Moscow Food Co-op - The Palouse Road Runners: Fancy Footwork in the Inland Midwest

The Palouse Road Runners: Fancy Footwork in the Inland Midwest

It gives me great pleasure to introduce this month’s highlighted community group: the Palouse Road Runners (the PRRs).
As you may know, the PRRs are a fixture in our region. The group serves the local community by promoting healthy running and exercise, and it does so by organizing competitive local races and by sponsoring daily workout routines. It also forges links with other community organizations to promote ‘fun-run’ events.

“It’s a small club, but very active,” says John Pool, who serves as a board member and directs publicity. “It also has a long-standing history – it existed long before it was technically a club.”
Indeed, the PRRs have deep roots. The club was formed, rather loosely, around 1973 (no one can pinpoint the exact date). In those days, it organized the “First Annual Crazy Days Run” between Moscow and Pullman. In the early 1980s, under the auspices of Archie George, the club was transmogrified into the Moscow Road Runners. Finally, in 1991, the club was baptized as the Palouse Road Runners, and now falls under the national penumbra of the Road Runners Club of America.
The members of the PRRs are quite dedicated. The organization has about 30–40 due-paying members. They organize three major runs each year, and they’re always hoping to pull in new recruits.
The first event occurs each spring. This is the Snake River Canyon half-marathon, and it covers 13.1 miles. It starts and ends at the Wawawai Landing, where the WSU team practices. All are invited, and the event officially kicks off the running season.
The second event is the WSU 100K relay and solo race. This monster marathon extends 62.2 miles, and it starts and ends at the Field House at WSU. This is a team-orientated run, and it takes place on April 20 (registration materials are on the club’s website, listed below).
The final race of the season is the “Moscow Mountain Madness,” and it occurs in early or mid-September (the precise date is yet to be announced). Starting on the west side of the mountain, this race goes 12 miles and can be done on either foot or on bike.
The PRRs are also active daily. Each weekday, the PRRs meet at noon outside the Memorial Gym at the University of Idaho to run together. To join, you simply need to bring your sneakers. There’s also a regular meeting on the third Tuesday of every month, which moves around from home to home. Moreover, every couple of months, the group gets together to have dinner and drinks – meetings that Pool calls “serious hydration therapy sessions.”
The best part of the PRR club, as Pool explains it, is that it gives runners a sense of camaraderie. “There’s a certain loneliness in being a long-distance runner,” he confesses. “It’s not a terribly social activity. Essentially, you are out there alone. But the Road Runners gives you the chance to be with like-minded people.”
This network is an essential part of the mission of the PRRs. “For instance, we can help individuals find other people to run with. We have a whole program for training partners. You don’t even have to be a member – it’s just a service that we provide. It’s all laid out on our website.”
Membership is negligible: the cost is $15 per person or $20 for a family. Your membership card also gives you a 10 percent discount at TriState on running gear, and it also lowers fees for the Moscow Madness registration.
If you’re interested in the Palouse Road Runners, simply check out their site on the internet: www.palouseroadrunners.org.

Sean M. Quinlan is an historian of science at the University of Idaho.