For those who were not able to attend the Steeplechasers Membership Meeting on November 7, I shared these thoughts on the life of Rich Potter, the Steeplechaser who wanted to know everyone, a runner, a knowledge-seeker and friend.

I wanted to take a moment to honor a much-loved and deeply missed member of the Frederick Steeplechasers. Rich Potter passed away last month as a result of a tragic bike accident. Rich was widely known in our community. He was a runner who showed up, even if that meant running in summer in jeans because he forgot his running clothes. He ran all the races. He was a constant at group runs and social events. Rich loved to talk and was genuinely interested in others. He was a member of the club for many years. For the last couple of years, he was a regular at our weekly pub runs. He not only knew our long-time members, but he was often the first to walk up to a new member and start a conversation. I’ve been thinking about him a lot lately as we were together at the start line of my last marathon. He was uncharacteristically nervous… freaked out actually. But he put his fears aside and crossed the start line anyway. Rich did all the things. I think that we would all be a little better off if we were a bit more like Rich. Here’s to our friend!