By William Thompson
Rick Platt has been CRR’s president since 1994 and a pillar of the region’s running community for far longer. Recently, I had the chance to sit down with him over the phone and get to know him better.
As a young child in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Bucks County), Rick led an active youth thanks in no small part to his family’s influence. The family business was, and still is, recreation. His grandfather built and operated the Somerton Springs Swim Club, which his father and brother ultimately managed along with other outdoor recreation ventures. It was swimming that first appealed to Rick, though he dabbled in soccer and baseball in his freshman year of high school. His early running was more out of necessity than passion – a second place showing in a middle school-mandated 600 yard fitness test and mad dashes to the bus stop to avoid being late for school (“One of the reasons I’m a good runner is because I’m a procrastinator.”)
While at the Quaker-affiliated George School in nearby Newtown, Pennsylvania, Rick’s active childhood paid off in three sports: swimming (where he broke school records in the 200 and 400 yard freestyle), cross country, and track. His running coach, Ed Ayres, who would go on to found Running Times magazine, guided young Rick to a steady progression of mile PRs (5:36, 5:06, 4:49, 4:30 – this last breaking an over 40-year old record set by his uncle) from his freshman to senior year as well as a school record in the two mile. Ayres’, like many high school coaches then and now, was “low mileage.” Thus, when Rick matriculated to William and Mary he was in for a rude awakening.
W&M in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s ran hard and long. 60 miles per week as freshmen, 75 or more by senior year. Rick had trouble adjusting: flashes of potential were outweighed by injury. He left the team (as did eight others out of ten in his recruiting class) after his freshman year and returned to the pool where he had mixed results.
1972 was the start of the first U.S. Running Boom. In the Munich Olympics Frank Shorter won the marathon and “invented running” as some would say, and a barrel-chested cocky upstart from Coos Bay, Oregon named Steve Prefontaine would fail to medal in a most spectacular style. The following year was the start of Rick’s first comeback. A self-described “long-haired liberal” who did not fit into the straight-laced family business, Rick jumped at the opportunity to return to Williamsburg after graduating. Here he lived with friends and trained with distance runners of the Tribe’s cross country and track teams. The late 1970s were good years running-wise for Rick – running lifetime bests of 51:50 at the ’79 Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, 4:24 for one mile, 9:35 for two miles (a major improvement from his George School record of 10:07), and winning the Virginia AAU state title in the 5000 meters.
In 1975 he became president of the Peninsula Track Club. He was again in ’76 and ’79. In between this he ran just off the Olympic Trials standard in the marathon at Marine Corps - running a 2:23:55. Two years later (’79) he felt ready to achieve the 2:21:54 standard, but strained his calf amidst 90-100 mile training weeks and dropped out of Marine Corps at 19 miles. In addition to his running, Rick was writing. Along with his former coach Ed Ayres and Phil Stewart, he was active in the publication of Running Times magazine and rubbing elbows with running legends like Jim Fixx (author of The Complete Book of Running) and Bill Rodgers (four time Boston and New York City Marathon champ).
Despite his long-standing presence in the CRR, many may be surprised to find that Rick was not a founder or even first-year member in the club. Following a split from PTC, Vernon Geary (the 1980 president) founded the CRR in 1981 and competed for membership, sponsorship, and status with the PTC. By the time Rick joined CRR in 1985 the club was still struggling to stay with the pack. Rick was instrumental in the “second coming of the Colonial Road Runners,” when in 1993 as vice-president helped organize two of the showpiece races on the CRR calendar: Governor’s Land and Vineyards of Williamsburg 5Ks.
In addition to his club work as VP and president Rick continued to perform well on the roads as a Master (setting club and state records at 5K, 10K), but it was in 2007 (at age 56) where he ran three of his best races. In the Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon he ran 1:18:32 (good enough for number two, nationally for men aged 55-59 that year), and in two remarkable 10Ks (Monument Avenue and Pikes Peek) he netted top five national placing for his age in 35:31 (fourth place, nationally) and 35:20 (third place, nationally).
So how did Rick get better with age? “I run incredibly slow warm-ups. I stop multiple times for loosening up exercises. And I run on soft surfaces.” I can attest to Rick’s love of soft surfaces – at least once a week we seem to nearly run into one another on some portion of the Lake Matoaka trail network; I would say such encounters are a highlight especially now that I have gotten to know Rick Platt.
RAPID FIRE | |
What’s your favorite running memory? | Either the 1977 Marine Corps Marathon or the Monument Avenue 10K from 2007 |
Any person, alive or dead, runner or not, that you’d like to go for a run with? | Jim Fixx, Bill Rodgers, or Ed Ayres |
Favorite post-race or cheat meal? | Breyers Ice Cream |
Favorite CRR race? | Queen’s Lake or Governor’s Land |
