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 club is fast. We have members chasing Olympic Trials qualifying times and a deep roster of competitive marathoners on both the men’s and women’s sides. 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 multiple times a week. Scheduled weekly runs include early morning Dawn Patrols through Golden Gate Park on Tuesdays and Fridays, structured track workouts at Kezar Stadium on Wednesdays, and weekend long runs organized through Discord.
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. Meet the people who keep the club running.
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.
PA-USATF Road Grand Prix
ERC team finishes by division. Our masters men have won every full season since 2016.
| Year | Open Men | Open Women | 40+ Men | 50+ Men |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 🥈 | 🥉 | 🥇 | 🥈 |
| 2024 | 🥇 | 🥉 | 🥇 | 🥇 |
| 2023 | 🥇 | 🥉 | 🥇 | 🥇 |
| 2022 | 🥇 | — | 🥇 | — |
| 2019 | 🥉 | 🥉 | 🥇 | 🥈 |
| 2018 | 4th | — | 🥇 | 🥈 |
| 2017 | 🥉 | 🥉 | 🥇 | 🥇 |
| 2016 | 🥈 | — | 🥇 | 🥇 |
| 2015 | 🥈 | — | 🥉 | — |
| 2014 | 🥈 | — | 🥉 | — |
| 2013 | 4th | 🥈 | 🥈 | 5th |
| 2012 | 4th | 🥉 | 🥈 | — |
| 2011 | 🥉 | — | — | — |
| 2010 | — | — | 5th | — |
| 2009 | — | — | 🥈 | — |
| 2008 | 4th | 🥉 | 🥈 | — |
| 2007 | 🥉 | 🥈 | 🥇 | — |
| 2006 | 🥉 | 🥉 | 🥈 | — |
| 2005 | 🥈 | 🥉 | 🥇 | — |
| 2004 | 🥈 | 🥉 | 🥉 | — |
| 2003 | 🥈 | 🥈 | 🥈 | — |
2020–2021 omitted (COVID). – = outside top 5.
PA-USATF MUT Grand Prix
Mountain/ultra/trail team finishes.
| Year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 🥈 | — |
| 2022 | 🥇 | — |
| 2019 | 🥇 | 🥇 |
| 2018 | — | 🥈 |
| 2017 | 🥇 | — |
| 2016 | 🥇 | 4th |
2020–2021 omitted (COVID). – = outside top 5. Years before 2016 not shown.
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.