Version 2.01 by Tommy Tamalpa
The year was 1976. This was the Dark Ages of Running. We didn't have proper food (no PowerBars!), drink (no Cytomax!) or clothing (no Lycra!). But we did have a brand new running club. All it needed was a name. The three loudest voices at that first meeting of the club were Kees Tuinzing (our first president), Don Pickett (the '68 Dipsea winner, now know as Mr. Dipsea) and Tommy Tamalpa (that's me!).
Kees, Don and I spent the entire evening arguing about the name. I wanted to name the club after our new president. I still think "The Keeshonds" would have been a great name for our club. Kees wanted to name the club after our most famous runner, "The Pickett's Chargers." Don, who is my personal hero, said, "Let's name the damn club after my buddy, Tommy Tamalpa. That way no one will think they have to be a great, or even good, runner to join the club. And they'll know that it's okay to party a little after a run."
Despite my blushing protests, the name was adopted, but not the "Tommy Guns," as I'd hoped.
From the very beginning, Tamalpa Runners has been dedicated to the proposition that not all runners are created equal, but everyone in the club can have a great time running. Therefore, we sponsor competitive racing teams, as well as offering group fun runs on some the prettiest trails in America. We also believe that a good party can be as much fun as a good run, and trust old Tommy when I say, we have good parties.
Our racing teams have enjoyed considerable success over the years (probably because I have rarely disgraced a team with my presence). But I've been happy to see the Tamalpa name on winning teams in AAU, TAC and USATF competition, individual champions, national and world age-group record holders, Olympic Trial competitors, and Dipsea champions. And speaking of Tommy Tamalpa's favorite race, we have won the Dipsea team title 25 years in a row!
But enough about those fast times on a runner's high, let's talk about the History of Tamalpa since the beginning.
We are an allegedly democratic organization with free elections open to all of our 700+ dues-paying members. And since I've been in the club (which is even before the beginning) we've actually had some contested elections. I remember throwing my hat in the ring to run against Kees Tuinzing for president. I believe that I received at least one vote (probably my own). After Kees stepped down to become a rich and famous race organizer, he was followed in office by Gordon Stewart, Chris Johnson, Dick Hayden, Jim Furman, Jim Myers, Jerry Leith, Barb Frazier, Craig Stern, Sandy Cipinko, and our current grande enchilada, Bernie Hollander. As any of these august club politicians can testify, being president of Tamalpa is its own reward, especially during one of our free-wheeling board meetings/pizza parties.
Our club is held together by one of the greatest journalistic endeavors this side of My Weekly Reader-a paper famous from downtown to Dogtown, the Tamalpa Gazette. This journal is more than a mere listing of club events; it's a veritable fount of information about everything you wanted to know about running but were too anaerobic to ask. The literary quality of this monthly sheet rose to new heights when my column ("Tommy Tamalpa's Tattletales") was canceled back in '85 after one my little jokes caused 127 runners to resign from the club.
Another ridiculously popular (if not just plain ridiculous) Tamalpa institution is TCRS. No one actually knows what the letters stand for, but one guess is Totally Crazy RaceS. All you need to know about TCRS is that they are held every month except June (in honor of the Dipsea) and December (in honor of the Tamalpa Christmas Party hangovers), and that everyone claims that they are completely "low key." They may be low tech (popsicle sticks!) and low cost (three bucks!), but there is nothing low key about the battles in the front, middle and back of the pack between seemingly mild-mannered Tamalpans. Although founded in 1983 by Mark Alan Warford, the success of TCRS can be attributed to Russ and Marilyn Kiernan. Russ (known as "Mr. Russ" to his close friends) designs the courseswhich are often suited to his mountain-goat running abilitiesand Marilyn (a.k.a. "Mrs. Russ") organizes the finish line with ruthless efficiency.
In the past few years Tamalpa has been moving in seemingly opposite directions. Some well-meaning, but obviously misguided, souls have devoted most of their waking hours to coaching young children to become runners. You can imagine the consternation of a few of us more, ah, more mature runners when we're getting our butts kicked in races by little kids who should be home eating Ding Dongs and playing video games. I personally blame Susie Van Buskirk and Craig Stern for this outrageous indignity.
The opposite of those fast little kids are these absolutely insane ultra runners who have been seeking some sort of political asylum inside Tamalpa Runners, Inc. It was bad enough when our top runners began winning black shirts in the Dipsea and then grabbing silver belt buckles in the Western States 100 in the same month! Don't these people realize that they could use some rest. But no! They spend the rest of their time finding the fastest ultra runners in the Bay Area and somehow convincing them to join this august organization. Despite my very antipathy toward any race longer than 7.2 miles, Tamalpa now has one of the finest ultra teams in the United States.
I'm sure that I've forgotten most of the important part of the History of Tamalpa 2.01, but I can't end this diatribe without saying that we've all had a great time running together since 1971, before the club was even founded, and we'll continue doing so. So, if you're not already part of the fun, join us!
