Front Runners Atlanta

Lavender U . By the Fall of 1973, a new concept in education had swept the country, "free universities," which existed as free newspapers that listed classes for all things, such as art, literature, crafts, photography and of course, "new age" subjects as TM, TA, EST, yoga and meditation. Heretofore, most classes were associated with established institutions, such as colleges and churches. A group of gays in San Francisco decided to start such a free newspaper and call it " Lavender U ". The organizers hoped that it would foster social and educational opportunities of special interest to gays. The paper was published every two months. As I recall, the fee was $6.00 per ad.

Jack and Gardner . Jack Baker and Gardner Pond were friends of the Lavender U organizers and were asked to list a class. They had an interest in furniture refinishing and decided to list a class in that. They were also runners, and at the last minute, decided to change their ad to a "learn to jog" class. As members of the San Francisco, Dolphin, South End (SFDSE) Runners, one of the largest running clubs in the country, they modeled their "class" on that club, which had a "scenic run" every Sunday. They listed a two-month schedule of runs, beginning with a half mile, adding a half mile each week and finishing with a five mile run on "graduation" week.