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Over the past 38 years, many people have contributed to the success of the Houston Marathon, from runners to volunteers to race officials. In order to honor those who have helped bring the Houston Marathon from its humble beginnings to its current status as one of the nation's premiere marathons, the Houston Marathon Committee has established the Houston Marathon Hall of Fame.
Each year, the Houston Marathon Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who went above and beyond the call of duty to make the Houston Marathon a success. We welcome the class of 2010 to the Houston Marathon Hall of Fame and thank them for their significant contributions to this great event.
SANDRA GRIMES began volunteering for the Houston Marathon Committee, Inc. in 1989 selling merchandise in the tunnel system downtown while working at Tenneco (then sponsor of the Houston Marathon). Over the next few years, Sandra's marathon responsibilities expanded greatly, and for more than a dozen years, she chaired subcommittees overseeing the design, purchase, retails sales and distribution of all Houston Marathon merchandise.
Each February, Sandra worked on the design for the next year's marathon merchandise. She designed and ordered volunteers, runner, committee, charity and retail merchandise, finisher's medals and awards, and any other merchandise items needed by the marathon. On race weekend, Sandra worked 14 to 16 hours a day managing the retail sales and the runners' merchandise areas.
In 2001, Sandra was elected to the Committee's Board of Directors. She served as Secretary to the Board from 2002 until her retirement from the Committee in 2006.
ROB MOCK has been a triple-threat volunteer for the Houston Marathon Committee, Inc. He first volunteered in 1989 and starting the Wednesday before race day, Rob Mock quickly became the "go-to-guy" of the Houston Marathon. As an integral part of race preparation, Rob served as Race Course Director in 1997, Course Equipment Director in 198 and George R. Brown Director from 1998-2003.
Each day leading up to the race, Rob supervised workers and construction, directed the hoards of delivery trucks, managed the installation of the plumbing and electricity, paid bills and arranged permits. He also organized volunteers and answered questions, positioned EXPO vendors and helped to assemble the Texas Children's Hospital Kids' Fun Run the morning of the marathon. Similarly, Rob continued to be an active member of the Board of Directors and was the Vice President until his retirement from the board in 2003.
GLORIA and HARRY MCLEOD have worked, and sometimes both run and worked, all 36 Houston marathons. No one can beat that. In 1972, Gloria and Harry opened about 300 boxes of beef stew to serve runners and volunteers after finishing the race. And not to mention, Harry ran that marathon before helping with the kitchen chores. In years following, Gloria also ran the marathon while continuing her kitchen duties until the marathon left Memorial Park for downtown. After that, she and Harry were at the finish line, Harry on the microphone and Gloria looking up numbers and names. Later, they helped Fred Duckett, who took over the announcing job. In 1997, when the temperature was freezing and the finish line stage iced over, Gloria said, “That’s it, Harry, we’re getting an inside job.” Since that time, Harry has passed away (2000), but Gloria continues to be involved and works with volunteers serving coffee and snacks to marathon volunteers. Quite a record!
CY STRONG began his tenure with the Houston Marathon Committee more than 25 years ago. His commitment first began when he co-chaired registration with his wife Diane for more than three years, which then lead to chairing the invited athlete program and serving as course co-chairman, each for three years. Cy also served as the Board of Directors for more than 25 years.
Passionate and committed to whatever he sets out to accomplish, Cy is best known for being an initiator, first initiating the Houston Marathon’s “Run for a Reason” charity program and serving as chairman for three years. Together with Maddie Bunch (Board of Directors), they developed the concept of the half marathon, and Cy, along with other members of the running community, developed the 5K race.
As Treasurer of the board, he helped to establish a fiscal model of commitment which the board adhereds to this day. Alongside his successful Houston Marathon activities, he completed 25 marathons across the country, including the Houston Marathon as well as others.
