Founded in 1958, the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) is the oldest and largest distance running organization in the United States, with over 1,500 running club and event members representing 200,000 individual runners active in their running communities. The RRCA has promoted programs for women's running, including lobbying for a Women's Olympic marathon, hosting women-only races, and advocating equal prize structures for men and women runners. The RRCA member clubs conduct thousands of races each year and provide training programs for runners in every state. Many RRCA clubs award college scholarships to local runners. The RRCA parent organization awards $5,000 annual Road Scholar stipends to promising post-collegiate athletes. The ultimate policy making power is vested in the member clubs who vote at the annual meeting or special meetings, where the voting power of each club is proportional to its size. The membership elects a 9-member Board of Directors, with four directors responsible for four regions of the nation. They in turn select State Representatives to coordinate RRCA efforts in each state. Although individuals can join the RRCA, the RRCA encourages runners to join a local member running club where one is available; all members of each member running club receive the full benefits of RRCA membership. Other programs include: liability insurance covering running clubs and events; runner's safety, education, and advocacy; coaching certification (to accredit coaches who specialize in training long distance runners); national, regional and state championship event series; national RUN@WORK day; Kids Run the Nation program (10-week youth running program curriculum and small grant fund for starting and/or maintaining youth running programs); runner friendly community program; and a volunteer recognition program.

Source: The Road Runners Club of America website