The 1000 Mile Club is the organized running club at
San Quentin Prison
1000 Mile Club
The club is coached and sponsored by the Tamalpa Running Club located in Marin County, California. Tamalpa coaches are seasoned runners who have competed at various distances ranging from track sprints to 100-mile ultramarathons. Coaches train at San Quentin with members of The 1000 Mile Club and share their running experiences, training methods, and race strategies.
FRANK RUONA, 1000 mile club Head Coach
Frank, 73, has been the 1000 Mile Club’s volunteer head coach since the club’s 2005 inception. He is a veteran of 78 marathons and 38 ultra-marathons. He believes that having the “Marathon Mindset,” the toughness, focus, and determination necessary to succeed as a runner, is also what it takes to succeed life. As the idea of running as a form of rehabilitation spreads, Frank assists other prisons in creating their own long distance running clubs; Washington Corrections Center has formed its own 1000 Mile Club and has recently completed its first half marathon.
“I am my brother’s keeper. If he needs help, I’m gonna try to help him. I feel like these guys over there, they need help. And they appreciate whatever help they get.”
KEVIN RUMON, 1000 mile club assistant coach
Kevin, 56, is an engineer, and a veteran marathon and ultra-runner. He recently battled cancer and credits the strength and endurance he has gained from running with helping him get through the brutal treatment. He often goes on 50+ mile runs for his own enjoyment and does not keep track of the number of marathons and ultra-marathons he’s run, “maybe 3 or 4 dozen.” All that matters to Kevin are the choices a person faces now and he is eager to share the transformational power of running with everyone. Since 2010 Kevin has been an active member of the San Quentin community of volunteers and athletics programs.
“We don’t know anyone’s crime. We don’t really think about it that way. And it’s not important to us. We just look from this point forward. How can we provide these guys the same value that running has provided us in life.”
DIANA FITZPATRICK, 1000 mile club assistant coach
Diana, 60, is an attorney and an accomplished athlete. Diana has run numerous marathons, 34 ultra-marathons and18 Dipsea races. She qualified for the Olympic marathon trials in 1992, 1996, and 2000, has been the top female finisher at Miwok 100K, Firetrail 50-miler, American Canyon 50K, Headlands Hundred, and Silver State 50-miler, and she is a two-time Dipsea champion. At the 2018 Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, Diana became the first 60-year old female to run the race in less than 24 hours. Diana trains regularly with the Impala Runners of the Bay Area and is a member of the Tamalpa Running Club of Marin County. Diana has been a volunteer at San Quentin since 2009.
“I think it’s really true that as a society, how we treat people who are the most vulnerable people — the poor, the forgotten, the invisible – it’s a reflection of who we are as a society. I think we owe it to ourselves and to that population to pay attention and to think about it.”
Jim Maloney, 1000 Mile Club Community Volunteer
Jim, 57, enjoyed a career in international transportation and logistics. He has run 6 marathons, 23 Dipsea Races and numerous half marathons. He is a member of the Tamalpa Running Club of Marin, the San Francisco Frontrunners and San Francisco Track & Field Club. His initial motivation for volunteering in 2016 was to share his love of running with the San Quentin Prison community, but he found himself transformed by the experience and the relationships he has forged with the “men in blue.” The 1000 Mile Club experience has inspired Jim to additionally volunteer at San Quentin as a co-facilitator for Insight Prison Project’s Victim Offender Education Group (VOEG).
“I do believe people are able to change and take responsibility for what they’ve done, recognize that it’s wrong and choose to do things differently. And I really do feel like most of these guys that we’re working with in the thousand mile club have changed the trajectory of their lives. ”
Tim Fitzpatrick, 1000 Mile Club community volunteer
Tim, 57, is former investment banker for Lehman Brothers and currently coaches the Cross Country Team at Marin Catholic High School. He is a veteran of 20 marathons, 34 ultra marathons, 18 Dipsea races, and is a member of the Tamalpa Runners of Marin County. He started running in his early 20’s to quit smoking and get healthy and is passionate about the transformative power of running. A resident of Marin, Tim was always curious about San Quentin so when the opportunity to coach the 1000 Mile Club arose he was all in. He is inspired by the community of hard working athletes at San Quentin striving to improve their running and themselves.
“Initially for me it was really about running and coaching. But then you start spending time in the prison and looking at the statistics and legislation…It’s made me look closer at the judicial system.”
Dylan Bowman, 1000 Mile Club Community Volunteer
Dylan, 32, is a professional ultra-runner sponsored by The North Face and Red Bull and has won races worldwide. He is a two-time winner of the Tarawera 100 Mile Endurance Run in New Zealand (2015,2018), two-time winner of the 168km Ultra Trail Mount Fuji race (2016, 2018), winner of 100 Miles of Istria (2017), second place finisher at The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc 120k (2018) and a 3-time top-10 finisher at Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run (2012, 2013, 2014).
“I’ve never had to fully confront my privilege as a person; and I think that’s a really healthy thing for people to subject themselves to. As an upper middle class white male I think it’s important for me to acknowledge how privileged I have been and to use that in a positive way.”
LAURA BOWMAN-SALZSIEDER, Founder of the 1000 mile club
Laura is a former teacher and Community Partnerships Manager at San Quentin; she started the running program. Laura, a runner herself, understands the value of programs that give the prisoners support and an outlet to deal with their issues in a healthy way.
“I always told the guys from the beginning...I just want you to come out and join us for the camaraderie, the health benefits, and the realization that you can do something you set your mind to that you never may have thought you could.”
RONNIE GOODMAN, FOUNDER OF THE SAN QUENTIN MARATHON
While incarcerated at San Quentin, former inmate Ronnie Goodman came up with the idea to run a marathon within the prison walls. Ronnie has experienced the physical and mental benefits that running offers, both inside and now outside of prison. Ronnie is also fortunate to have found the creative arts as a centering force in his life. Prolific and self-taught, he is an exhibited artist whose work is on permanent display in San Francisco City Hall.
“The concept of running a marathon in prison was like, hell no…but when I heard Frank talk about it, it was like- it was the most fascinating thing in my life…And I kept wondering, can I run a marathon? And I told Frank, well I said I been running 20 miles every weekend I said, you think I can run a marathon? He said, I think you can. I said, well let’s do it.”