Tom won five National Championships at the USA Track & Field Master’s division as well as won the RRCA/Arkansas Grand Prix Overall Championship five times (1983, 1988, 1991, 1993 & 1997).

Aspel was the RRCA/Arkansas “Runner of the Year” in 1997 as well as the RRCA/Arkansas Master’s Runner of the Year in 1995 & 1996.

On top of his running achievements, Aspel has expanded his passion for running as a race coordinator. He has served as the director of the Valentine’s Day 5K for over 20 years and also started the One-Hour Track Run in 1983 and has served as the race director ever since.

Charley and Lou Peyton directed the first ten Arkansas Traveler 100-Milers along with numerous Arkansas Ultra Running Association (AURA) trail runs through the years. Besides being very active in the early years with the Little Rock Roadrunners Club, they were also responsible for the organization of the AURA. Both were recently inducted into the AURA Hall of Fame and into the Arkansas Roadrunners Hall of Fame​.

In 1989, Lou Peyton was the 14th of 22 finishers and the only female completing the that year’s Arkie Ultra 50-Miler on the Bona Dea Trail in Russellville, AR. In 1992,​she ran/walked the Ouachita Trail (Talimena, Oklahoma to Pinnacle Mountain). In 1993, she ran/walked the Ozark Highland Trails with Jim Schuler and Simon Hauser​. ​Lou has completed twenty 100-milers in the required time limit, including seven finishes in the Arkansas Traveller 100 Miler. Lou has two other great accomplishments. One is the Grand Slam of Ultra Running, completing four 100-milers in the same year. Then last September on Labor Day, Lou completed her third “Race for the Ages” in Tennessee. The runners were challenged to complete as many miles as they could depending on their age. After completing 100 and 102 miles in the previous two events, at age 73, Lou Peyton finished with 105 miles in 73 hours.

Lou was the RRCA/Arkansas Female Masters Runner of the Year in 1989; the RRCA/Arkansas Female Ultra Runner of the Year in 1990, 1991, and 1993; and the RRCA/Arkansas Female Ultra Masters Runner of the Year in 1994, 1996, 1998, and 1999.

David is known for bringing people together in what we now know and enjoy as the Arkansas RRCA running community. As the first Arkansas RRCA State Representative, David led the transition of the existing Grand Prix series from TAC (USATF) to the RRCA, and from dozens of participants to hundreds each year. Additions during his tenure included team competition, formation of a number of new local running clubs, the introduction of annual recognition awards, and many traditions that still live today. David also used his US Forest Service know-how to get funding and oversee the building of many miles of trail in the Ouachita National Forest.

In 1991 David was recognized as the RRCA Outstanding State Representative and inducted into the Arkansas Roadrunners Hall of Fame the same year. He served as the RRCA Southern Director from 1995-1997.

Pete Ireland is long time member of the Saline County Striders. He served as the secretary-treasurer for many years, has been the editor of the The Arkansas Runner newsletter and its predecessor publication The Saline Strider since 1993, and a race director for more than 40 Strider races in the past 20 years. He has also directed a number of other races within Central Arkansas. He was awarded the 1996 RRCA Small Club Newsletter of the Year (Co-Editor) and the 2004 RRCA National Volunteer Award.

Pete is an eleven time Senior/Super Senior AURA Ultra Trail Series King of the Trail 1992-93 to 2011-2012
Completed 140+ Arkansas Ultra Trail Series and other AURA runs and races from 1990 – 2013 including eleven 100 mile and six 50 mile race finishes, along with numerous other marathons and ultramarathons both in Arkansas and in other states beginning in the 1980s.  Pete also completed several adventure races from 2001 to 2009. He is a nine time Arkansas 20k finisher 1985 – 1993 with a PR of 1:35:41.

An avid trail runner, he is well known for his support of races and the running community. Pete can often be found helping at an aid station, clearing trails or helping set up race headquarters.

Bill Torrey arrived in Little Rock in 1983 and became a fixture in the Arkansas running community. An accomplished runner, he ran the Boston Marathon in 2:44 and also won the Rich Mountain Classic Half twice.

Bill has served as president of the Little Rock Roadrunners Club and still serves on its board of directors. He has also served as the Arkansas state representative for the Road Runners Club of America and is on the Long Distance Running Committee.

Bill directed his first race in 1986 and since then has directed some of the largest races in the state, including the Little Rock Marathon, Firecracker Fast 5K, Race for the Cure, and the Capital City Classic 10K. He has directed more than 100 races, benefiting such organizations as the American Lung Association, Arkansas Foundation for Skin Cancer, The Arthritis Foundation, American Red Cross, and City of Little Rock Parks and Recreation.

Linda is a mainstay in the Arkansas Running Community for decades. Not only was she an accomplished runner in her time, completing several marathons – including Pike’s Peak
– she holds the record for the most finishes at the ARK 5K Classic. But, running accomplishments alone aren’t why she was honored in 2022. She is a Lifetime member of the Little Rock Roadrunners Clubs, where she once served as the president and also the editor of the newsletter for many years.  She is also the member of several other local clubs because she wants to support those clubs because they support encouraging our community as a whole to get moving.

