About the Donny Kloster Memorial Trophy

Donny Kloster was the president of the South Texas Area Runners Riders and Swimmers and one of Conquer the Coast™’s hardest working volunteers. Donny died in an unfortunate cycling accident on July 28, 2007, he was 63 years old.

Before his death, Donny had recommitted to continue his support of the 4th Annual Conquer the Coast™. He was excited to see a Criterium added on to the event, and expressed interest in growing the event more in the future.

Following Donny’s death, after the initial shock, the STARRS vice-president took on Donny’s role as president and along side lead Criterium Volunteer Trevor Hadley, picked up where Donny had left off with Conquer the Coast™. The new president, Pat Fowler, has been dedicated to both the success of the event and to making sure Donny’s memory lived on.  STARRS then took on the role as sponsoring club for the Inaugural Conquer the Coast™ Criterium.

Because the Criterium and “Toughest 18 Miles in Texas Time Trial” meant so much to Donny, both ride officials and STARRS thought it appropriate to find ways to honor Donny (a dedicated time trialer) at both events.  Thus began the “Donny Kloster Memorial Lap” -first lap of the Criterium, and the “Donny Kloster Memorial Mile” -mile 18 of the Toughest 18 Miles in Texas.

Also added to the event is the Donny Kloster Memorial Trophy.  The Trophy was designed and produced by Aloe Tile, in downtown Corpus Christi.  Because Donny had previously made the ride from Alaska to Texas, there is a ring of “snow balls” around the top of the trophy, and a ring of “shark’s teeth” around the bottom.  When discussing the design with ride officials, Aloe Tile artist Cornelia Gates remembered Donny’s enthusiasm for incorporating a palm tree into a previous event’s materials, so a palm tree from the original Conquer the Coast™ 2003 jersey was also included in the design.

The Donny Kloster Memorial Trophy was awarded to the over-all winning team of the Criterium each year, with hopes of awarding a smaller replica of the trophy to each category winner in the future.

For more information on Donny Kloster visit:  http://www.mem.com/Story.aspx?ID=1945867

Photos of the Donny Kloster Memorial Trophy will be posted soon.