Ask any Cleveland West Road Runners Club (CWWRC) member who gathers at wintry dusk on Thursdays at Lakewood Park what the group is about, and he or she will likely tell you it’s a social club built by people who love to run. 

Lakewood resident John Paull, a Cleveland West member since 1995, put it this way: “I’ve met some of my best friends through the club. You can’t beat it!”

Built from scratch by a few friends training for a marathon, Cleveland West has segued into an enduring social organization whose members embrace walking, running and racing at all levels.

The club’s origin hails back to the mid-1970s when Jess Bell, former chief executive officer of Lakewood-based Bonne Bell Inc.; Steve Gladis, a now-retired Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent; and a few others ran in the Rocky River Metropark on Saturday mornings. The group decided to train for the Heartwatchers Marathon, a 26.2-mile course that extended from Bowling Green State University to the University of Toledo.

Gladis, who had run with an early-morning group while stationed with the FBI in Monterey, CA, set the 7:30 a.m. Saturday run meeting time – the same ritual Cleveland West runners adhere to today.

“I was at language school for the FBI. A group of folks used to run the golf courses (Pebble Beach and Spyglass) on early Saturday mornings,” said Gladis. “(After moving to Cleveland), I started running in the valley and would talk to people I found running. I asked them to meet me on the next Saturday at 7:30 a.m. The group started to grow.”

Building Enthusiasm

A 1975 gathering at Gladis’ then home in Bay Village was the club’s first official meeting, according to club records. Cleveland West became incorporated in 1977 with about 67 members, which grew to about 250 by year’s end.

“The minute we decided to get something going, it became like getting a start-up business off the ground. I think we all loved it so we didn’t mind the effort,” said Gladis.

The running boom of the 1970s and ’80s helped the fledgling club attract runners, according to Rocky River resident Dave Clinton, who joined the club in 1979. “The running atmosphere in (the late 1970s) was upbeat and positive. There was a lot of enthusiasm about running, so a lot of people came out to try it,” he said.            

Bell, who died in 2005 at age 80, said in a 2002 interview that he considered the first race his company hosted – the 1976 run from Bonne Bell in Lakewood to the Bonne Bell location in Westlake – as a turning point for Cleveland road running.

“We were opening our plant in Westlake then, and decided to have a race from Bonne Bell Lakewood to Bonne Bell Westlake, which was about 7 ¾ miles,” he said. “Our first race attracted nearly 1,500 runners. The largest race anyone knew about in this part of the country (at that time) was 300 to 400 runners. I think everyone agrees that (with) the `76 race, road running exploded.”

One of Bell’s early races drew Frank Shorter, the 1972 Olympic Marathon gold medalist. “That attracted attention. Runners got to run with an Olympic champion – that brought out a lot of runners,” Clinton reminisced.            

Cleveland West had a hand in starting other area road races, some of which still exist. For example, the Bay Days 5-miler held on July 4 in Bay Village has been around for more than 30 years. The Columbia Station 10-miler, one of CWRRC’s first races, later became the Spring Class half-marathon and 5k.

The club’s current races are Bay Days 5-mile and 1-mile kids fun run, the Spring Classic half-marathon and 5k, and the Fall Classic half-marathon and 5k, which will be held Nov. 22 at the Metropark Bonnie Picnic Area in Strongsville.

The club’s last race each year, the Fall Classic expanded to welcome walkers about four years ago and draws about 1,000 participants annually, according to race director Lou Karl. “Our goal is to support the local community with an emphasis on exercise and a healthy lifestyle, so we are reaching out to people of all fitness levels,” he explained.

Relatively new for Cleveland West is free entry to its races (sans shirts) for kids ages 14 and under. “Another goal is to encourage kids to get involved in running and fitness,” Karl noted.

The club also continues to support the Mohican 100/50 Mile Trail Run, which it founded, and the Cleveland Clinic Sports Health River Run half-marathon and 5k.  

Training Tales

What draws these CWRRC members to lace up their shoes and hit the road sometimes before dawn? Many say it’s the camaraderie, support and encouragement that having running partners provides.

“I look forward to our Saturday morning runs and sometimes even more so to our coffee and social time after the runs,” said Beth Kalapos, a Lakewood resident and club member since 1992. She explained that club runs “bring together people with common interests. Having others to run with, and a great park to run in, is motivating especially when training for long distance races.”

Cleveland West hosts several weekly runs/walks on Cleveland’s west and southwest sides. Groups meet on Sundays at Little Met Golf Course in the Metroparks at 8 a.m.; Tuesdays  in Hinckley at 6 p.m.; Wednesdays at Berea Falls at 6:15 p.m.; Thursdays (in winter) at Lakewood Park at 6 p.m.; and Saturdays at Scenic Park at 7:30 a.m.

In addition to being the location for a club run and one of the organization’s three summer picnics, Lakewood Park appears to be a convenient meeting locale for many Cleveland West runners. “I am partial to the Lakewood Park runs since it is so close to my house,” Kalapos said. “The route on Lake Avenue to Edgewater Drive is great to run in the winter. The streets are well lit and the roads are always plowed. It is my home course!”

Others members noted they meet at the park for training runs on different nights. Angie Ridgel, a club member since about 2004, also uses another local route for her training. “I do my tempo and interval repeats on Edgewater Drive from Parkside Drive to Nicholson Avenue and back. It is exactly 1.5 miles,” she said. “It is a perfect loop – little traffic, lake view, nice houses, a little elevation, smooth pavement. Where else in the city can you do this?”            

Still, it’s the club’s social influence that draws members from varying backgrounds and abilities to gather for walks and runs in Cleveland’s west-side communities. “I’ve been running most of my adult life, but prior to this year, I never ran with an organized group. The club has transformed my running from a lonely and solitary activity to one filled with social interaction and support,” said Jeff Moelich, a Lakewood resident who joined Cleveland West earlier this year. “Having others to run with has provided significant motivation and encouragement, which has helped to improve my overall running experience and performance.”

The only downside he sees to the roughly 150-member club is that it’s not attracting new blood quickly enough. “I’m tired of being the new guy,” he quipped.