The Genesis of the Buffaloes

Ever wonder how the Buffaloes became the name for a herd of trail runners? Of course you have; sleeplesss nights wondering. While working on the Second Wind newsletter in 1999, I had to come up with a caption for a photo of Dave Ghent running in the Fourth of July race. The photo was to accompany an article Dave wrote about strength training for runners. I had taken the photo near the finish line as Dave was battling it out with another runner. I didn't see Dave's finish, but this duel reminded me of a Christie race when Dave came crashing through the finish line in a similar duel with another runner. I had heard someone say of Dave's finish at the Christie race, "Like a bull in a china shop." I didn't want to use that analogy (Dave is a sensitive guy), so I thought . . . buffalo. I stuck clip art of a buffalo behind Dave's photo with the caption "Reminiscent of the powerful buffalo of the American prairies, Dave Ghent (right) breaks away from the herd at the finish of the Fourth of July 5K Fredom Run in Champaign."

Gradually, other runners at the Mahomet trail and elsewhere began calling Dave "Buffalo Dave," and eventually the herd was formed as more and more runners came to the trail and ran with us, all being dubbed buffaloes.

Now you know the rest of the story.

There are many stories in the annals of the Buffalo Nation, and I have hundreds of photos, so I've decided to assemble a history of the herd. Photos of Chilly Chili, Riddle Runs, Freezy Girl's first run with the herd on a flooded Buffalo Trace trail, precious shots of Holy Thursday trail runs, and much much more.