and the inability to bring coffee (no picnics allowed for now) we may go back to the alternate location. Several members like the alternate location because it's easier to access. Also the trail closes (at least officially) at 7pm on weeknights, which may be a problem. We haven't resumed our Saturday morning restaurant breakfasts because capacity constraints make that very difficult, although we may try next week. Bottom line -- we're trying to resume activities but still kind of feeling our way and it changes every week. No other social activities. Everyone is very good about wearing masks and maintaining distance, and of course everything is outside so we're pretty safe.

Columbus OH
Danny Sutkus-Showalter

We are running as a group three times a week again, although many runners are taking into consideration COVID. We’re in the process of making new shirts and scheduling group activities like a scavenger hunt. There are a couple of running groups in the Columbus area that are providing support and motivation for us. We also have had group Zoom meetings.

Colorado – Denver & Boulder
Joe Lozoya

The Colorado Frontrunners began hosting the Saturday morning walk/runs on 5-30-2020. Due to the City’s 10 person limit, they will be rolling starts and walkers/runners are asked to practice social distancing guidelines. There will be no morning announcements or brunch gatherings. COFR holds virtual first Friday happy hours. The Board also holds virtual meetings.

Lexington KY
Taylor Steele

Lexington Frontrunners has seen an uptick in attendance on our Saturday morning runs. Members practice social distancing, and our after run coffee is held outdoors. We are still maintaining the virtual Strava group as well for those who are not comfortable being in groups. One member has organized a T-shirt fundraiser. The shirts look great and are pre-selling now. We are planning to assist as needed for this year’s Pride 5K and have started discussing a drag race in the near future.

Motown - Royal Oak MI
Dave Vance

We are still meeting. We are a small group, between 5-10 members usually. With the coronavirus this is where our numbers will probably stay for a while. Restaurants are starting to open up a bit for the function after the run/walk. We keep a positive attitude and hope for the future as we continue meeting so newer runners will know about us.

Indianapolis IN
Steve Martz

This club formed in 1992 and only has 4 regular members. They have not met since the stay at home order occurred in March. They are considering folding the group, but Steve, their leader, has been involved for 27 years and that would be hard to do.

Kansas City MO
Randy Hite

Kansas City Frontrunners started meeting again on May 17th and have resumed meeting twice a week, on Wed evenings and Sunday mornings, and are following social distancing guidelines. We are not meeting at a restaurant afterwards but several times have had a “picnic in the park” following a run where people bring their own food. We are selling a new T-shirt as it’s been a few years since we offered one.

Milwaukee WI
John Schoenknecht

We have been meeting every Saturday for almost 24 years. With the Covid 19 crisis, a few of us, usually 1 or 2 members, have been meeting every Saturday morning to continue our streak of always having someone present. We run and walk with proper social distancing, most of the walkers wearing masks. We have not been able to meet for breakfast, but we have had at least a few people continue our tradition. We are also holding weekly Zoom breakfast and coffee meetings.

Minneapolis/St. Paul MN

This club had its inaugural run on July 12, 2020 with 5 members, including new leader Sean Miller, after many months of being dormant, and after several years as an inactive club. This club was originally formed in 1982, so it’s nice to see it is back under new leadership.

$C:\Users\se\Documents\Randy\Frontrunners\International Frontunners\Minneapolis-St Paul Frontrunners 7-12-2020.jpg$

St Louis MO
John Hamblin

The St Louis Frontrunners haven’t had an in-person run yet, but we have been having zoom meetings. We have moved our Pride 5k/10k from June 28th to August 30th.”

USA - Western

Representative: Michael Ambrose

As with most clubs around the world, the US-Western Region clubs were forced to cancel regular running, walking, and social events due to COVID-19 starting in March. Some clubs have now resumed meeting for small group runs and walks, while other clubs remain on hiatus. The question of when and how to restart club activities safely is a difficult one. Kudos to all our club officers for navigating these uncharted waters, and helping to keep our members safe, healthy, and socially-connected, while physically-distanced.

Shoreline Frontrunners of Long Beach had planned to follow their city’s delayed Pride celebration, and host a Pride Run later this year, however in response to COVID-19 the club mobilized to put on a Virtual Pride Run and Walk in May, with proceeds benefiting the Long Beach Disaster Relief Fund for COVID-9.

San Francisco FrontRunners, founding chapter of IFR, recently had their meeting place in Golden Gate Park memorialized with a plaque, with help from Brooks Running.

Big thanks to Eric Van Dongen (r) who, after many years as enthusiastic leader of Anchorage Front Runners, is handing over the reins to Chance Atwood (l).

In absence of races to support their Grand Prix race series LA Frontrunners has started their own Corona 500, with a different virtual distance every 2 weeks. Great way to stay focused and connected!