President’s Message – April 2024
Greetings from your Tamalpa Club President! Last month I shared how I met Tamalpa Runners on New Years Day, circa 1994, and my vision for Tamalpa Runners today and tomorrow. What I didn’t share is how many heroes I’ve met through our Club. Heroes are people who inspire you, whom you respect and want to emulate. People who share your values, sense of discipline, integrity, and personal responsibility. People who push themselves, find their limits, and then push through them again. Heroes who are runners.
Over the last year we have memorialized several members who have deceased, among them, Russ Kiernan, Don Pickett, Darryl Beardall, Hans Schmidt and Mike Fanelli, taking with them a place in running lore with their feats in race championships, ultra-running, local races, and/or adventures in faraway places. They have circled the globe with their running distances, achieved lifetime milestones, and chronicled their and others’ successes and failures on the cinder and trails.
We have several heroes in the making in Tamalpa today, through their service to our Club. I’m thinking of our recent past Presidents, David Leipsic, Carolyn Garriott, Phil Oreste, Mike Holland, Ed Corral, Frank Rouna, Jimmy Meyers, Janet Furman, Craig Stern, Jerry Leith, Bernie Hollander, Barb Frazier, and Sandy Cipenko just to name a few. David Leipsic’s service to our club dates many decades, and he continues to be a life-long runner and servant-leader today. Heros such as:
- Allison “Allie” Kegley, a teacher, mom, middle-distance runner, competitive athlete, and consummate giver to our Club. Allie serves as board Secretary, Social Chair, Apparel Co-Chair, former TCRS organizer, and fills in wherever she is needed with a kind heart, encouraging word, and endless smile.
- Brian Caynan, who was recruited to be our Assistant Treasurer, now Treasurer, and who works tirelessly to make sure all bills are paid, income is recorded, taxes are filed, and reports are completed on time. He also is running marathons and is dedicated to coaching other athletes, while holding down a job with a prestigious Wall Street firm and raising a young family.
- Danielle Herrerias, who has served on the Board now for six years, formerly handled permitting and organizing all the TCRS races. She now leads our Membership function, single-handedly, and helps members to join, renew, and adjust their memberships for themselves and their families. She volunteers at races, helps put on TCRS races, serves on the board, and helps others whenever she sees the need. As her husband, I see how much work she does for our Club!
- Tom and Lillie O’Reilly are institutions in our Club. Where would monthly TCRS be without this power couple! Their decades of leadership and service make all our events run more smoothly. Lillie ensures that runners are registered and their results recorded, and all the volunteer roles are filled for each monthly Club run. Under Tom’s guidance as former Treasurer, our finances ran more smoothly too!
Next month I’ll share more of my heroes, your servants and fellow runners and members of our great Tamalpa Runners club, a member of the Pacific Association of the USA Track & Field! Until then, best wishes for your successful Dipsea training.
I’ll see you on the Tracks and Trails of beautiful Marin County!
Your Club President,
Paul Herrerias