Roger Boak

How long have you been a HARRA member? : Since the beginning (1993). I was in the delivery room.

Are you a member of a running club? : Yes, the Terlingua Track Club.

Volunteering experience: My first experience was at the Bayou City Fun Run in 1984. I was injured and couldn’t race so I agreed to work the finish line. Later when I was covering an LDR meeting for the Terlingua newsletter, Mary Anne McBrayer nominated me for a board position. The next thing I know I’m computing individual and team results, organizing the Tour de Bayou, giving out towels, editing video, judging centipedes, age-grading masters, pacing at the marathon, working at ultramarathon aid stations, learning to operate an automatic external defibrillator, writing stories, attending meetings, clearing trails, designing socks, the list goes on.

Tell us about you: 

Favorite color: Green. That’s a recent development. It used to be orange. In my early years it was purple and I had a brief fling with yellow. I am also fond of the colors of rocks.

Favorite novelist: I want it to be Salmon Rushdie but I keep reading William Gibson instead.

Favorite poet: Charles Bukowski. He’s the only one I understand.

Occupation: IRS Agent. Thirty-two years ago I took the Civil Service exam to get a job to tide me over until I could figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. I’m still trying to decide.

Family: Jane and I have been married for 31 years. We are on our tenth, twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth cats.

Philosophy: I believe in moderation. That’s why I limit myself to one 100-mile race per year, one 50-mile, one 50k, one marathon, … and one 5k. My wife calls me Mr. Moderation. Sometimes I wonder if she’s being sarcastic.

What attracts you to volunteering and why? My initial motivation was guilt. Then I ran across some tasks that looked (to my warped brain) like fun. Some of them were, some of them weren’t. It’s still like that – yin and yang – guilt and pleasure.

What is your favorite event/race to volunteer for and why? My favorite event is the Tour de Bayou (of course). However, I don’t think of it as volunteering, it’s more like my calling. I love cross country running and I feel that we need low key races like the Tour.