AUSTIN O'TOOLE joined the Houston Marathon Board of Directors in 1979, when George Kleeman was the race director. During his time on the board, Austin's responsibilities included runner registration and oversight of the EXPO. He also represented the board as attorney, beginning with the negotiations that led to Methodist Hospital becoming the Houston Marathon's title sponsor in 1997. He established the Veterans' Committee in 1985 to honor all runners who have finished 10 or more Houston Marathons. Every year, Austin brings his collection of Houston Marathon t-shirts from prior years to display at the Veterans' Booth at the EXPO.
MARIA CAMACHO's resident assistant at her dorm at Purdue told her that running 1 mile would burn off a small soft-serve ice cream cone. Maria began running that week in order to continue enjoying soft serve ice cream, and has been running ever since. Maria and her husband, Jesse, ran their first Houston Marathon in 1983, and have both run the race every year since. The couple holds the 2nd-longest streak of any husband and wife team, and Maria is tied for the most Houston Marathons run by a female. Maria's fastest Houston Marathon finish came in 1987, when she ran a 3:03.
PETE LEAGUE was the Houston Marathon's first race director. He was transferred from the Bay Area to Houston for his job with Shell in 1971 and quickly became involved in the Houston running scene. In 1972, he decided that Houston needed a marathon. There were 138 runners who toed the line on that day in December 1972 for a five-loop tour of Memorial Park. Pete directed the first three Houston Marathons, and in April 1975 he went on to found another local fixture, the Bayou City Fun Run. Pete now lives in Austin and comes over every year to help out with the Houston Marathon - this year he'll be in charge of security in the George R. Brown Convention Center.
DAVID HANNAH was the race director of the Houston Marathon from 1980 to 2002. This was a time of tremendous growth for the Houston Marathon: the race hosted about 700 runners in 1980, and almost 10,000 ran in 2002. During this period of time, David also oversaw negotiations that led to the race's first three title sponsors: Tenneco Inc., Methodist Health Care System, and Compaq Computer Company. In 1982, under David's direction, Houston became only the 6th race in the nation to offer a prize purse, at the time given in the form of a trust in the winner's name in order to preserve the runners' amateur status. Every one of those first five races no longer exists, and Houston is thus the oldest race in the country to offer prize money.
JAMES KETELSEN was CEO of Tenneco, Inc. from 1978 to 1991. Under his leadership, Tenneco became the title sponsor of the Houston Marathon in 1979, a position that Tenneco would hold for 17 years. At the time, Tenneco was one of the top 20 corporations in the country, and there was virtually no significant corporate sponsorship of road races. Those 17 years saw the explosive growth of the race - the watershed moment was the introduction of prize money for the 1982 race. James was also one of the pioneers of corporate fitness, and it was on his watch that Tenneco opened its Employee Fitness Center. He also started a foundation called Project GRAD, which promotes education for inner-city children. When James left Tenneco in 1991, he went to work for the foundation full-time, where he works to this day.
TOM and MARY ANNE MCBRAYER were at the first Houston Marathon in 1972. It was the McBrayers' station wagon that marked the turnaround point on the five-loop marathon course. They both ran in the event back in those years, and Mary Anne was twice the female masters winner of the race. They have done everything imaginable as volunteers for the event. Mary Anne served as secretary of the committee, organized all volunteers and oversaw the convention center on race day. Tom ran the finish line and kept track of all marathon equipment over the years, and has personally measured every course that the Houston Marathon has ever known. They both served on the Board of Directors, and are still active in the running scene at the local and national level through USATF, the Houston Masters running club, and the marathon warm-up series.
JACK LIPPINCOTT ran his first Houston Marathon in 1975 and hasn't missed one since. His 32 consecutive Houston Marathons to date give him the longest streak in Houston Marathon history. Jack is one of the only current runners who could give you a first-hand account of the early marathon routes in Memorial Park and the evolution of the race from a small, local affair to one of the nation's premier road races. In addition to running, Jack is in charge of the Houston Marathon Veterans Committee and keeps track of each and every participant who has ten or more finishes at the Houston Marathon.
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