Sandown Rogue Runners is the brain child of it's founding father, Steve Grande. who without his determination, energy, enthusiasm and love of running, this club would not exist. The following was his initial letter introducing this innovative and exciting club to the NH running community:

Welcome To the Sandown Rogue Runners

I want to thank all the local runners that inspired me to go for this undertaking. First & foremost, Sandown's Top(& only) Senior Runner Jack Norton! I kept bouncing some ideas for a local club on our running days, He listened, he said I was nuts. You might say I had a captive audience......

Bob Flinn has been Most enthusiastic about this new club concept & is working on an idea for an icon. Bob will have his own little corner. (As soon as he writes something you will be the first to see it.) I will have even more entertainment for you in the coming days uh....months stay tuned. as soon as I see My Shrink.

Honorable mention goes to Vickie Kalil of our sister club GDTC for inspiring me. Let us not forget the Disalvo Boys. They had a hand in it also. Sue Wentworth was also the first to know & gave me some ideas.

I also thought I better mention my dearest wife Elaine for her unconditional love & support......Ya dee, yadee, yada

So U people mentioned deserve most of the Credit or Blame for this Club

StevyG, Founder

THE ART OF ROGUENESS

Neither to the meek, nor to the tame of heart, but to the bold and to the daring, to those who gut it out through whatever the race course presents them. To those go victory and the coveted title: "Rogue Runner"

Having endured the long and arduous training and tutelage of one of the two founding Rogue Brothers, the great Jack Norton (the other being the great Brother Rogue, Steve Grande), I finally earned the highly coveted title "Rogue Runner" at the Brewery Exchange 5k in Lowell, MA earlier this year. I thank the great Rogue Jack Norton for instilling in me the physical courage and mental toughness needed to run my sub 17:45 at Brewery, smashing my 5k pr by 26 seconds. Innocently, the great Rogue Jack Norton began his tutelage sometime back in July. It was July, and I had just moved to Andover for the sole reason of wanting to run with the also great Tom and Lyn Licciardello and their Merrimack Valley Striders. After moving my bedroom set (a sleeping bag) into my condo, I took a relaxing jog to what I have come to know as the Rogue Runners’ most hallowed ground, the temple: "The Athlete’s Corner." There I spoke with the great Rogue Runner Jack Norton. He explained the First Tenant of The Art of Rogueness, and the First Commandment that the Rogue Spirit passed on to him while running in the Sandown Mountains in southern, NH , ROGUE RUNNERS NEVER COMPLAIN ABOUT ANYTHING, THEY JUST SHUT UP AND RUN!

(Legend has it that Rogue Runner Brothers Steve Grande and Jack Norton received 5 of the Rogue Runner Commandments from the Rogue Runner Spirit while running through the southern New Hampshire woods.Legend also has it that they received the other 5 through divine inspiration from the Rogue Spirit while meditating somewhere near the front desk of the Rogue temple Andover: "The Athletes Corner".) He then also blessed me with the other 9 Rogue Runner Commandments, knowing that I would need to adhere to them if I were ever to become a Rogue and learn the Art of Rogueness

2. WHEN RUNNING A RACE, YOU RUN IT AS IF IT WERE GOING TO BE THE LAST RACE OF YOUR LIFE! (As the Rogue Runner Spirit explained, the harder you run the more, all the more you are blessed.)

3. REGARDLESS OF YOUR PACE, YOUR PAINS, OR YOUR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL FATIGUE, YOU RUN AS HARD AS YOU CAN AND YOU FINISH YOUR RACE, YOU’RE A ROGUE!

4. WHEN RACING, NEVER EXCHANGE "PLEASANTRIES" WITH THE RUNNERS AROUND YOU, IF YOU HAVE THE ENERGY TO SPEAK TO THEM THEN YOU’RE NOT RUNNING HARD ENOUGH!

5. IF YOU EVER HAVE THE UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE OF BEING "PASSED" IN A RACE, DON’T WISH THE RUNNER PASSING YOU "GOOD LUCK" OR "GOOD JOB," IF YOU HAVE THE ENERGY TO SPEAK TO THEM THEN YOU’RE NOT RUNNING HARD ENOUGH! (As the Rogue Runner Spirit explained, Rogues can grunt a reply of "eeerrrrr," in an effort of comraderie, but no words!)

6. WHEN PASSING ANOTHER RUNNER, IT IS GOOD TO OFFER ENCOURAGEMENT: "KEEP IT UP," "GOOD JOB!"

7. ROGUE RUNNERS MUST ALWAYS RUN IN A SPIRIT OF TRUE JOY AND EXHILERATION, ALWAYS SUPPORTING FELLOW ROGUES AND THOSE STILL STRIVING TO EARN THE TITLE "ROGUE RUNNER!"

8. ROGUE RUNNERS ALWAYS BELIEVE THAT THEY CAN WIN, ROGUES FEAR NO RUNNER, THEY ALWAYS BELIEVE! ROGUE RUNNERS JUST BELIEVE THAT THEY CAN!

