In l989, Dean started the 50 & DC Marathon Group. There were some that had finished this venture six years before. None of the earlier runners were especially interested in starting a Group. Some of the early members of the Group joined only with the understanding that there be no meetings and no officers. Members had their own local clubs and charities! Dean promised to keep the addresses current.

Also Dean was to edit an early newsletter -- which evolved into the current finisher lists! Some felt a need for some common guidelines, so members Don McNelly, Wally Herman, Norm Frank, and a few others developed the rules. These have evolved and become known as the North American Rules.

Bill Sved introduced initial T-shirts. Dick Brown enlarged upon the idea and made the presently worn T-shirts available to us. Lois Brown currently makes T-shirts, singlets, and sweatshirts available to us. Other items available are: 50&DC Marathon Group Jacket from Jerry Schaver, Numbered parchment finisher certificate from Lois Brown, bumper stickers from Jim and Nadja Boyd, and trophies from Tomahawk Awards.

We now have over 900+ members from 50 states the District of Columbia (DC), Canada, Latvia, Netherlands, Bermuda, Switzerland, Germany, England, Sweden, Singapore, and Japan. We have fun running together, meeting friends from all over. Thousands of genuine friendships and loyalties have resulted. We encourage one another to reach new heights. Come join us and have the pleasure of new friends and running encouragement. Our memberships are putting up impressive numbers!

Dean had intended to stop running marathons when he finished the 50 & DC circuit in 1994, but the membership has just kept on encouraging him. Thanks to the 50 & DC Group members he hopes to continue marathon running for many years.