I was a lucky guy yesterday evening as I sat at a table in Glastonbury's Democratic Party headquarters and took part in the naming of Glastonbury's newest running organization, as well as the approval of its mission statement. Yes, there's a movement afoot (so to speak) to create what this running-crazed town clearly needs...a large, organized running club. And we're not talking about a loose, informal affiliation of runners like Team Supreme or the Extreme Runners. No, these people were talking about filing non-profit organization papers with the State of Connecticut, insurance, RRCA affiliation, committees, sub-committees...pretty serious stuff. I have to say, I was genuinely excited to sit at the table with a couple dozen other people who share the same passion for running and fitness that I do and discuss the details of putting a serious running club together.
Anyway, the name that was chosen by way of election was the "Glastonbury River Runners" in an effort to incorporate an identifying fixture in Glastonbury, the Connecticut River. I think it's a great name...my single-favorite running course in town is down Tryon Street, which runs along the river. The name won a narrow election over a more plain-vanilla "Glastonbury Running Club". Alas, Mr. Byram's enthusiastic campaign for "G-Dogs" managed to garner only one vote, presumably his own.
I'm also very happy with the mission statement (now undergoing some final tweaking by none other than Mr. Byram) which talks about a group that organizes running events and contemplates camaraderie, competition and health. I was also excited to hear that there was very strong support for resurrecting my King of Pain 10-Miler race, and especially excited that someone else would be directing it (none other than Mr. Byram).
But I was really impressed with the enthusiasm of the group and the different talents that each person brought to the table. Amy was relieved to hear that I somehow managed to leave the meeting without any solid responsibilities whatsoever. But it's probably only a matter of time before I volunteer myself for a committee or two.
Someday I'll look back and proudly say that I played a (very) small role in putting together the Glastonbury River Runners...and helped prevent the club from adopting the name, "The G-Dogs".
