Dan Thompson

Year Inducted: 2016

 

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The Dayton running community has been blessed over the years with many individuals who give of their time, energy, and resources to help make Dayton running thrive. These individuals are part of the backbone of our running community. They are the ones who make the race events happen, the ones who show up hours before and stay hours after the race, the ones who get the results out, the ones who set up the course, and all the other details. As with a runners speed, these individuals usually burn out and only last a while. But there are those very few who continue to serve and contribute for the long run. Dan has answered the call for the past 33 years and shows no signs of slowing down.       

 

Contributor

Dan has been, and continues to be, an important cog in the operations of the Ohio River Road Runners Club (ORRRC), which is one of the largest running clubs in America. His contributions to the club are seemingly endless. To date, he has served as race director for 49 ORRRC races, including four years as the race director of the ORRRC marathon/half (1994-1997), and two years for the Turkey Trot (2004-2005). He has served the club as a trustee for ten years (1993-2002), vice president for four years (1995-1998), and president for two years (1999-2000).

 

For much of the 1990’s and 2000’s (pre-chip-timing years), Dan was the finish line director for some of the largest and most prestigious local races (Turkey Trot, Ghost & Goblins, and Lou Cox), as well as countless other smaller races. He has been in charge of the Turkey Trot packet pick up (2014-2016) and the timing/results for many of the ORRRC events (2000-2003; 2014-current). Dan has volunteered in various roles and capacities at approximately 15-20 races annually since 1992 amounting to 400-500 races as a volunteer.        

 

Runner

Dan has raced over 1,270 running events (including adventure races and triathlons) covering a 33 year span. He has completed 87 marathons, covering all 50 states and DC.

As an ultra-marathoner, Dan has completed the famous JFK 50 Miler 18 times. He has also finished the Ice Age Trail 50 miler. He is a 12 time Ironman Distance finisher. Dan has twice  completed both the Survival of the Shawangunks and American Triple-T triathlons. 

 

Dan is a member and co-leader of the Tuesday Night Turtles, a running group which he has been running with for over 30 years. In that group, he has been able to offer advice and support to many new runners over the years, encouraging and assisting them in achieving their running goals.          

 

Dan’s PR’s include: 5K (18:27) Night Run of Dayton in 1989, 10K (38:33) Carol Wolfe 1989, 15K (1:01:17) River Run 1988, half-marathon (1:28:13) Dayton River Corridor Classic 1988, marathon (3:18:38) Rocket City 1990, and 50 Mile (9:33:05) JFK 1993.

 

Dan has served as a mentor to many ORRRC members. In recognition of his outstanding service to the ORRRC over the years, he was awarded the “Lifetime Member Status” in 2000.