Salem, Oregon's
Running & Walking Club Site
Home of
Willamette Valley Road Runners (WVRR)
www.WVRoadrunners.org.

Merger Musings by Burke Schmidt

     Around the first of the year, several people were standing in front of the Governor's Cup talking about the two running clubs in Salem. Someone asked to explain the difference between the two clubs, and after a bit of stammering, we decided that Pheidippides held a few more races than the Striders. That was about it. This club similarity has emerged after a number of small changes each club has made during the past few years.

     When the Willamette Valley Striders formed as a club, it was the product of earlier competitive running clubs. Those clubs had evolved to the point where there was a need for a new organization with a fairly congenial name and some means of encouraging membership. The idea and development of these second Salem running clubs came about largely because of political issues in the running community. Those issues have long been forgotten, however, the main focus of the clubs, a desire of the members to compete in races and relays is still part of the Striders today.

     The Striders grew steadily, but two years ago a large number of new members from Susan Gallagher's running and walking clinics joined as part of their clinic fees. Because of this influx, the nature of the club changed from race and relay specific to a variety of things including walking, a rise in interest in marathons, and a diminishing interest in relay teams. The board struggled with this new addition and never successfully addressed the needs of the walking members.

     During the rise of the Striders, the Pheidippides club was declining, finding it difficult to retain members and except for a couple of flagship races, had lost its identity and direction. However, a handful of staunch members kept the club alive and enabled it to grow and even develop some new races. Eventually, Pheidippides began to emerge as a viable club once again.

     Then decisions began to occur in both clubs, which further clouded the differences between the two clubs. The Striders was a RRCA club, and Pheidippides joined RRCA last year. The Striders adopted a major race, the Cascade Half Marathon, formerly the Governor's Trophy Run, Pheidippides was quite experienced, having retained the Dream of Roses and Zena Road Runs, and developed a few other races. The two clubs incorporated walking into their club names. But the catalyst for the merging idea came when Pheidippides and Striders began sharing a common web site. This was a joint decision by each club board late last year. Once the web site was developed, the difference became just a mouse click, Pheidippides on one side and the Striders on the other. The question regarding the differences was quite legitimate and one with an uncertain answer.

     One of the people participating in that early Governor's Cup discussion suggested that each club board of directors discuss the topic of merging the two clubs. Well, the recommendation was taken to each club board. Both club boards realized that no discussion or decisions could be made without the presence of the other board. So, a meeting was planned, we met, discussed the idea of a merger, addressed potential problems, and decided to proceed We prepared letters for the membership and sent them out along with a ballot, and the result was an overwhelming approval by the joint memberships.

     Now that we've decided to merge the two clubs, it is necessary to select a name, to adopt bylaws, and develop a philosophy or mission statement. We expect both club memberships to participate in this process. We are going to make this new running club the most exciting and vital organization in the state.