San Francisco FrontRunners

This week, our Runner Bio spotlights Homer Perez and Tony Sourmany, two veteran FrontRunners who met 10 years ago in the club.

Where is each of your originally from and what brought you to the Bay Area?

TONY: I was raised in Santa Barbara and moved to San Francisco for college at SF State for track and a BA in Psychology. The SFSU coach called me up when I still lived in Santa Barbara to recruit me for his team. I had made many family visits to San Francisco before I moved and had always liked the city.

HOMER: I grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and came to the Bay Area in 2001. I am the only relative out of eight generations living outside of Texas! I moved here because a lot of my college friends from MIT lived here and the city has such a vibrant, alluring soul.

What is your running history before joining SF FrontRunners?

TONY: I ran for Santa Barbara City College before going to SFSU. My races were the 800, 1500 meters, and the 2-mile. My times were pretty good and are still in the top ten lists at SBCC.

HOMER: I started distance running as a hobby when I was in college to stay in shape, and I ran at most 3 to 6 miles a week. I kept it up off-and-on after college but did not do anything competitively until I got to San Francisco.

How did you get involved with FrontRunners and what attracted you to the club?

TONY: I got involved with Frontrunners back in 1997. I had recently bumped into a friend from high school who came out to me. He told me about the club; I had no idea that gay sports clubs even existed! I came to a Stow Lake and was happy to meet so many nice people. I became a member and worked hard to get back into running shape. I also liked all the social events going on: movie night, the ski trip, and the trips to Yosemite.

HOMER: My good friend Howie Chan and I usually did a Coit Tower run on Tuesdays. Howie found the SF FrontRunners’ website and told me they had a Tuesday night run along the Embarcadero. I was so frightened to attend because I was not a strong runner back then and had just recently moved to San Francisco, so I was not sure what to expect. I practically clung onto Howard the first few months in the club to the extent that people thought we were a couple. It wasn’t until we had been in the club several months that I felt more comfortable and fell in love with Tony.

What does each of you do for work?

TONY: I am a special education algebra teacher at Lincoln High School. Most of the students I work with have mild learning disabilities such as dyslexia, ADHD, and autism. I enjoy teaching and working with young people.

HOMER: By day I am a mild-mannered senior account executive for a retail environments fixture manufacturing company. By night and on weekends, I am a licensed architect and run my architecture and green building consulting practice.

What has been one of your fondest memories in FrontRunners so far?

TONY: One of my most memorable experiences with FrontRunners was when I ran the Calistoga to Santa Cruz relay race back in 1998. I was still new to the club and felt that I was not a strong runner, yet. I volunteered to drive one of the vans for the relay team. One of the runners had to drop out last minute, and I became the de facto twelfth runner. I felt very intimidated by all the good runners on the team, but the guys were very encouraging. We placed tenth over all and beat both the army and navy teams that year. After that, my confidence as both a runner and an individual soared!

HOMER: You mean besides meeting Tony? I’d say being the club’s secretary in 2011. Although it was a lot of work, it was so much fun being on the Board and getting to meet new members, fortifying my friendships with existing members, and supporting the club. After that, I agree with Tony that doing the Calistoga to Santa Cruz Relay was phenomenal. I like to consider that experience a Frontrunner version of “Waiting to Exhale”.

What do you both enjoy in your free time?

HOMER: When we’re not working, we like to travel, go running (of course!), swimming, hiking, kayaking, gardening, cooking and, Tony’s newest hobby, sailing.

TONY: Learning to sail has taken up much of my time this past summer. I also enjoy reading mystery novels, eating out, going to movies and live performances.

It’s well known that SF FrontRunners has a special place in your relationship.

HOMER: It’s true. We met in Frontrunners 10 years ago. Tony had already been a member for five years. As I mentioned before, I showed up with my friend Howie Chan, and most people assumed we were a couple.

TONY: After a couple of weeks, from the way they were so outwardly social with others, I figured that they were probably just friends. I finally got the nerve to run near enough to Homer to say hi, and then I ran away because I felt so nervous. Later, we shyly spoke to each other again.

HOMER: I invited Tony to the Yoko Ono exhibit at SFMOMA with some friends. While there, we barely spent any time with our other friends and enjoyed the exhibit and each other’s company.

TONY: For the first time in a long time, I did not want the date to end. We have been celebrating that date (August 17^th) as our anniversary ever since.

What kind of advice would you give members for having a healthy and happy relationship like yours?

HOMER: I think that our relationship has developed and flowered because we enjoy each other’s company and complement each other well.

TONY: I am a very shy dancer, but Homer is very outgoing. He always puts me at ease. I think that we are both pretty patient and compromising. We encourage each other to pursue our interests.

HOMER: Our families and friends have been supportive of us, too. So, the best advice I can give other people is to meet someone with whom you can compromise and enjoy the complementary aspects that your partner brings to the relationship.

Any advice to newcomers to the club?

TONY: I think the best way to enjoy the club beyond just running is to involve yourself by volunteering and showing up to some of the social events.

HOMER: Tony’s got it right. Enjoy yourself as much you can by being an active participant. As someone who’s been an officer—the (very social) Secretary—and won prizes for best costume at Halloween and the Little Black Dress Run, there is no end to the fun you can have!

Thank you, Tony and Homer, for sharing your stories with us. And Happy Anniversary to you on August 17!

Check out our Runner Bios every week and get to know your family of FrontRunners better!