Courtesy: RRCA

The Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) is proud to announce that David Dobrzynski of Franklin, Mass., has been selected as the national organization's executive director.

A former executive at Nike and Reebok, David comes to the RRCA with extensive professional business, development and marketing experience. A native of upstate New York, he has a broad background in both international and domestic executive management in the athletic footwear, apparel and equipment industries that will serve the running organization well.

"I am very pleased and excited to join RRCA and to accept the challenges that face RRCA going forward, " says David. "I bring to RRCA my love of long-distance running, a passion to continue to advance the organization that represents grassroots running in America, a well-developed ability to truly listen, decisiveness, and perhaps most importantly, a sense of humor!"

Freddi Carlip, president of RRCA, says, "David Dobrzynski is without peer, and joins us with impeccable credentials. David will take the RRCA to new heights. I very much look forward to working with him to make that happen."

The Executive Search Committee, charged with the responsibility of recommending a new executive director to the Board, found that David had demonstrated his abilities in all the areas that the committee had determined to be important.

"We [the committee members] were very impressed with the enthusiasm, high energy, professionalism, and thoroughness that David used to focus on the key issues that affect RRCA today," says Search Committee Chairperson and RRCA Vice President Beverly Coville. "We believe strongly that the Board made the best decision for RRCA and for the runners that RRCA represents."

A competitive middle and long-distance runner, David received a full 4-year athletic scholarship in cross-country/track and field from Georgetown University in the 1970s, where he graduated with a degree in business administration. Recently, he completed the 2000 Bay State Marathon first among Masters with a time of 2:45:33.

With 30 years of running experience, David has been both the athlete and the coach, but today prefers the joys of coaching.

"I enjoy the teaching and motivating aspects of coaching," says David. "I feel tremendous pride in seeing individuals I coach gain confidence in their abilities and in seeing them push the limits beyond what they could have ever imagined."

Dobrzyski replaces Henley Gabeau, who announced her retirement on May 6, 2001, after serving as the RRCA's first executive director since 1990. David will join the RRCA on September 17 and officially take the reins on October 1. He is married and plans to relocate to the Washington, DC area with his wife and three teenage daughters in early September.

The Road Runners Club of America is an organization of almost 700 clubs and 200,000 members in 48 states that promotes grassroots running. RRCA clubs have over 1,800,000 runners in member-organized races annually.