An opportunity to talk about the Club’s past, present, and future with Connie is truly a gift. In the early 1980s, the Club’s newsletter called Connie “the heart and soul of the Boulder Road Runners. If you need something, it’s most likely Connie who will provide it.”
The Club’s “administrator,” Connie managed membership, got the newsletter out, managed financial affairs, and even worked the finish line of events, and compiled race results. If there is anything you want to know, just ask Connie.
“I still have the thank you notes Jenny and Emma wrote to us,” a beaming Connie Harmon shared over a recent Zoom call. “They were both so nice and so grateful we were able to help them early in their careers.” Sure enough…before Jenny Simpson and Emma Coburn were Olympic Medalists, they were aspiring members of the CU Cross-Country and Track Program with big dreams.
“We also had a scholarship fund for high school runners going into college” Connie continued as we talked about the Club’s role in the formative early days of the Boulder running community.
Connie has every newsletter the club published from 1979 through her retirement from administrative duties in 2009. “Ask Connie” is the most common answer to any question asked about the Club’s first thirty years.
Club founder Rich Castro described Connie as “someone you could always count on to help. She was the unsung hero and backbone of what we were doing for some 30+ years. She was always calm and cool, quite the opposite of my early days. She methodically took care of business, whatever that might be, and she did so without a lot of fanfare.”
Connie Harmon at the USATF Masters 5K Cross-Country Championships
October 2022 in Boulder, CO. She represented the Women’s 60+ team that finished 2nd on the podium.
Connie, what should new members know about the Club?
Connie: (The Club) was such a community affair from the very beginning. It was the beginning of women’s running and women’s-only races. We were a very diverse club. We even had a high school board member. Our first President was Pearl Mell, age 65, the rest of us were in our twenties and thirties.
When Club was founded, the only organized running groups were Rocky Mountain Road Runners, Pikes Peak Road Runners, and Colorado Track Club (more elite-focused). People in Boulder wanted some type of organization and to run with others.
What does representing the Club in the 5K Masters National Cross-Country Championship in Boulder mean to you?
Connie: I was (a competitor) before Title IX and never got a chance to run on a team. It’s been a long time since I ran on a Club Team. I will be racing on the W60 B Team and am excited to get to know my new BRR Club teammates.
I am still here. Still active. I am more excited now than 15 years ago. I am happy to see the Club still going and doing well.
Our whole family has grown up in the Club, Boulder Road Runners from birth.
What was running in Boulder like during the early days?
Connie (and husband Ron): We moved to Boulder in 1977. There weren’t a lot of trails or bike paths. The track was like a bombed-out airfield. It was an asphalt surface full of potholes. I (Ron) still managed to run a 4:20 mile on it. Tuesday afternoons were the club’s interval workouts on the track followed by all-you-can-eat pasta at the Gondolier.
What were your favorite local races in the early days that nobody will remember if they weren’t there?
Connie and Ron: Run for the Roses and the High-Altitude Challenge (15K) were great races. The annual Kick-Off Classic and of course the Club started the Turkey Trot. The race always finished on the CU Track. We had a high of 1,800 runners (for the Turkey Trot) and raised a lot of money for the community food share.
Thank you, Connie and Ron…for your many contributions to the Club through the years. You have been a source of truth and inspiration whenever we have needed your counsel.
It is worth noting, Connie is still running very well. Running with her son Stephen, she posted a 28-minute 5K on Thanksgiving Day to place 3rd in her age group.
At the USATF Masters 5K Cross-Country Championships in October, Connie ran with nine teammates including Lisa Mills, Stephanie Scholl, Ellen Hart, Vicki Hunter, Lynn O’Donnell, Mary Sparks, Monica Montanez, Ellen Rich, and team coordinator Virginia Schultz.
Next year, our W70 team, consisting of Edie Stevenson, Nancy Antos, Lynn Hermanson, Lorraine Green, and Linda Yarr, will undoubtedly welcome Connie to a new age group with open arms!