When husband, Bob got involved with the Striders in the late 1970s, Nancy was a non-believer and cigarette smoker. Gradually, she was converted, and by 1991 she was a committed runner. Her proudest running achievement was at the Twin Cities Marathon, where she bettered the qualifying standard and was able to enter and complete the Boston Marathon. In 1996, Nancy won the Striders’ Most Improved Runner Award.
Nancy’s more important impact within the Striders came as a volunteer. In her early years, she assisted at most Striders’ races, and she was the club’s unofficial photographer. In 1994, she was Assistant Race Director of the Women’s Distance Festival, and then acted as its Race Director in 1995, 1996 and 1997. Nancy was also elected to the Board of Directors, serving as Secretary, from 1997 through 2001. She became a certified official, working at numerous high school track and cross country races at the local, regional and statewide level. Nancy was a FIT leader for 11 years, and subsequently served as speaker and adviser to the FIT and GIRL programs.
Nancy also coached and mentored runners for the Ulman Cancer Fund’s “Cancer to 5K Program.” She is one of a small number of race volunteers/officials who has been nationally recognized as an RRCA National Volunteer Award Winner for donating more than 2,000 hours of her time to the running community.