Hall of Fame 2018 - Bryan Glass

On January 26th, I had the honor of presenting Bryan Glass as the newest member of the Springfield Road Runners Hall of Fame. I was made a member 10 years ago. I met Bryan in 2001 at the Bloomington Lake Run. That day he had won the long course and I had won the short course. His high school coach, a college teammate of mine, introduced us, as Bryan was moving to Springfield. We became fast friends...that were fast. Bryan became an important part of my family and has been a true friend in times of need. I am so proud of Bryan and all of the things that he has earned. I truly believe he deserves this honor.

So what qualifies someone to become part of the hall of fame? Running accomplishments, significant contributions to the SRRC, or significant contributions to the running community? Let’s see...

Running Accomplishments:

· Bryan has at one time or another won nearly every race put on the club for the past 17 years

· Bryan is a two-time Honorable Mention Masters Runner of the Year for Runner's World

· Bryan won the Governor's Cup Marathon and the Deadwood Michelson Trail Marathon

Just looking at recent PRs as a Master (he's only 45):

· 4 Miles—19:45

· 8K—25:29

· 10K—31:45

· 12K—38:26

· Half marathon—1:10

Club Contributions:

· SRRC Board from 2011-2018

· President 2015-2016

· Volunteer even if it means wearing a jog bra or dressing like a duck

Community Contributions – and this is what I know he'd say he's most proud of:

· Teacher at Southeast High School

· Coached at Athens, Rochester, Williamsville helping 100's of young adults develop a love of running and helped bring about tremendous success—10 regional and 3 sectional champions, a 2nd and 3rd place State of Illinois team trophy, 12 top ten team finishes and 20 all-state athletes.

· IESA Advisory Board

Yes, he is certainly qualified!

A lot of people ask Bryan, they ask me and all of us, “why are you so crazy to devote all this time to running?” The cool thing is it keeps us youthful. The premise to one of my favorite movies Mary Poppins, and now sequel Mary Poppins Returns, is that you have to never lose the ability to dream like a child. If you can do that, anything is possible. Bryan is just childish enough to have dreamed and succeeded greatly—and look at the great things he accomplished. Congratulations, KID!