9. NO RULES! ROGUE RUNNERS RUN WHENEVER THEY WANT, WHEREEVER THEY WANT, AND FOR AS LONG AS THEY WANT!

10. RUN FREE OR DIE! NO DUES! ROGUE RUNNERS MUST NEVER PAY ("DUES") TO BE A ROGUE. THE TITLE "ROGUE RUNNER" CANNOT BE BOUGHT, BUT MUST BE EARNED THROUGH ADHEARANCE TO THE PRINCIPLES OF THE Art of Rogueness.

Having been passed the above 10 Rogue Runner Commandments, I have since qualified for my first Boston Marathon, I have run my first sub 30 min 5 miler, have run with great and inspirational runners and people of the likes of Elaine Grande, Bob Flin, Harry Dow, Charlie Farrington, et. al., and have acquired a new appreciation for running and life in general! I have allowed Art of Rogueness to successfully lead me in all of my non-running endeavors. I have learned that anyone can attain and can come to know the true joy and satisfaction of acquiring and of adhearance to the Art of Rogueness. As the Rogue Runner Spirit has passed in the Spirit’s 8^th Commandment, ROGUE RUNNERS JUST BELIEVE THAT THEY CAN!

Rogue Runners Unite!
by Rich DiSalvo

Are you a Rogue Runner? Before you take offense to the question, let me explain a little bit about what could be one of the hottest ideas in local running in years!

It's a new running club. And it's called the Sandown Rogue Runners.

I myself wasn't sure what to make of the name at first, so I went to the dictionary to see what I could find for a definition of rogue. Scoundrel? (Well, ok, I guess I can live with that but I don't know about everyone else!) But seriously, the true definition of the rogue runner can really only be obtained from one source. The man behind it all - Steve Grande of Sandown. But it's certainly not a one or two word definition. It's more of an idea of what a stress-free running club ought to be.

One way to sum it up is by looking to the club's mission statement:

"We Do What We Want,
When We Want.

The "Unconventional" Club for the "Uncommitted" Runner

No Rules (By-Laws) No Dues"The mission statement goes on to ask a series of questions - such as "Do you feel guilty because you don't have enough time to volunteer?" and "Are you under pressure with your current club?" It's all in good fun, of course, but it also touches on a potentially sensitive area with many runners.

Yes, it can take time to volunteer for various events throughout the year especially if your plate is already overflowing with loads of other things from - well, life. More responsibilities - more pressure - even if it is something to do with running.

"I was running with Jack Norton one day, and we were talking about how stressful it can be for club members and officers to run a club," he said. Grande went on to explain how some people he talks with really want to belong to a club, but find it difficult to devote time and energy due to family and work constraints.

"I thought, running used to be fun for a lot of people - call up a few people, get together, trade some stories and run."

Then he started thinking about themes or slogans for a club - some of which have been listed above. Grande sums up his new venture best, however, when he says, "It's about being your own person but belonging when the need is there."

Don't get me wrong, the founding members of the Rogue Runners are very active themselves in other clubs throughout the area including the Greater Derry Track Club, The Merrimack Valley Striders, and the Greater Lowell Road Runners just to name a few. All of these organizations do tremendous work in the communities they serve. Grande himself and his business the Cleaning Police has been a solid supporter and sponsor of many local races over the past several years - something that's not going to change.

But now he's also taken a wonderful step forward by going back to basics and creating something unique and very simple. Simple? Indeed. Do you want to be a member? Just fill out the application form and send it in. Want to go to a meeting? Well, there are no regular meetings... and no dues... and no rules... Grande welcomes comments in his written introduction of what the club is all about - just drop them in the comment box - oh that's right - there isn't one of those either.

What there is, however, is a goal to promote camaraderie within the sport and community. One way, is by getting together for monthly breakfast runs where those who attend should be prepared to run and eat

Grande credits many locals for the inspiration to turn his idea into reality, including fellow Sandown residents Norton, Bob Flinn, Phil DiSalvo and Vickie Kalil of Auburn - and of course his wife Elaine who supports all of his running efforts.

"I kept bouncing all these ideas off Jack on our running days," said Grande. "He listened, and said I was nuts."

Of course, Norton ended up with his very own section on the club website entitled 'Jack's Corner', where he recounts running stories of the past.

So what do people think of the idea so far?

"The Response has been tremendous,"Grande said. "At the Brewery Exchange 5K in Lowell, the shirts were a big hit. We sold out of all the shirts in the 1st week."

The shirts Grande referred to, are racing singlets designed by Bob Flinn that depict a rogue runner just as you might imagine from the dictionary definition. They'll undoubtedly be showing up at races all across the area.

After all, in a world of countless obligations and commitments - even in something like a recreational running club- it's nice to be able to be part of something so simple and straightforward. Rogue runners? Well, we're runners, that's for sure. We like to run and we like to have fun (doesn't everybody?). And that's what being a rogue runner is really all about.