Rotherham Harriers.....

I received an email that really made me think of when I started my running store business. It was from Ralph Rowbotham from Rotherham England. I will never forget back in 1979 (way before the internet and emails) I received a letter mailed to my store from England. I opened it up and it was a letter from the president of the Rotherham Harriers Running Club, Jack Phipps. A group of 12 were coming to the US to run the New York City Marathon and he wrote me to see if I would be willing to play host to their club after the marathon for a week stay in of all places....Wilmington, DE. They got my name from Runners World Magazine. I use to advertise in their classified section. I called Tom Fort, Pres. of the DE Sports Club and he said he would host a couple. Doug White said the same as did Bill Spiker. My brother Ray and I also had room for a couple. Guido Schiavi too was game. I wrote back that we would play host. We all met at the Wilm. train station. One week of parties. I set up visits to Washington DC via Joe Biden's office. A trip to Philly to see the Liberty Bell. A trip to the Amish Country and much more. They even ran a 10k while here that I organized and the News Journal sponsored. All had a great time. The following year 8 of us went to Rotherham (Yorkshire County) and spent a week with them and ran their marathon. They showed us around and we all had a fabulous time. Ralph Rowbotham sent me the surprise email to say hello and to say hello to all who played host to the Harriers visit. Vice President Biden's name in the news brought back fond memories of their visit to Washington and the states and via the internet he found my email address. It really is a small world.