Frank Kibler discovered he enjoyed running in 1978, during the summer session at King College, when some friends on the soccer team invited him out for a run. Little did he know then, but that group run would launch a 40+ year journey of becoming a marathoner, race director, and leader in our running community

Frank has been an active member of SFTC since 1984. In 1993 he won the SFTC Outstanding Volunteer Award and in 2007 he was named “Most Improved Male Runner” (tie).

Frank’s leadership role with the Club began in 1993 when he became the editor of Split Times, the Club’s newsletter. The newsletter was printed and mailed bi-monthly (six issues a year) and was the members’ source for the race calendar, race results, and local and regional running news. Basically, it was the precursor and model for our current website. During Frank’s six-year tenure as editor, Split Times was recognized by Road Runners Club of America as the top small club newsletter in the Southeast. Frank also served, for many years, as the coordinator for the SFTC Kids’ Runs and was elected as the SFTC President in 1997.

In 1984, Frank created a 5k race in his hometown of Appalachia, Virgina, Appalachia Railroad Days 5K, which he was director of for the first 11 years (the race continues today, 36 years through 2019). He also created and directs SFTC’s Run the Tunnel road/trail race (1994) and SFTC’s Virginia Creeper Marathon (1999). He's been directing races continuously for 36 years.

Frank also served as a mentor and leader of SFTC’s Training Program for many years. His ability to make running so enjoyable helped instill the love of running to many people in our community.