Loss of a friend and neighbor Dan Moores

06-28-2009

Dan Moores, whose Auburn Running Company has become a beacon for local runners, passed away Wednesday night after a battle with leukemia.

His running store’s shirts are worn like badges of honor around the Endurance Capital of the World, identifying those who like to take on some of the most demanding races in sports — or at least those who want to look the part.

But beneath the dozens of sweaty Auburn Running Company shirts at Saturday’s Western States Endurance Run were heavy hearts.

Dan Moores, the store’s owner and founder, succumbed to leukemia on Wednesday night, ending a valiant fight with the disease.

Moores was intimately involved with Western States, running the race for the first time in 2006 after opening his store in downtown Auburn in 2004 after having volunteered for several years. In his first try, Moores finished in 25 hours, 30 minutes to finish 63rd overall. In 2007, Moores made a vast improvement, clocking in at 22:34 to take 52nd overall.

His business displays many jerseys, trophies, photos and mementos from the race and serves as the epicenter for runners from all over the region. He hosted a dinner for Way Too Cool racers before the event and opened his doors for Western States’ Media Day.

Western States organizers paid tribute to Moores on Friday as bagpipes played, “Amazing Grace” at the end of the runners’ meeting. It was an emotional scene for the hundreds of runners who had been impacted by Moores in one way or another.

“He was always encouraging and he inspired a lot of people,” said Auburn runner Eva Lobsitz, who has finished Western States twice.

“His background was not as a big runner or an athlete, and that gave you the idea that you could do it,” added Joanne Burnett, who finished in 2006.

Moores had undergone a bone marrow transplant earlier this spring and reported that he was feeling well as recently as early May.

“… I feel great and am making good progress with just about everything from walking and spinning and lifting some weights to eating and sleeping without any problems,” Moores wrote on his blog at the Auburn Running Company’s Web site.

But in late May, the leukemia returned and Moores’ condition worsened. Showing his deep reverence for the race and his fellow runners, Moores hoped word of his condition would not spread. He did not want those running Western States to be distracted by his plight.

“He always thought of others before himself, definitely,” said Burnett, who teaches spinning classes in the Auburn Running Company store. “He was just very giving. He would do random acts of kindness, never looking for anything in return.”

Moores volunteered for several years at the Bath Road aid station and was relentless in running out to the runners to refill their water bottles before they came in so they didn’t have to slow down.

“He would do that all day,” Lobsitz said.

Burnett said a celebration of life is being planned and may take place at Placer High’s Le Febvre Stadium sometime this week.

Auburn Running Company will continue to operate, with Moores’ wife Patrice helping run the store.

Dan will long be remembered for his generous spirit and devotion to trail running that led many to discover the sport and enjoyt it in a whole new context.

“He was just a fixture in the store,” Lobsitz said. “He will really be missed.”