History

A group of Vancouver runners who had participated in the 1982 San Francisco Gay Games wanted to build on the enthusiasm of the gay-games experience. They started Frontrunners - Vancouver shortly after they returned home.

A few American cities had already started gay running groups using the Front-runner name based on the novel by Patricia Nell Warren called The Front Runner.

In the words of the author, "You have two kinds of runners: kickers and front-runners. . . . The kicker likes to dawdle in the rear of the pack, letting the others carry the burden of setting the pace. He saves himself for a last-lap sprint to the front. But the front-runner goes out in front right away, and tries to stay there and burn off the rest of the field."

Currently, the International Front Runners oraganization has around 100 member clubs in cities around the world. Learn more about IFR at www.frontrunners.org.