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As the calendar rolls into mid-January, I find myself thinking about the Norfolk County Pacers and the Runaways running clubs.

The NC Pacers came into existence in 2004 and enjoyed immediate success. Based in Franklin, they quickly had 60 members in the fold and were sponsoring three weekly training sessions. The Pacers were a 21st century club that used e-mail to keep members instantly informed of club activities. Then suddenly last year, the e-mails stopped coming, the Web site was abandoned and the club went out of existence.

The Runaways have taken on the life cycle of a cicada. The club organizes the very successful Runaways Five Miler on a Sunday in mid-August. They emerge for that one day in late summer, then are not seen again until the same day the next year. No training runs, no functions, no members but they have a great Web site.

I'm thinking of these two clubs because they stand in marked contrast to the durable, dependable Wampanoag Road Runners. No concerns about the Wampanoags folding up or going into hibernation 364 days a year. They have longevity on their side which is why mid-January is significant.

January 10 marks the club's 25th anniversary. The Wampanoags started to coalesce as a club in November 1983 when a group of locals came together for a Thanksgiving run in Attleboro.

They reappeared for the 1984 Hangover Run at the brand new DB Sports on Kelley Blvd. in North Attleboro. It wasn't until Jan. 10, 1984 that the club was formally organized. In the then-Spartan confines of DB Sports that evening, several runners including Attleboro's Kevin Downing, Pete Beauregard and Bill 'The Legend' Dunphy, North Attleboro's Jim Morris, Steve Ludwig, Mike McGahan, Pat Keleher and Roger Stebenne, Mansfield's Mike 'Mr. T" Touloumtzis, Kevin Dunfey, the late Kevin Boyce, Rehoboth's Dave Varney and Seekonk's Jim Limperis became the founding fathers.

The first order of business on that night was to determine a club name. Hockomock Harriers, Easy Striders, Angle Tree Stone Runners and Mooshowog Runners were some of the names that were offered for consideration. Wampanoag Road Runners became the popular choice but with the swing of only one vote the club would now be known as the Triboro Trotters. Instead of 'WAMP' on the back of club shirts, it could have been 'TROT.' Yeah, I'm grateful for that decision.

During the past generation, the club has had a constant presence in the local running community. Each week the club has its Sunday morning training runs and it augments that with its Wednesday night track workouts in the warm weather months. The Old Fashioned 10 Miler in February is the club signature event and one of the best draws in the area. The club also supports other area races such as the Attleboro Y races, Rome Blvd. races, Mansfield High School Boosters 5K and the Billy Kelly races.

What makes the Wampanoags so durable is that they have interchangeable parts that they can plug in to get things done. They don't depend solely on a member or a few members, but have a large diverse base of runners who can step in when needed. A constant influx of new members keep the club fresh and revitalized.

On New Year's Day, the Wampanoags held their annual Hangover Run and this year to commemorate the occasion, the club retraced the course from 25 years earlier. On a 13 degree morning with snow covering the roads, approximately 30 runners ran five miles through the 'Cliffs' and the North Attleboro Industrial Park and back. Six of those - North Attleboro's Stebenne, Ludwig and Morris, Attleboro's Dunphy and Downing and Mansfield's Touloumtzis - were survivors from the original Hangover Run in 1984.

Touloumtzis was attired in a circa 1980's Wampanoag running jacket and more amazingly, a pair of Smithsonian eligible New Balance running shoes. In contrast to some runners who wore strap-on cleats on their shoes for better traction, Mr. T struggled in the snow, sacrificing efficiency for nostalgia with his blue New Balance retros.

Despite his slipping and sliding, I suspect that Mr. T will be wearing that ensemble in 2014, 2019 and 2024 when the Wamps celebrate future milestones. It's uncertain whether the New Balance retros will hold up to see the 40th club anniversary, let alone their then 73-year-old owner.

What is certain is that the 40th will happen because the Wampanoag Road Runners will be there.

ROB ROSE is a running correspondent for The Sun Chronicle and can be reached via e-mail at LSXPLRER@comcast.net