One morning, during the month of May, I logged into our
club’s email account and found a question asking about joining our club. As I
was typing my response, I found myself trying to include so many good reasons
for joining.
Some of the best reasons included: store discounts, group
runs, and access to our Facebook groups that help our members connect on
everything from track workouts, to tempo runs, to trail runs, to long
runs. There are also the many social
functions that the club does during the year. Then there is the discount on
club races.
These are the outward highly visible reasons for joining but
there is another reason.
Really, there is one major reason/intangible that most often
runners overlook when they are considering joining a club. This intangible is
the “Support System” that a club provides.
Take for example someone that is training for a marathon.
Most marathon plans run from a bare minimum of 2 months to as much as 6 months.
This all depends on the experience and training of the runner.
Those plans will include interval workouts, tempo runs, and long
runs. Yes, the all important, but tough, long runs which can reach anywhere
from 2 to 4 hours.
The support system, that clubs provide, means that runners
have the option of joining together. Nothing makes a 3 hour run seem like 30
minutes than carrying on a conversation.
Motivation can be found in the experience of sharing a common goal –
such as a long run - with others.
This is where new friendships are made, and the transition to
long lasting running buddies occurs.
These are the running buddies that make the hard days easier
and the good days better. These are the people on a rainy, cold day that don’t
ask if there is a run, they only ask, “What time will the run start?”
There are the buddies that push us to be better, faster, and
to understand that we can do more.
These are the buddies that have tried a shoe, run a race,
used a diet, tried fuel/gel/drink etc. They are a great source to gain an opinion.
These are the buddies that give us the support and
motivation to keep running through it all.
Yes, clubs provide a great support system and the Charlotte
Running Club is slowly but surely growing into one of the best around.
Personally, I don’t know of a better reason to join the
Charlotte Running Club.
CPR/AED Training:
We are kicking off the training for our online CPR training
on June 3rd when the registration opens. Those participating in the
course will have two 2 weeks to complete the online training. The online class
closes on the 13th of Jun. Then, on June 17th and 19th
at 6:30 PM, members will be able to attend one of two sessions where they
can complete their practical part of the training. Run for Your Life has
graciously volunteered to host this training and will be providing “light”
refreshments at their South Park store.
To register for the online training use the following link: https://classes.redcross.org/Saba/Web/Main/goto/RegisterCatalog?offeringId=class000000003939493&context=meorder&addtoorderkey=yes&orgId=33181SELECTPT.
The cost is $19 per
member.
Club’s Exempt Tax
Status
Over the last couple of months, we have been working with
the IRS to rectify our club’s tax exempt status. The IRS had revoked this
status for our club. This was done because there was some paperwork that needed
to be completed when our club initially applied for tax exempt status, but it
was not. Billy is filling out the necessary paperwork now to be submitted.
Based off our understanding, the processing fee for this application will range
between $400 and $800 dollars. This is a onetime fee that our club must pay.
Also, there will be some changes to the club’s bylaws to
comply with the IRS’ tax exempt guidelines. We will need to spell out our club
Tax Exempt Purpose which will be “recreational” and we will need to provide
guidelines governing the distribution of funds and assets if the club is
dissolved. I will be working on these
two tasks and will have them in front of the board for approval to the bylaws
by the next board meeting.
Spring Social at
Tyber Creek Pub:
Our spring CRC social was another successful event. We had a
good crew of members attend and spent several hours catching up and exchanging
stories. This was a great chance for me to meet some new members of the club
and for them to get to know me. Tyber Creek gets a “Big Thanks” from us for
hosting our event for the second year in a row. Special thanks to Stephanie for
stepping in and handling the logistic when Rob had to go out town.
Summer Social at
Freedom Park:
Our CRC Summer Picnic is coming up on June 22nd
at Noon and will be held at Freedom Park. All members and their families are
welcome to attend.
CRC will be providing the burgers, hot dogs, and buns along
with the utensils, napkins, plates and cups. We are asking our members to bring
a food item to share at the picnic.