In 1992 she was the Race Director for the Pepsi 10K, which you all know and love in its current form as the Capital City Classic 10K.  It’s fair to say that if you’ve run – or even cycled –  in any number of events in Arkansas you’ve seen her working the race, whether it’s at packet pick-up, passing out medals at finish lines, or making sure the food is fully stocked.  She put in countless hours volunteering at events like the Arkansas Traveler 100, Little Rock Marathon, 3 Bridges Marathon, and too many club run events to count.  She’s put in so many hours that she was recognized in 2011 and 2019 as the Arkansas RRCA Volunteer of the Year.

Her passion for volunteering isn’t limited to the running community.  She also gives her time to the Red Cross of Little Rock, American Lung Association, and Easter Seals.  And because she can’t help but give her time, in her retirement, she works at the Cancer Institute at UAMS in the Cancer Patient Support and Education Department.

She believes so strongly in the value of volunteers that if you’ve spent any time around her you’ve heard her famous line “Runners can’t run without volunteers.”  And if you’ve heard that, you’ve probably also heard her famous rule “you shouldn’t be allowed to run in an event until after you’ve volunteered” because she knows what it takes to put on an event, and she knows what it was like to benefit from those volunteers that give up their mornings so she could run a race.

Roy and Mary have been active in the RRCA/Arkansas running community for the last three decades. This couple have served as the backbone of the Arkansas Running Klub (ARK) starting in 1990 when Roy served as Vice President and President in 1991. From 1992-1997 the couple served as the ARK representatives on the RRCA Long Distance Running Committee. They wrote reports from meetings of the LDRC and kept the club informed on the expansion of the Grand Prix and establishment the Annual RRCA/Arkansas Awards. Roy and Mary were honored with the RRCA/Arkansas “Al Becken Volunteer of the Year” Award in 1989. Mary was honored again with the same award in 1990.

Mary served as co-editor (along with Debbie Strobel) of the ARK Rundown Newsletter from 2014 to present. Mary has served as the Editor of The ARK newsletter and scanned every newsletter from May 1982 to the present issue. Roy and Mary have spent a big part of their lives volunteering to make ARK one of the most active RRCA clubs in Arkansas and when possible, supporting the state RRCA organization.

Eugene is truly special to the Cabot Cruisers, the Arkansas Grand Prix Committee as well as the Arkansas running community with his unwavering dedication, his boundless encouragement, and his impressive accomplishments. For over a decade, he has been more than just a member of the Cabot Country Cruiser running family—he has been an advocate, a leader, and friend. As the liaison to the Road Runners Club of America and the Arkansas Running Community, he has made sure that the Cabot Cruisers are not just present but thriving in the Arkansas Grand Prix series. He has worked tirelessly to ensure that they have strong, complete teams—for both men and women representing the Cruisers at races across the state. .

Eugene completed his first Iron Season in 2009 and followed it with 8 more. In total he completed 163 consecutive races, the second highest of any other runner, and became the second person to receive the Milligan Award. If you’ve ever been to a race, chances are you’ve seen him on the sidelines, taking photos, cheering not just for his fellow Cruisers, but for runners of every club. And on the days he races himself, his finish line has never been just for him. We have all seen Eugene cross the finish line, catch his breath, and then turn back—seeking out his fellow Cruisers to run them in, until they, too, reach their own finish.

Since 2019 he has been integral in putting on the River Trail 15k, spending hours, days, weeks, ensuring this race happens each year and is done well. Eugene has been a member of the Grand Prix Committee (formerly the Long Distance Running Committee) for almost 15 years. In this time he has faithfully acted in the best interest of his Club, as their Committee representative, but also in the best interest of the Grand Prix Series and the Running Community.

But his contributions go far beyond all of the logistics and the numbers. He is the heartbeat of the Cabot Country Cruisers and the Arkansas Running Community. He is an encourager who lifts runners up who feel defeated or burnt out on running. He is a runner, yes, but more importantly, a teammate, a motivator, and a friend. His selflessness and his love for the Central Arkansas Running Community is evident in everything he does and why he is the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award receipient.

David Williams, a retired attorney from Little Rock, began long-distance running in 1982. From 1989 to 2011, he was one of the top master and grandmaster runners in Arkansas. David was the RRCA Arkansas Grand Prix Masters Overall Champion in 1989, 1990 and 1998. He was also the RRCA Arkansas Grand Prix Grand Masters Overall Champion in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005. David was voted the Masters Runner of the Year in 1990, 1993, 2000 and 2002. David holds the 15K record for the best time by an Arkansas grandmaster runner (1999 Tulsa Run, 54:41). He ran the Boston Marathon three times.

David served as the chair of the RRCA Arkansas Grand Prix Committee from 1989 until 1994, providing leadership in developing Grand Prix standards and bylaws. His support to the RRCA State Representative during the transfer of the Arkansas Grand Prix from TAC (USATF) to the RRCA brought new RRCA Clubs and Grand Prix races. Many of those races are still in the Grand Prix today. He continued to serve as the legal advisor for the RRCA Arkansas organization for many years.

In 2003 he served on a task force that worked to merge the RRCA with the American Association of Running Clubs (AARC). He then served two terms (2004-2005 and 2005-2006) as an At-Large Director on the RRCA Board. He was also appointed as the chair of the RRCA Legal Committee.