International Front Runners (Frontrunners) is an umbrella organization of

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

and

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults o ...

clubs around the world. The walking clubs are called Frontwalkers.

Activities

Most Front Runners clubs host one or more weekly fun runs. Following a 30-year tradition, members typically gather afterwards at a local restaurant. Many of the larger clubs host social events such as potluck dinners and annual banquets; participate as a team in distance

relays A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switch ...

and international LGBT sporting events such as

Gay Games The Gay Games is a worldwide sport and cultural event that promotes acceptance of sexual diversity, featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) athletes, artists and other individuals. Founded as the Gay Olympics, it was starte ...

World Outgames The World Outgames were a sporting and cultural event hosted by the gay community. The Outgames were open to all who wish to participate, without regard to sexual orientation. There were no qualifying standards, although competitions were arranged a ...

, and

EuroGames The EuroGames are an LGBT multi-sport event in Europe, licensed by the European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation to a local city host each year and organised (most often) by one or more of the federation's member clubs. Similar to the Gay Gam ...

; and elect officers, have

bylaws A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...

and a membership-dues structure. A growing interest in

has led some Front Runners clubs to add "Frontwalkers" to their club name.

Name variation

There are four different spellings of the organization name: Front Runners, FrontRunners, Frontrunners, and the infrequently used frontRunners.

History

The first FrontRunners club was formed in San Francisco in January, 1974 by Jack Baker and Gardner Pond. It started as an "introduction to jogging" group listed in the bimonthly publication of "Lavender U", which was organized to serve the gay and lesbian community. "Classes" such as creative writing, ballroom dancing, learning to play bridge, etc., were listed. Jack and Gardner were members of San Francisco's DSE Running Club and modeled the Lavender U Joggers after it. The group met every Sunday at 10AM at a different scenic location. In 1978, Lavender U ceased to exist and the then-leader of the Lavender U Joggers, Bud Budlong, held a series of reorganization meetings that resulted in the group renaming itself "FrontRunners." The new name was inspired by Patricia Nell Warren's 1974 novel ''The Front Runner,'' about a gay track coach and a gay runner. Bylaws were written, dues were established, and the first election of officers was held in January, 1979. Several years later, the group changed its weekly run to Saturday at 9 AM at Stowe Lake in Golden Gate Park. The second FrontRunners club was formed in 1979 when Malcolm Robinson, a runner and employee of New York Road Runners, organized a gay running club and modeled it after the FrontRunners. He called it Front Runners New York. Soon after, the Los Angeles Front Runners was formed. After the first Gay Games, held in San Francisco in 1982, many Front Runners clubs were organized throughout the United States and around the world. Patricia Nell Warren, known as "Patches" to her Los Angeles Front Runners family, frequented the Los Angeles runs and annual dinners held by the LA group and participated in the annual Christopher Street West parade as part of the LA Front Runners contingent during the 1990s, thanks to then-president Marty Freedman and then-executive board member Kevin and Don Norte. The International Front Runners was created and became a more formal body by drafting and adopting a mission statement and constitution at the Front Runners International Front Runner Forum in 1999.

Clubs around the world

There are over 100 Front Runners clubs worldwide, about half of which are in the United States. The International Front Runners website maintains
visual directory

United States and Canada

*Atlanta - Front Runners Atlanta https://frontrunnersatlanta.org *Calgary Front Runners in Calgary AB Canada (originally named Alpine Front Runners Club Calgary) running every Saturday @ 9 AM from the south end of the peace bridge and 3 seasons (except winter) Wednesdays @ 5:30 PM from the same location. *Chicago Frontrunners and Frontwalkers, inducted into the

Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame The Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame (formerly Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame) is an institution founded in 1991 to honor persons and entities who have made significant contributions to the quality of life or well-being of the LGBT community in Chic ...

