Cpt. Robert E. DeCelle was a fellow Spur Scout pilot who was KIA on 18 Feb ’71. The following article is submitted by fellow Spur, Mike Billow from the Reno Gazette Journal:
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Reno Gazette Journal 10 June, 2011
Lake Tahoe Relay is one family’s ‘labor of love’
11:17 PM, Jun. 9, 2011 |
Robert DeCelle, the creator of the Lake Tahoe Relay, measures out the route before the 1965 event. / Provided to the RGJ
Written by Chris Murray
DeCelle Memorial Lake Tahoe Relay
What: A seven-person, 72-mile relay race around Lake Tahoe.
Where: The race begins in South Lake Tahoe near the junctions of Highway 89 and Highway 50 at the “Y.”
When: Begins at 7 a.m. Saturday.
Who: 117 teams are expected to run at the event; each runner runs one leg between 8 to 12 miles.
Cause: All proceeds go to fighting youth obesity.
Every year in early June, April Carter and her family gather for a reunion at Lake Tahoe.
But unlike most family reunions, this one isn’t just about catching up and reminiscing about old times. It’s largely about work. And a race.
That race is the DeCelle Memorial Lake Tahoe Relay, which celebrates its 47th anniversary this year and is the oldest distance relay race in the United States.
“We’re just trying to carry on the tradition,” Carter said.
Carter’s father, Robert DeCelle, created the seven-person, 72-mile relay that circles Lake Tahoe in 1965. It’s steadily grown and an expected 117 teams and 820 runners will line up when the race begins at 7 a.m. Saturday.
DeCelle served as the administrative assistant for U.S. Olympic teams in 1968 and 1972 and often trained athletes at Tahoe’s high altitudes. It was then that he decided to create this race and make it his labor of love.
The relay got the title “DeCelle Memorial” in 1971 when DeCelle’s son, Robert Jr., was killed in battle during the Vietnam War. And when Robert Sr. died following a heart attack two weeks after the 1997 race, his family had to decide whether to continue their father’s race or let it die.
“When he passed away, we had a family meeting and we said, ‘Who wants to step up and take the race over?’ I was the stupid person who said I would do it,” Carter joked. “It takes a year’s worth of work. It takes a lot of time. I don’t think I knew how much time it took until I became the race director.
“But I think he’d be really proud that we’ve kept it going. The timers and all of the volunteers are mostly family members. I think we only have two timers who aren’t part of the family. The rest of the volunteers are his grandchildren or great-grandchildren. We’ve basically made this our annual family reunion.”
And it’s not just the volunteers who are part of the family. Carter said she’s known some of the runners who participate in the race for decades.
One of those runners is Steve Paski, who said he’s competed in all but two of the Lake Tahoe Relays since 1985.
This is what should be on the front pages of newspapers, instead of the Bad news we get. Paul Harvey would have it on Page One.
Charles, couldn’t agree with you more. Unfortunately the media has decided that negative news and constant unrest and upheaval sells…