Ron Knipling (1947-2023)

Remembrances

Ron, Gary, and Keith Knipling at a road race in 1980 or 1981.

My uncle, Ron, passed away today. He was 76 and had thrived with pancreatic cancer for decades before ultimately succumbing to the disease.

Only a few VHTRC members will remember Ron. He was not particularly active in our club and ran just a handful of trail and ultra distance events. Ron chose the 1997 MMT as his first (and only) 100 (Anstr has a great remembrance). He and his brother, Gary, finished together, and our dog, Major, and I paced them the last 18 miles from Woodstock Tower. Ron had a PhD in mathematics and he was amused by his 33:18 finishing time, meaning his average speed was almost three miles per hour on the nose.

Finishing MMT in 1997 — Ron and Gary Knipling finishing MMT in 1997.

Ron on Strickler Knob in 2006. Note the inaugural 2001 Catawba shirt.

In 2006 Ron “discovered” a trail leading out to Strickler Knob, as he described in his tongue-in-cheek report on the VHTRC website. In reality, he cleared the trail, blazed it, and even placed a register on a tree at the end of the rock outcropping. He was particularly proud of his chosen magenta for the blaze color, as it was distinctive and did not interfere with the oranges, blues, yellows, pinks, and purples already in use in the Massanuttens.

Over the years he played a cat-and-mouse game with the Forest Service, repainting blazes and putting up new registers after their removal. Runners of the Rings or Old Dominion encounter this spur off of the Massanutten Trail at the crest of Middle Mountain at the top of Duncan Hollow. Whenever I am in that area I make it a point to ask any hikers I see if they are headed to Strickler Knob. Invariably, the answer is “yes,” which delighted Ron.

Before the trail was established, VHTRC members shared various adventures on Strickler Knob, as immortalized in Anstr Davidson’s 1998 report and Tom Corris’s 2004 report. More recently, Dan Aghdam read a passage about Strickler Knob at this year’s MMT pre-race briefing.

Ron paddling Rock Creek in 1990 — Ron paddling Rock Creek below Military Road in 1990.

Ron’s real passion was with whitewater paddling, specifically open boating (paddling an “open” canoe as opposed to a “closed” kayak). Ron spent most weekends driving to the mountains with a canoe on his car, especially after a good rain. For many years he served on the Board of Directors of the Blue Ridge Voyageurs, an “offshoot of the Canoe Cruisers Association by members who were more interested in exploring creeks and rivers in VA, MD, WV and PA than in racing and organizing trips on the Lower Potomac River near Washington DC.”

In many ways the BRV is an aquatic cousin of our trail running club. I shared many trips with Ron on various class II-IV creeks and rivers in the mid-Atlantic. One particularly memorable trip was in 1996 when Ron, I, and other BRVers paddled the Lower Youghiogheny while my dad and other VHTRCers ran Laurel Highlands.

Keith and Ron Knipling on loop 2 of TWOT in 2002 — Keith and Ron Knipling on loop two of TWOT in 2002.

2002 was the year of Dennis Herr’s historic TWOT finish.

Ron had a science background with a naturalistic view of death which he approached with the calm confidence of a life well-lived. Enjoy nature. Enjoy fitness and good health. Leave a legacy that is a gift to others after you are gone, even if it means breaking some rules.