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Riis PaRk CeleBrAte
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ne of Chicago’s first organized running clubs, the Riis Park Striders, will celebrate its 40th anniversary this June. The club, which hosted its first meet on June 29, 1976, grew out of a tradition started by former St. Pat’s High School coach George Gebauer, who created the Shamrock Track Club at Riis Park in the mid-1960s. After his departure to coach at Maine South High School, Mike Martorano and Andy Senorski stepped in to fill Gebauer’s place, thus forming the Riis Park Striders. In the 1980s, Chris Precht took over as the club’s president, and continues to serve in that role today. “Our motto is run and enjoy,” Precht says. “We put on low key races so people can get an idea of what they can do, come out once a week and enjoy themselves.” The Riis Park Striders rose to particular recognition in the Chicago running scene in the late 1970s and 1980s. During that time, the Chicago Area Runners Association organized annual track meets, which Riis Park won in 1979, 1981 and from 1983-1986.
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Photo by Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8
“We used to clean up in all the age groups, from 8 and under to over 70,” Precht says. “Now we’re mainly just a long distance running club.” The Riis Park Striders host weekly meets on Saturdays with runs of varying distances ranging from one mile to 7.2 miles, running on roads in the early spring and cross country-style around Riis Park during the summer. Its two biggest races take place on Thanksgiving, when the club hosts the Joe Mittel Memorial Mile and the Dick King Memorial 5K, and the Christmas Classic six mile race in December. Anyone can join the club, which meets at Riis Park (6100 W. Fullerton). To learn more, visit rpstriders.org.
“Our motto is run and enjoy. We put on low key races so people can get an idea of what they can do, come out once a week and enjoy themselves.”