On October 1, 2002, the Albany Running Exchange (ARE) held its first meeting in the Empire Commons Community Center building on the SUNY-Albany campus. Nearly fifty students came to the meeting, eager to find out about the newest club on the SUNY campus, and hopefully to get in shape too. Two days later the club held its first group run, and now, some four months later, the ARE continues to grow and become more involved in the local running scene.

The concept behind the ARE is relatively recent. In the spring of 2002, a few members of the SUNY-Albany cross country team decided they were not going to compete on the college scene the following year, but they still wanted some type of organized running. The first working name for the club was “Runners Gone Mad,” but it didn’t seem that such a name would be very inviting to the friendly and happy runners out there, who weren’t mad at all, and didn’t want to be either. Over the summer, talk about the club continued, but it was sparse and unfocused, even as the school year approached in late August. During the first few weeks of school, though, word had reached a few individuals on campus that a club might be starting, and after receiving several emails and phone calls asking about the club, I finally got around to getting the necessary paperwork to make it a reality. One night, in late September, Dave Dinaburg and I spent two plus hours wandering the campus, putting up flyers anywhere we saw a bulletin board. Along the way we met several people who seemed interested, but we were still very uneasy about how many people would show up at the first meeting. It was with great pleasure and surprise that forty-nine new faces entered the room that night, and as the saying goes, the rest is history.

There isn’t much history, though, so if Paul Rosenberg were writing an article on the club, he’d probably have the “5 days ago in the ARE” and “10 days ago in the ARE” sections. So be it, but we hope to be around for a long, long time.

The club essentially focuses to network students on campus who like to run, but we hope to attract community members as well. We hold group runs two to four times a week, and in addition, the club’s website provides a listing of each member’s availability, “fitness level”, as well as email address. This functions to allow our members to meet new running partners, which can provide much needed motivation when a run by one’s self seems far from desirable. The group runs are times in which all members get together and break up according to the distance and pace they would like to run, providing each participant an adequate workout.

While we are just starting out, the club is nonetheless continuously moving forward. In late November, seven members went on the first ARE trip, down to the Philadelphia Marathon. Four ran the whole distance; it was the first marathon for three of them, all of whom couldn’t have imagined tackling such a race when the school year began. On December 15, nine of our members participated in the first race of the HMRRC Winter Series, and as the new semester begins, we look to become even more involved.
The next step after gaining official recognition from the Student Association was to make ourselves known. After coming up with a logo, we had long sleeve shirts made in early November, and there was talk of singlets and other apparel as well. We want to get the word out about who we are, and we also want people to feel free to join us. On April 13, we will be putting on the Dodge the Deer 5k and 1 Mile Fun Run in the Pine Bush Preserve. It is where we spent all of first semester running, and what better place to put on an event than our own adopted backyard. The race will be a fundraiser for both the club and the Pine Bush Preserve Commission, but more than that, we are using it as our first event for the entire Albany community. The Albany Running Exchange is eager to become involved, and we also want to put on events that people enjoy, talk about, and look forward to. While many aspects of the race are still being put together, one thing is for sure-that you will enjoy our race. It starts and finishes in Rensselaer Lake Park and Preserve (AKA six mile waterworks), and runs along a bike path and then completes a loop within the preserve. We would be happy if you joined us, and if for no other reason, to see what we are all about. Our club is open to anyone, not just students, and please feel free to check us out online at www.albany.edu/~are. And the next time you see someone wearing an Albany Running Exchange shirt, feel free to say hi… we’re not mad anymore.