Know someone who has shown outstanding support of running in the community?
Prairie Striders Running Club will be giving out its 16th annual Friend of Running Award following the Jan. 25 Prairie Striders Indoor 5K.
Nomination are due Jan. 3. Please include specific examples of the nominees contributions. The selection will be made by a committee of past recipients. The award recipient will be expected to attend the Jan. 25 gathering and agree to have his/her honor publicized in local media.
Past winners:
2007 Bob Bartling, president of the original board of Prairie Striders when it was formed by then SDSU cross-country coach Jay Dirksen on Sept. 12, 1969.
2008 Dirksen, head cross country coach at the University of Nebraska from 1983 to 2011.
2009 Scotty Roberts, director of the marathon in Brookings from 1981 to 2003.
2010 Tom Bezdichek, president of the club from 1982 to 1990.
2011 Matt Bien, president of the club from 2003 to 2009, Brookings Marathon race director 2007 to present.
2012 Steve Britzman, director of the Hobo Day 5K since its founding in 1996 and the Arbor Day 5K since its founding in 1989.
2013 Chuck Tiltrum, a Prairie Striders race director in the early 1990s and race course certification chairman for South Dakota during the 1990s through The Athletics Congress.
2014 Reed Hart, an advocate of running and lifetime member who gifted the club with $20,000 from his estate.
2015 Mary Bjerke, a vital part of the Brookings Marathon planning committee for more than a decade who also runs in or volunteers with other Prairie Striders races.
2016 Shari Landmark, director of the Im Ready for Summer Triathlon, long-time past director of the Jack 15 and president of Prairie Striders 2010-12.
2017 Lorne Bartling, a charter member and club president in 1972-73 who was ranked first nationally for the 60-64 age group in the one-hour run in 1981.
2018 Kevin Smith, a runner who used an interest in computers to create the Brookings Marathon website and revise the Prairie Striders website.
2019 Lou Eggebraaten, the first female president of Prairie Striders, serving two one-year terms in 1980 and 81, and was secretary for the Longest Day Marathon.
2020 Dave Graves, club president since 2013, director of the Jack 15 since 2012, and editor of the club newsletter who also ran 36 marathons.
2021 Jay Larsen, a five-time Boston Marathon qualifier, longtime Prairie Striders race volunteer and club treasurer since 2013.
2022 Russ Strande, a long-time Brookings High School coach, charter member of Prairie Striders Running Club and veteran runner.
2023 Chuck McCullough, a Brookings Marathon mainstay for nearly 20 years who has directed the Scotty Roberts 5K, held the evening prior to the marathon, since 2018.
Information can be submitted at [email protected] or mailed to Prairie Striders, Box 504, Brookings, SD 57006. To submit a nomination online, go to: www.prairiestriders.net/friend-of-running.html.
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