The Clarkston Wolfpack Running Club has met each Saturday morning in Depot park for so long that no one is sure when the club actually started. Most of the members agree it has been at least twenty years.
‘We show up to run rain, shine or ice storm,? said Maureen Tippin, who has been with the group for 10 years.
On average, the weekly Saturday runs draw a dozen or so people, and there are about 30 people active in the informal club.
‘It was just a group of people (in the beginning) who like to run together and it just went from there,? said Paul Van Klaveren. ‘We are a mixed bag of runners. We have people that are slower and we have people who are way out in front.?
Sevenm members of the Wolfpack, took part in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Sept. 26. Tippin and Brian McCallum each finished first in their age groups with times of 3:29 and 3:57 respectively, and Van Klaveren took ninth in his age group with a time of 3:43.
Tippin and Van Klaveren have also qualified and plan to run the Boston Marathon in April 2005.
Aside from honing the runners competitive edge, the Wolfpack also provides a therapeutic atmosphere in which members can seek advice or just a friendly ear.
‘We have an unspoken word that what we talk about on the run stays on the run,? said Tippin. ‘It’s hard to put into words the type of comradery we share.?
Every year on Christmas Eve members of the Wolfpack gather en-masse to run, dressed as Santa and his elves, up Main Street in Clarkston, caroling as they stop into Rudy’s and other area businesses.
‘It’s our big reunion. People who don’t even run anymore come back,? said Tippin.
For anyone who wants to run with the Wolfpack, they are openly seeking new members to join them on Saturdays at 9 a.m. in Depot Park.