It was a heck of a ride

Here is the body of work I was responsible for in the six months since I became my running club's president. The club has over a thousand members and over $100K in assets. There were some further things I accomplished, such as negotiating a potential $4.5 K contract to provide training over the winter for up to three hundred registrants for a local national marathon. This agreement replaced the old understanding which paid nothing beyond brand name exposure. But...well...that's for another post.

In the actual club posting this was taken from, real names were used but the following has been slightly edited, mostly for privacy.

Spring 2009: 10K Training Program.

Ten program participants ran in the Capitol Hill Classic 10K target race, with four runners finishing in under an hour and one athlete taking second in her age group and another athlete taking third in her age group. Thanks to the Program Director [Peter] and all the volunteer coaches.

Summer 2009: Ten Mile Training Program which on my watch became the exclusive training partner for the Army Ten-Miler Race. 173 trainees registered, which potentially collected over $12K in revenues for the club, representing a six-fold increase over the program's revenues a year ago. Some Program highlights:

We provided 16 weeks of training at three different sites over two weekend days. Included for participants were three Happy Hours, one picnic, a pre-race dinner, six seminars and a weekly informative email. The Program Director had a speaking role at the ATM Expo, and there was a club Table for our racers at the race finish line.

The race administrators were so impressed with the professional job we provided that it indicated it wants the club back. In a mass emailing, under the heading "[Club Name]/ATM 10 Mile Training," the Army Ten-Miler Race reported that for "the first time ever the ATM used pace groups provided by [Club Name] and they were a success." Thanks have to go to the Program Marketer, the three Site Directors [including Peter], and all the volunteer coaches.

Summer 2009: Marathon Training Program:

About 100 trainees registered for 5 months of training. In addition to coaching, the MTP provided three seminars, social events, and a tent at the MCM Finish Line. Thanks to the Program Directors and all the volunteer coaches.

Fall 2009: Army Ten Miler Race Pace Program.

The Pace Program Director and several other club members [including Peter] led pace groups in the race, and all six led their groups to the finish line within thirty seconds of their goal times.

August 11, 2009 Bart Yasso event.

The club co-hosted, along with Saucony, a Fun Run on the Mall with noted runner Bart Yasso. At the subsequent social gathering in Georgetown, Saucony provided gait analysis while Yasso gave out free autographed copies of his autobiography. The Membership Coordinator set this up.

Other notable club events:

There were four club social gatherings, including a dinner at Generous George’s in Alexandria, two Happy Hours at Gordon Biersch in the District and a Happy Hour at Sette Bello in Arlington. Thanks to two club members for setting these up.

There was an attempt to partner with Channel 9 (WUSA) and Pacers on a charity-event 5K race in Silver Spring last month, which was cancelled in the last week by Channel 9. However, in addition to negotiating complete financial that the television station would cover all the losses, if any, the club got television exposure out of the non-event when a club member was interviewed by the local news during prime time. In addition, the club forged important new relationships with powerful local concerns. Thanks to the VP of Operations [and next club president] for doing so much work in setting up this race.

The club welcomed a new SLR Director, Membership Coordinator, and Volunteer Coordinator.

Awards were presented to the Snowball Series and Bunion Derby winners. These runners mostly ran in the normal complement of club races put on by our hard-working Race Directors and club volunteers. Notable was the complete face lift given to the Larry Noel 12K (formerly 15K) by its RD, and the 25th running of the National Capital 20-Miler and 5-Miler races under the direction of three longtime club members.

The club purchased an AED Defibrillator unit to be on hand for potential emergencies at track workouts and club races. The club provided six volunteer coaches with the opportunity to receive RRCA Coaching Certification training this fall, and negotiated that payment for all such training (including CPR/1st Aid) be paid for by the local national marathon.

Peter