Thank you to everyone that signed up and volunteered at the 2018 Run to Remember and came out to work the LSRC water-stopduring the race .
About Us
In 1986, a group of six friends who had been running out of the Curley Recreational Center in South Boston decided they should form a running club. John “Mac” McDermott, Tom Walsh, Ron Rumble, James “Jocko” Charris, Peter Dearden, and Josh Nemzer called themselves the L Street Running Club (LSRC) and, soon afterwards, came up with the club motto “No Pace Too Slow, No Distance Too Short.”
Within a few years John “Mac” McDermott, one of the original 6 founders, became President. During his 20-year tenure, sayings like “Maintain, Maintain, Maintain,” “Hills are our Friends” and “Pain is Temporary, Pride lasts Forever” were added to the club’s vocabulary. Under his leadership, the club’s famous Marathon Training Program was established, which allows runners to train together on cold wintry Sunday mornings for Boston, and on sweltering summer days for fall marathons.
Those training are asked to sign up for a water stop. Runners rely on these to give each other strength and energy as they contain more than just water and sometimes resemble a small grocery store. Runners work their own stop, or get a family member or friend to work it for them. Thus, all members training for a marathon benefit from each other’s support.
Many get creative with their stops, such as the Hawaiian Themed Water Stop, complete with Hawaiian clothing on the volunteers, music, and a heated tent. The Dinner Table Water Stop included candles, tablecloth, silverware and soft dinner music.
In 1987 the club decided to put on a road race for, as one member said, “Who better to put on a road race than runners?” The Sugar Bowl 5 Miler was born, and 250 runners ran around the Sugar Bowl in its inaugural run. Within 2 years, the race had grown tremendously and was relocated. After a beloved club member passed away, it was renamed to the “Jim Kane Sugar Bowl 5 Miler.”
In 2012, for its 25th anniversary, the distance was changed to a 5k. It continues to grow and raise money for local charities, with almost 1400 registered for the 2013 edition. The JKSB, held on the third Thursday in July, has become a fixture in the New England racing calendar.
The LSRC theme for our race is “We Run It, We Don’t Run In It.” This means club members don’t run in the race but volunteer on race day, making sure runners have a great experience from beginning to end.
Group runs are held Tuesday and Thursday evenings, with one group leaving at 6:00 pm and another group leaving at 6:15. These groups run anywhere from 5-7 miles and may do hill workouts or scenic runs. From June-September, Tuesday track workouts are added at 6:30 pm. In addition, a small contingent of L Streeters compete in triathlons and ultra races, and have their own regularly scheduled workouts for these events.
Besides running, LSRC is known for its charitable work. A week before Christmas, we provide food baskets for 50 needy families. Each basket contains a 20 lb turkey, pie, bread, potatoes, cranberry sauce, vegetables and all the necessary ingredients for a complete holiday dinner. Gifts and warm gloves are also provided for each child in the family. LSRC members get together early in the morning to form assembly lines and fill these baskets. Then we hand deliver a basket to the home on our list. The smiles, surprise and joy on their faces when they see us at their doors bearing food and gifts for them is priceless.
We also give $1000 scholarships to two needy Boston high school students, who are active members of their school’s track or cross-country teams, and who plan on attending college. LSRC does much for the community through the monies raised from our race, and expects to do much more in the future.
In December of 2012, after 20 years as President, Mac handed over the reins to Theresa Cidelevich, the club’s first female president. Theresa came up with the great idea of giving out cold face towels to cool off runners at the recent JKSB, and has kept up the momentum of the club. She is actively involved with the BAA, and is leading the club towards even greater heights.
Please consider joining the green and white of the L Street Running Club. We look forward to having you become a new LSRC member, and helping us to give runners an even better experience at the 2018 Jim Kane Sugar Bowl 5k.
-Alma Ramos-McDermott