A Word from our Sponsors...
the Sponsors' Hall of Fame

Don't touch that mouse!...don't change the station as we move to a commercial break to acknowledge the private-sector patrons who help make our sport possible.

Running, for the most part, is a very affordable sport. Unlike golf, you don't have greens fees. You don't have to buy a dozen assorted titanium clubs with graphite shafts and multi-ferrous alloy strike plates which individually cost more than any dozen elite pair of running shoes. Nor do you have to buy acrylic-coated polymered core balls-with stars on them.

A runner is born with virtually all the equipment he or she needs. An outright gift! The shoes, the shorts...these are fun (The ancient Greeks dispensed with all of these!). And you can go bonkers and indulge yourself by getting a heart monitor that downloads right into your computer...if you want to, but you don't need to. When you get right down to it, running is one of the most cost-effective sports there is (Understand I'm writing from the viewpoint of an almost respectable midpack runner, not that of a world-class elite athlete. Travel, promotion, trainers, etc., are not part of my running experience or costs!)

For most of us, running is very cheap! All the really valuable equipment is ours already.

But there are hidden costs--the price tags we never see. We run on roads that cost millions of dollars to construct and more to maintain. We have at our disposal some 26 races in the Guam Running Club, alone, to choose from each calendar year. And besides those, there are so many 5K's run by various groups and charities that the task of deciding which one to run is almost dizzying. And where race fees in almost any other place in the world averages $15-$20 dollars per 5K, GRC members get almost all their races free after an initial $20.00 annual membership fee. Other 5K's usually don't exceed $10.00. With the fees so low, how do we do it?!

In a word--Sponsors. The private sector steps up to the plate and gives back to the running community, as it does with so many other associations, and underwrites many of our costs. Consider how Gatorade (Mid Pac Distributors) has come alongside the past several years and given GRC an endless supply of gatorade at our races, provided drink coolers with the familiar orange and the lightening flash logo. Gatorade has also printed up those nifty pocket calenders laying out the entire year of GRC races and several non-GRC events. Beyond that Gatorade has taken up the sponsorship of one of the finest 10K race events of the year--the Plumeria 10K.

And what shall we say of PepsiCo? Faithful and utterly reliable, Pepsi has provided enough softdrinks over the years to have filled Tumon, Talofo and Seti bay(s) and could have prevented low tide if they'd poured it in the ocean instead of down our thirsty gullets. Why they could have filled the Marianas Trench. But they gave it to us and they keep on giving. Shall we ever drink Coke...never!!! We will reward loyalty with loyalty; faithfulness with faithfulness, patronage with even more patronage!

Or consider Hornet Sports & Bicycles. Hikko and the crew (next to the Tamuning Cost-U-Less) have given considerable floor space to feature the race applications for virtually all the races that happen on Guam, from GRC to Guam Track and Field to the Tri-federation, etc. Without cost to any, Hornet donates its time and energy processing applications, collecting fees from the athletes and turning them over to the clubs. GRC club memberships are processed by Hornet all year long, again at no cost to us and the membership qualifies for a 10% discount on goods purchased there.

What shall we say of Shirley's Coffee Shop, whose good folks sponsor T-shirts and cater in an incredible breakfast each year at the Women's Only 2Mile & 5Mile Open run. Mary Kay, Merle Norman, Payless Supermarket (Thanks Kathy Sgro!), DeLisle Beauty Shop and all those department stores and cosmetic shops that provide their toilettries and feminine acoutrements (which Joanne Bonine diligently procures).

CyberUp Cafe brings us the Hafa Pint 1Km , providing T-Shirts and helping us make a memory with our children. Priceless! We can't forget McDonalds and Jollibee and the freebies they gave for our children's fun run.

Hit Radio 100, since time immemorial, has given excellent sponsorship of the Hit Radio 100 Hafa Marathon. Tents, buses, fruit, drinks, T-shirts and trophies. They've done it for some 13+ years now and seem eager to keep it up for just as long again.

Hyundai Motors has helped us and sponsored this year's Northern Lights 10K shirts. Thank you!

Dominos Pizza, has come along and given well-rounded support to the Veteran's Day Climb. Not only providing pizza but also runners. Jay Noble and his crew have conquered the mighty Nimitz and have been known to take on some of our other tough races (most recently the Mudder's Day 5K). Way to go Domino!!!

Shell Oil & Petroleum, to name just another, has come along and sponsored the Shell All Comers Track Meet at JFK and is currently paying for the construction of mile markers for our short and longer races.

Duty Free sponsors the annual Duty Free 5K and helps the running community in so many other behind-the-scene ways.

CreativiTees has given excellent service and great price breaks to GRC for years. And don't you just love a good T-shirt every now and then! These dedicated folks often work extra hours meeting tight deadlines when the artwork came in later than expected (Oops!).

The Pacific Island Club Hotel has been a great sponsor and comes through, not only in the Perimeter Relay Run, but throughout the year arranges all sorts of valuable assistance to the club.

For many of the companies above, the interest in our sport is more than casual--their leaders, middle and senior management folks are runners or sports enthusiasts themselves. Jim Hammond, of Shell Oil & Petroleum, is a very fast and impressive Masters Runner. Both Jim and his wife, Hiroko, are gentle and encouraging souls who have done much for the sport. Joe McDonald, of Gatorade, can be seen pounding the pavement at numerous GRC races during the year. (But he says he's just checking to see if we've posted the Gatorade banners at every mile mark...just kidding, Joe!). Jay Noble of Dominos Pizza (and the Denny's/Winchells/Pojos empire) is a runner. Elsie from CyberUp Cafe was an amazing B-ball player. And I'm certain if I was more alert I would be able to identify a runner or an athlete from virtually every one of our sponsoring companies. And that's as it should be.

So, when you take home that great T-shirt or quench your thirst along the course and after the finish line...and when you buy your annual membership for mere pocket change, remember that its these folks described above who help make it possible. Our sponsors deserve to be registered in a Sponsor's Hall of Fame, which is what this article is, sort of (now posted on the world wide web)--a tribute to the fine folks who believe in what we're doing. The only other word besides Sponsors is Volunteers (but they deserve their own article and will get it in due time).

In it for the Long Run,

Neil Culbertson, GRC Prez
3-10-2001

P.S. Please forgive if any of you have been left out of this listing. You are important, its just that the Prez is getting older and forgetful...