Road Runners Club of Woodbury, dedicated to Browning Ross

Browning Ross is often referred to as the father of long-distance running in America and was a lifelong resident of Woodbury, NJ. He was the NJ State Mile and National Interscholastic Indoor Mile Champion in 1943. He served in the Navy during WWII and, upon discharge, was discovered by Villanova’s Jumbo Elliott. At Villanova, he won the 1948 NCAA steeplechase, going on to finish 7th in the 1948 Olympic steeplechase. At the 1951 Pan American Games, Browning won the 1500 meters, shared 1st in the steeplechase, and was 4th in the 5,000 meters. In 1952, he again qualified for the US Olympic team.

Browning went on to win 8 National AAU Cross Country Championships, was a U.S. team manager, and in 1969  received the first Annual AAU Long Distance Award. He is a member of the National Long Distance Running Hall of Fame and the Villanova, Gloucester County and Woodbury High School Halls of Fame.

Recognizing a need to publish road racing results, in 1955 Browning founded the Long Distance Log, a national newsletter that continued until 1975. In 1957 he founded and became the first President of the Road Runners Club of America, which today boasts more than 300,000 members.