Indiana All Star Running
Club Director
Iâ??ve been
asked to write an article regarding the impact that Doug Schmidt and Indiana
All Star Running Club have had on running in the state of Indiana. I think that a little background
information would help people better understand Doug, his involvement with
running, and our club.
Doug
developed a passion for the sport of running while attending Indiana Universityâ??s
School of Dentistry in the early 1970s. He liked
that he could run in between classes and clinics. As Dougâ??s running buddies
became parents and their kids began running, Doug became involved in sharing
his love of the sport and evolved into a coach/mentor for them and their
friends.
Dougâ??s
home was open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year for runners.
He never locked his doors! He turned his lower level into a locker room with
shower facilities, a sauna, a Jacuzzi, an ice bath, and an ultrasound machine
to aid fellow runners through sore muscles and minor injuries. He even stocked
large glass-fronted refrigerators with every kind of drink a runner might
possibly want â??? even YooHoo!
Doug ran
every day for almost 14 years, missed one day, and then went another 17 years
without missing another day. He was not just â??into runningâ? â??? he was good. He competed
on the Masters level with a number of nationally talented runners here in the Indianapolis area. As a
team, they once placed first, second, and third at the Club Masters National
Championships over a three-year span.
Through
his close friendship with Carmel High School coach Chuck Koeppen, Doug started
welcoming young runners to his home on weekends for long training runs with his
Masters-level running buddies. These were always followed by ice baths, sports
drinks, and great conversations about racing, setting goals, upcoming seasons,
staying healthy, etc.
Doug knew
of coach Koeppenâ??s huge success with All-Star Cross Country Camp, and he saw
the desire of high school and middle school runners to compete in the
off-season. Thus, the idea for a club grew in his mind. Together with his
long-time running friends â??? Bob Meier (Craig
Middle School coach), Kevin Kelly (Fall Creek
Valley Middle
School coach), and Koeppen â??? as co-founders,
Indiana All Star Running Club was born in the summer of 2000.
Indiana
All Star Running Clubâ??s first undertaking was to organize teams of runners
attempting to qualify for the USA Track and Field Junior Olympic Cross Country
Championships. In December of 2000, 88 athletes accompanied by 30 adults flew
to Reno, Nev.,
for the national championships. Bob Kennedy and Ashley Johnson, representing
The Running Co. (our 2000 team sponsor), came to the Indianapolis airport to
see everyone off and wish the runners good luck.
The clubâ??s
teams performed like none other as our teams won every high school age-group
competition, and Indiana All Star Running Club was awarded the National Club
Trophy. The stage swarmed with people dressed in the clubâ??s black team jackets
and black warm-up pants.
To help
keep travel costs down for the athletes and coaches, Doug had personally footed
the bill for the three nightsâ?? stay at the meetâ??s headquarters, the Circus
Circus Hotel.
That was
just the first example of Dougâ??s generosity to â??his kids.â? Doug never held back
in giving to runners. Whether it was his home, his drinks, his money, or his
time and advice, Doug was always generous. He thought about each and every
runner and was insightful regarding their running issues. If it was girl
troubles or a sore Achilles tendon, Doug was ready to listen and help.
Doug truly
believed that if the club could make running look fun, then more kids would try
it. He knew that by the time young runners would discover that training hard
could sometimes really hurt, theyâ??d be hooked on it just like he was! And
theyâ??d be determined to keep going.
The fall
of 2001 saw the first Indiana Middle School Cross Country Championship, with
541 kids participating. By 2006, the championship saw 1,200 finishers with 4,000
spectators in attendance! The success and popularity of this wonderful event is
a testament to Dougâ??s dedication and passion for bringing the sport he loved to
Indianaâ??s
youth.
How many Indiana high school and
college runners remember seeing that skinny guy in running shorts running along
the cross country course, yelling at them to run faster and reach their goal? How
many athletes did his thoughtful advice help see through a tough season? How many
runners ran better races each Saturday because they ice bathed at Dougâ??s house
each Thursday night?
I can tell
you how many elementary school kids have come running up to the packet pick-up
table at the Indiana MS CC Championships, brimming over with excitement from
watching all of the dayâ??s races and begging to register at the last minute for
the 3rd-4th-5th grade race … and I can tell
you thatâ??s Doug and Indiana All Star Running Club having made another conquest.
The clubâ??s efforts had inspired yet another young kid to try running â??? because
it looked like such fun!
Itâ??s hard
to quantify the effect that one person has on a sport. But Dougâ??s legacy now is
living on in every runner that he loved, hooked into this sport, and inspired
to â??be the best they could be.â?
Weâ??ll see it
every cross country season and track season when his runners set new personal
records dedicated to Doug.
Weâ??ll see
it every year when graduated runners run a road race in their club singlet.
Weâ??ll see
it every fall as new young runners compete in the Indiana Middle School Cross
Country Championship and learn to love the sport.
And Iâ??ll
know it every day I go out and run, feel it hurt, and feel proud to be eating
pain for breakfast.
So
what do you think? Share your thoughts in our Boys Cross Country forum.
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