in 1995. *Colorado Front Runners, runs in Denver, Boulder, and the foothills. *DC Front Runners, since 1981 *Houston Front Runners *Los Angeles *Nashville Frontrunners, formed in 2016, is a LGBTQ+ running club based in Nashville, Tennessee.
Front Runners New York
NYC’s LGBT running club. Founded 1979, affiliated with New York Road Runners (NYRR), and member club of Road Runners Club of America. *Philadelphia *San Francisco Front Runners, since 1974, LGBT Running and Walking Club Welcoming Everyone of All Abilities! *Seattle Frontrunners, since 1985 *Toronto - Front Runners Toronto, since 1987
Vancouver (BC) Frontrunners
formed in 1983 and sponsor of the annual (July) Vancouver Pride Run & Walk. * Long Beach Shoreline Frontrunners formed in 1984.

Europe

*Amsterdam -

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Gay and Lesbian Athletics a.k.a. Frontrunners Amsterdam *Cologne *Dublin Front Runners 'Running With Pride' since 2005 *Dundee Frontrunners *Edinburgh Frontrunners
Glasgow FrontRunners
an award-winning, inclusive community-based road-running group with strong links to Glasgow’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community and friends. Founded in 2010. Affiliated to

Scottish Athletics Scottish Athletics, stylised as scottishathletics, is the governing body for the sport of athletics in Scotland. Established as a limited company on 1 April 2001, it succeeded the Scottish Athletics Federation (SAF) and is a member of the Commonwe ...

and JogScotland *London Front Runners : a running club for gay, lesbian and transgender men and women and gay-friendly people who love running. *Manchester Frontrunners : founded in 2005, a friendly LGBT running club who welcome all people of all abilities. *Leeds Frontrunners: Founded in 2015, Leeds Front Runners is an inclusive community based running group with strong links to the LGBT community and their friends. *Lyon *Marseille : "Contre les discriminations, faisons du sport ensemble" *Newcastle Frontrunners, Formed in 2011 we welcome runners of all abilities, gender and sexual orientation. We annually hold our LGBT 5K on Newcastle upon Tyne's famous Town Moor. *Nice - Front Runners Nice *Paris Front Runners, since 1992 *Stockholm Frontrunners:
Brighton & Hove Frontrunners
Formed in 2018. Holding an annua
rainbow run 5k
the day before Brighton Pride

Asia Pacific

*Sydney Front Runners, since 1983 *Adelaide Frontrunners, since 2021

Famous Front Runners

* Actor

George Takei George Takei (; ja, ジョージ・タケイ; born Hosato Takei (武井穂郷), April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship USS ''Enterprise'' in the televi ...

met his husband Brad Altman during an LA Front Runners run in the 1980s. * Dutch athlete

Monique de Wilt Monique de Wilt (born 31 March 1976, in 's-Hertogenbosch) is a former Dutch athlete, specializing in the pole vault. She is a 14-time national champion in that event. She won the silver medal at the 1999 Summer Universiade. Her outdoor personal ...

had two personal records in the

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

during the

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

in 1998. She won the silver medal at the 1999 Summer Universiade. Only in 2005 both her Dutch national records (indoor and outdoor) were broken by

Femke Pluim Femke Pluim (born 10 May 1994) is a Dutch athlete whose specialty is pole vaulting. She competed at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, without qualifying for the final. In addition she won the silver medal at the 2013 Europe ...

. * The drag persona of Rupaul's Drag Race star

Shuga Cain Shuga Cain is the stage name of Jesus Martinez (born November 20, 1977), an American drag queen and baker who came to international attention on the eleventh season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. Early life Martinez was born in Oakland, California ...

was born during the 2015 NYC Pride March, while marching as a member of Front Runners New York. A year later, she won the club's yearly Variety Hour. She started drag full time a year after that, then was chosen to be on the show's 11th season.

References

{{Reflist}
Front Runners Atlanta

External links

frontrunners.orgfsgl.org
International LGBT sports organizations Running clubs 1974 establishments in California Inductees of the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame