About ERC
ERC Today
Excelsior Running Club is a PA-USATF affiliated competitive running club based in San Francisco. We train together, race together, and hang out after. The competitive side is real. The social side is too.
The core group is fast and getting faster. We have members chasing Olympic Trials qualifying times, a deep roster of competitive marathoners on both the men’s and women’s sides, and a women’s squad that’s growing quickly. There are no time standards or cutoffs to join. What matters is that you’re serious about your running and want to be part of a team.
We run together three times a week. Early morning Dawn Patrols through Golden Gate Park on Tuesdays and Fridays. Structured track workouts at Kezar Stadium on Wednesdays. Weekend long runs organized through Discord.
We race year-round in the PA-USATF Grand Prix series: short road, long road, cross country, and mountain/ultra/trail. When there’s a race on the calendar, ERC has a team there. We also organize our own races, including the Blue Heron 5K in Golden Gate Park and the Star City San Bruno Mountain Half Marathon. Check our club records to see what 50+ years of racing looks like.
People join ERC and stay. This isn’t a stepping stone. It’s a club where committed runners train hard, race well, and build something together that lasts beyond any single season.
The Origin Story
In January 1973, four guys living at 801 Excelsior Street in San Francisco started a running club. Bob Darling, Dan Best, Greg Moon, and Dean Williams were all former collegiate distance runners. Dean paid the $25 AAU registration fee, and Excelsior Track Club was born.
That first year, the club won its first Pacific Association Championship. By the late 70s and into the 80s, Excelsior had built out a strong women’s team too, with several members coming close to qualifying for the inaugural US Olympic Marathon Trials for Women.
50+ years later, the club is still going. The name stuck, the competitive spirit stuck, and the address didn’t matter because the community did.