Member of the Month: Ross Moore!

For over twenty years, even prior to the Bohemia Track Club's inception, original member Ross Moore has been pounding the pavement and trails of Long Island. Speaking of original, Ross nearly defines the word. Not only has he made his mark locally as a road and trail racer, triathlete, ultramarathoner and orienteer, but as current Treasurer, newsletter writer, race director, and BTC Hall of Famer, Ross' boundless energy has helped to make the club what it is today.

It all began for Ross on February 22, 1977 when, as a 34 year old overweight smoker, he and a neighbor decided to shed some pounds by joining the ranks of the running boom. Halfway around the block those plans changed. Out of breath, the two decided they "were not meant to be runners." But enlightened to the fact that his own Uncle Dave Penoyar (of Uncle Dave's Buddy Run fame) and Bud Simone had completed a ten mile race, Ross found the incentive to try again. Halfway around the block he was again out of breath- but then made an important discovery. By "half-running," or slowing the pace down to a jog, Ross looped the block four times and felt great! He took on the challenge of running daily in the middle of February, and in the process completely forgot about his uncontrollable smoking habit, wound up never smoking again, and lost 25 pounds.

Ross was an extremely fast learner: within ten days of his first run he ran seven miles with his Uncle Dave, and three months later ran the Yonkers Marathon! Also that spring, Ross joined Dave, Buddy, Joe Reid, Ann Marie Krepela, Mike Lotierzo, Kathy Raffloer and a half-dozen others in forming the Bohemia Track Club. They held informal meetings at a church (on Church Street, no less) in Bohemia and hosted the inaugural MacArthur Airport Race. Interestingly, Ross recalls that in those days there were less races and less injuries because races were seasonal, not year-round. These days, he says, there is almost "too much literature" on how to run, and more opportunities and pressures to do too many races.

Early in his racing career, Ross actually won a Brookhaven Labs' 30K, but not by placing first- instead he was the runner with best guess at his finishing time, hitting it exactly at 2:00.00! He bought his first pair of running shoes out of the back of Super Runner's Shop founder Gary Murchke's van, gradually brought his 10K and marathon times down, and then heard about a bunch of distance runners calling themselves the River Road Rats. In spite of his fear of being a novice with these ultramarathoners, Ross joined them on a Sunday morning training run and was warmly accepted. He began showing up in Smithtown every Sunday for long-distance runs (up to 30 miles!), and soon set a personal marathon record of 2:56.10.

In the mid-80's cross-training became a popular technique, and Ross immediately accepted the concept and began doing many local triathlons, including the challenging Northport triathlon (which included a grueling 2.7 mile swim). Ross hooked up with a run/bike/canoe triathlon team, and became the self-proclaimed "weak leg" as the runner on teams highlighted by outstanding canoers Ken Wahls and Larry Liquori. As the team competed around the New England area, Ross realized how much faster one can run when under team pressure: his five mile time dropped an entire minute to 27:34 during one such team race. Another time the crew came up empty when the biker got two flat tires, but Ross came home happy- he had met his future wife Sharon, who happened to be Larry's sister-in-law.

In the late 80's Ross moved up to ultramarathons, with some goading from River Road Rat Joe Dugan. Joe, needing a pacer for the Leadville 100 miler, used the Long Island Marathon to teach a seemingly undertrained Ross how to extend normal runs into longer ones just by slowing down and replenishing along the way. Although Joe dropped out at the 50 mile mark of the Colorado race, Ross unsuspectingly wound up pacing a friend of his upstate New York family instead! Ross fell in love with the American West and trail ultras, and with some orienteering tutoring from club member John Pekarik, ran the Telluride "Get High" ultramarathon. The run was so removed from civilization that participants were required to leave imprints of their shoes and a clothing inventory list in case they got lost. At one point during this run, Ross went four hours without seeing another human, and simply got a thrill from the solitude and magnificent beauty of the land.

Since the mid-80's Ross has poured an enormous amount of effort into the Bohemia Track Club. After his Uncle Dave died, Ross admitted he was "the only one stupid enough" to take on the Airport Race directorship. For the Airport and Buddy Runs, Ross has since managed the logistics of getting location and town permits, insurance, sponsors, awards, shirts and volunteers, as well as creating and distributing applications. He took over newsletter writing and Treasurer duties and formalized the club's Ed Schulte Memorial Scholarship. After a knee injury in 1994, Ross kept his involvement in running by becoming a certified coach for Special Olympics, and by manning the club's clock at local races. Ross can always be spotted at the ten mile mark of both the Long Island and New York Marathons.

In terms of interests, Ross spends time as an investment advisor, a complement to his career as an accountant. He has always been a member of local gyms, and now has his own personal exercise area- including a treadmill, Stairmaster, LAT Machine, stationary bike and various free weights- in his basement. He enjoys bicycling and endorses the activity as an excellent conditioner for ultramarathons. Socially, he always associates with runners, whom he considers interesting and fun. With his wife Sharon he enjoys cross-country skiing and hiking, especially out West, where (not surprisingly) he once stood off a mountain goat for rights to a trail.

As well as an original member, Ross is now an original Bohemia Track Club Hall of Famer, and honor deserved not only for his outstanding racing career, but also for his extraordinary and tireless efforts for the club. Friendly, enthusiastic, persevering, and always equipped with a bad joke, Ross is a man like no other. For all he has done, we gratefully salute Ross Moore as our Member of the Month.