To add a little excitement to our event, we will be holding
our first CRC “Cornhole” tournament. Our winning team will be crowned the CRC
“Cornhole” champions and will have bragging rights for entire year. There is no
cost and teams can be M/M, M/F, or F/F. I suggest everyone start practicing now
because this is a title that everyone is going to want.
Grand Slam 5k – CRC
H20 Volunteer effort:
Paul sent an email to our club asking if we would be willing
to help “man” a water stop for the Grand Slam 5k on Saturday evening 5/18/13.
This race benefits the boys of the “Let Me Run” Program and is also the
culmination of their spring training efforts. A few emails and a few Facebook
post later, we had a good crew ready and willing to help.
Our crew included: Beth, Alex, Katie plus her 4 kids, John
and his wife, Billy, Jinnie, Megan, Ally, and me. I have worked many water
stops in the past. This one was amazing.
We filled a huge number of cups before the race, but there
were 650+ boys taking part. They seemed to descend on our 2.25 mile H20 stop in
one big group. In maybe 20 minutes, we emptied the table of cups. This particular
Saturday was a hot and humid evening so many of the boys were taking two or
three cups of water.
Being a lifelong runner, I found it great to see these boys
given the opportunity to be involved in the sport of running. We should all be
a big fan of these programs because they are the corner stone which inspires
our next generation of runners.
To my fellow volunteers for this race, volunteering requires
the time and energy and needs to be followed with a big “Thank You”. So, “Thank
You”. I realize as much as anyone - knowing that one is being appreciated goes
a long way.
CRC Gear Fire Sale:
Last year we purchased a large amount of CRC shirts and singlets.
We want to get this gear out so members can wear it during the summer racing
season.
Our Run Club Sign Up, which houses our membership database,
also allows us to setup a small store. To check out this gear go to the
following http://www.charlotterunningclub.org/p/store.html.
CRC Tech T’s and singlets
are $15 and this includes shipping and handling.
Membership Cards and
Magnets:
Our member magnets have arrived. Our membership cards have
been ordered and should be arriving the latter part of next week. Plans for
distribution continue to evolve, but members should expect to get them first at
the Summer Social, and then either via a board member or regular mail. Big thanks to Mike for all of his hard work on
this task.
CRC Summer Track
Series:
Yes, we now have a location, dates and events for our first
CRC Summer Track Series. Our track series will be hosted at Providence Day
School. The dates are 7/27, 8/3, 8/10, 8/17. The start time each week will be
8:30 AM. The events running in this order will be: 3200, 200, 800, (Possibly
100 for the kids), 400, and then the 1600.
The cost for non-numbers will be $8 dollars for unlimited
events for one week and $32 dollars to register for all 4 weeks (paid for on 1st
week). Club members can register for $5 and $20 for all 4 weeks (paid for on 1st
week). If you pay for all 4 weeks on the 1st Saturday, you will also
receive a t-shirt on the final Saturday. This is incentive to pay early and
come the 1st week!
There will be awards given but our Track Series committee is
still working out the details. I should have those to share by next month. Ben and his committee have been meeting to
work out the details. “Thank You” for making our track series a reality.
Board Meeting Update:
Thursday night our CRC board met to discuss a number of
topics and get status updates on many outstanding items. The board meeting
lasted about an hour an forty-five minutes. We covered everything from the
socials to the upcoming track series and 6/12 hour relay event in Oct. Full
notes will be made available “here” once they are available.
Board Meetings:
I know this is somewhat of a reminder, but it bears
repeating. Our Charlotte Running Club Board meetings are open to current club
members and their guest. These meetings take place on the last Thursday of each
month at the Dowd Y at 6:30 pm. There are exceptions to this schedule for
November and December. Those meeting dates, times, and locations will be
announced before hand.
Once again, I would like to thank every member for being a
part of the Charlotte Running Club. If there is ever a question, concern, or
just a comment, please email it to run.charlotte@gmail.com.
Our Gmail account is monitored daily and emails will get directed to me. The
other option is seeing me personally. I run all over Charlotte and am always
willing and able to listen to our member’s concerns.
Have a fun and safe run,
Bill Shires
CRC President
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