Club History Retold by Members Eldon & Sachiko Burkinshaw- Installment #2
- John McGarry
- May 7
- 4 min read
Updated: May 8
Who Is Eldon and What Is His Background?
Eldon is a life long New Hampshire resident born and raised in the Hanover/Lebanon NH area. In the Air Force in 1960, and met Sachiko in Japan. He studied engineering at UNH and then moved to physics. He got his masters in physics from Northeastern University, worked for Raytheon for 25 years and worked on the Patriot missile. He also lived in Japan for a few years helping Mistubishi develop technology for their defense. Although he said he might not officially be a rocket scientist, he seems to be pretty darn close to it!
When Did Eldon and Sachiko Start Running?
He started running a little later in life and ran his first race at 46. Sachiko was a darn good tennis player and only started running at Eldon’s encouragement. He used to go on walks with her and started to slowly encourage her to run. The simple process of walking and running on their street, led to Sachiko’s running journey. She added consistent running to her already busy schedule
What led Eldon to join the Greater Derry Track Club?
Even though he was not a club member at the time, he believes his son went to one of the first Kids Funs Runs about 50 years ago! He joined the GDTC around 1997 after meeting the Knepps at Mack’s Apples. He said the club had about 100 people at the time.
How Did the Mack’s Apples Race Come to Be?
Eldon said that Mack’s was a road race for a couple of years. After that discontinued, his fellow Club member, Dave Breeden came up with the idea of having the Mack’s Apples race around the orchards and through the property. Eldon quickly offered to help and designed the course. He said it was a lot of work, clearing paths, fixing bridges and coming up with a route. Eldon liked the 5pm start, the last Sunday of August because he believed it was a great tune up for high school kids getting ready for cross country. Entire teams from NH and Massachusetts used to come to race. He started to tradition of donating our unused race shirts from the Boston Prep, Turkey Trot and Kids Fun runs because he felt the kids would use them. Eldon was race director for 25 years until he retired Mack's in 2019.
What Are Sachiko’s Most Memorable Races?
I asked Sachiko what her best race was. She said she entered in to a New England Grand Prix, Rojack’s five miler in Attleboro, MA, at the last minute with no expectations. She won her age group, receiving a trophy and bouquet of flowers. She also beat her nemesis at the CMC Hospital race to win her age group for that series.
What Were Eldon's Achievements in Mountain Racing?
Eldon was an accomplished mountain racer, running in the mountain race series for many years. He said he would typically place in his age group and many times winning. His key for success running mountains was to walk a few steps before you are exhausted and try to pass runners on the uphill parts. He ran for Gate City for several years competing in the veteran’s category in the New England Grand Prix. He said they typically won. Their house is filled with running trophies! The Gate city team held the national record for the 60 age group four by one mile relay. He was third fastest. What an accomplishment!!
What Are Some of Eldon’s Favorite Races?
He said one of his favorite events was the Lake Winnipesaukee relay that he competed in for many years. He said he has done every leg of the 56 mile relay around the lake. He also won his age group twice at the Eastern States 20 miler. He said one of the races was rainy and cold. He wore a garbage but and it kept him warm and mostly dry.
What Was Eldon's Hardest and Worst Race?
The hardest race for him was the mountain race at Cranmore. He said the mountain isn’t that high but we had to run up and down it three times! Eldon’s worst race was the Vermont City Marathon—he didn’t sleep and had to start walking at the halfway point. He had hoped to qualify for the 100th Boston Marathon.
What Is the History of the Friendly Reminder?
The Friendly Reminder was started by Maureen Knepp. When she was club secretary she used to email a summary club news. Eldon took it over and added race results. He has been doing it for over 25 years. He said it used to be a lot easier because the results could be found in one website (Cool Running). Now he has to look at several websites and still misses a lot of people.
What Do Eldon and Sachiko Do in Their Free Time?
When asked what do you do with the time you save when not running he said he now plays the piano for an hour every afternoon. When Sachiko was asked she said, “what free time?”
How Does Eldon Feel About the Club Today?
He likes where the club is today. We have become more community oriented, volunteering and raising money for local charities.
THANK YOU ELDON AND SACHIKO FOR ALL OF YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE GDTC!