Officials of FAM Run

This image was originally published in the August 12, 1909 Indianapolis Star. It ran as part of the coverage of the two-day, 388-mile motorcycle endurance run from Cleveland-to-Indianapolis that preceded the first motorized competition at the Indianapols Motor Speedway on August 14. The endurance run as well as the Speedway race meet was sanctioned by the Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM) - the national governing body for the two-wheeler community. FAM was also holding its national convention in Indianapolis the same week.
 
The two men appearing in the image are identified as Harry Sturm and W.B. Harding. Neither man turns up anything in a Google search but Sturm shares the same last name as Robert Sturm, who was on the Indiana Motorcycle Club. Whether this means the newspaper made a mistke and the person was actually Robert Sturm or if it was just coincidence or if the two men were members of the same family and shared a common interest is difficult to know. It is likely these officials were stationed at the endurance run finish in downtown Indianapolis in front of the Denison Hotel which was FAM's official hotel, serving as their headquarters for the week.