Doug Schmidt started out as a wrestler for Indiana University, began running as a form of cross training in his junior year, and became dedicated to running while attending Indiana University’s School of Dentistry in the early 70’s. He liked that he could run in between classes and clinics. While still in his residency, Doug started the Indianapolis Swim Club and soon added Heze Clark and Ray Lawrence…who went on to develop the Carmel HS program into a national power. The team had numerous national age-group record holders and one Olympian.

 As Doug’s running buddies became parents and those kids began running, Doug became involved in sharing his love of the sport and evolved into a coach/mentor for them and their friends.  Doug coached the Brebeuf varsity girls CC team and the varsity distance boys in track for one year – highlighted by a 4th place finisher (Tim Robinson) in the 800.

Doug’s home was open 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, 52 weeks/year for runners. He never locked his doors. He turned his lower level into a locker room with shower facilities, a sauna, a Jacuzzi, an ice-bath, and an ultrasound machine to aid fellow runners through sore muscles and minor injuries. He even stocked large glass-fronted refrigerators with every kind of drink a runner might possibly want (even Yoohoo)!  

Doug ran every day for almost 14 years, missed one day, and then went another 17 years without missing another day. And he wasn’t just “into running”, he was good. He competed on the Masters level with a number of nationally talented runners here in the Indianapolis area. As a team, they placed 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at the Club Masters National Championships over a three-year span and his 1:17:31 in the Mini at age 47 earned him a 3rd place national ranking that year.

Through his close friendship with former Carmel HS Coach Chuck Koeppen, Doug started welcoming young runners to his home on weekends for long training runs with his Masters-level running buddies. These were always followed by ice-baths, sports drinks, and great conversations about racing, setting goals, upcoming seasons, staying healthy, etc. Doug knew of Coach Koeppen’s huge success with All-Star Cross Country Camp, saw the desire of high school and middle school runners to compete in the off-season, and the idea for a club grew in his mind. Beginning in 1997, All Star Cross Country Camp teams started competing in and dominating USATF’s Junior Olympics Cross Country Championships. In 1999, these teams won four National Championships and counted 25 All-American individuals. In the summer of 2000, together with his long-time running friends, Kevin Kelly (Coach – Fall Creek Valley MS), and Chuck Koeppen as Co-Founders, and dedicated volunteers Matt and Kelly Wire and Craig and Connie Martin, Indiana All Star Running Club was born.

In December of 2000, eighty-eight athletes, accompanied by ~30 adults, flew to Reno, Nevada for the JOs National Championships. Bob Kennedy and Ashley Johnson, representing The Running Co. (our 2000 team sponsor), came to the Indianapolis Airport to see everyone off and wish the runners good luck. The club’s teams performed like none others, with our teams winning every high school age-group competition, and Indiana All Star Running Club was awarded the National Club Trophy. The stage swarmed with people dressed in the club’s black team jackets and black warm-up pants.

To help keep travel costs down for the athletes and coaches, Doug personally footed the bill for the entire team’s three nights’ stay at the Meet Headquarters hotel!

That was just the first example of Doug’s generosity to “his kids”. Doug never held back in giving to runners. Whether it was his home, his drinks, his money, or his time and advice, Doug was always generous. He thought about each and every runner and was insightful regarding their running and personal issues. If it was girl troubles or a sore Achilles tendon, Doug was ready to listen and help.  And Doug truly believed that if the club could make running look fun, then more kids would try it. He knew that by the time young runners would discover that training hard could sometimes really hurt, they’d be hooked on it just like he was! And they’d be determined to keep going.  

The fall of 2001 saw the first Indiana Middle School Cross Country Championship with 541 kids participating. The 2011 Championship saw ~1,750 registrants with ~5,000 spectators in attendance! The success and popularity of this wonderful event is a testament to Doug’s dedication and passion for bringing the sport he loved to Indiana’s youth and to the dedication of the Wires and Martins in carrying on the club’s mission following Doug’s passing in June, 2007. It’s been asked what impact Doug Schmidt had on Indiana’s running community. How many Indiana high school and college runners remember seeing that skinny guy in running shorts running along the cross country course yelling at them to run faster and reach their goal? How many athletes did his thoughtful advice help see through a tough season? How many runners ran better races each Saturday because they ice-bathed at Doug’s house each Thursday night? That’s hard to measure, but we can tell you how many elementary school kids have come running up to the packet pick-up table at the Indiana MS CC Championships brimming over with excitement from watching all of the day’s races and begging to register at the last minute for the 3rd-4th-5th grade race!...and Doug and Indiana All Star Running Club made another conquest. The club’s efforts inspired yet another young kid to try running…because it looked like such fun!

It’s hard to quantify the effect that one person has on a sport. But Doug’s legacy now is living on in every runner that he loved, hooked into this sport, and inspired to “be the best they could be.” We’ll see it every cross country season and track season when his runners set new p.r.s dedicated to Doug. We’ll see it every year when graduated runners run a road race in their club singlet. And we’ll see it every fall as new young runners compete in the Indiana Middle School Cross Country Championship and learn to love the sport.