It is a high-performance, responsive, and comfortable one-design class sailboat.

While designed for racing, it also functions as a small cruising day sailer because of the storage space under the deck in the bow.

The Front Runner was developed by Bill Spencer in the early 1990s, culminating in its production starting in 1996.

It has a total of 202 square feet (18.8 m2) of sail area (including only the mainsail and jib; with the spinnaker it reaches 527 square feet (49.0 m2) of sail area).

Its rig, a low-profile, 3 point fractional Sloop rig, kick-up rudder, and swinging keel make the Front Runner a high-performance sailing craft.