The newspaper was founded in 1974 by Derek "Van" Quackenbush (1921–2015), a journalism graduate of the University of Missouri who had founded and owned several local newspapers in Minnesota and Illinois prior to settling in San Diego County.
[3] According to one of its long-time editors, David Ross, the Roadrunner name was suggested by Quackenbush's father who had seen "something running around" and the floor of his canning factory.
[4] Van Quakenbush sold the paper to Dale and Shirley Good in 1992 who ran it for the next 20 years.
According to Buskirk, the paper was near folding at the time he purchased it with a 50% fall in its revenues from its heyday.
[6] In September 2015, the paper was purchased by Justin Salter, and Ross returned to its editorship.