Courtesy of UNCG running club
Lindsey Dancy
Staff Writer
What promises a healthier body, a sunnier outlook and the perfect way to stay busy? Running. Running is one of the best butt-kicking, calorie-blasting workouts around. This week the Carolinian sat down with Running Club President, Christopher Reed, in hopes of learning more about their UNCG organization as well as answering the universal question: why run?
The origins of the club started back in the fall of 2012. The club was on a preliminary session and was not officially recognized at the time. The first officers were Johnny Teeter (president), Sabrina Teeter (vice president), Carolyn Buhrman (event planner), and Max Bergstrom (treasurer).
“The original vision of the club was to have a competitive outlet for students who were not able to make UNCG’s official cross-country/track team,” Reed said. Shortly after the first year, the club was altered to accommodate beginning runners. The Campus Recreation Center, Campus Activities Board and the Student Government Association officially recognized the club in 2013.
Reed went on to explain how the club is reliant on knowledgeable officers who utilize a club manual detailing officer positions in detail and abiding by the club’s constitution. “It is imperative that you remember what items [paperwork] you need for the different campus entities and how to file them,” Reed added.
When questioned as to how the club markets their organization, Reed said, “For our marketing, we let the students know that their dues cover the full academic year. When they pay dues, they are also given a club shirt, options for training plans and entry to races and club socials where awards are distributed to outstanding members.” Tables are also set up in the EUC and on College Avenue during Fall Kickoff to entice students to join.
The club meets at the front entrance stairs leading up to the Recreation Center at 3:30 p.m. every weekday. For structure, they try to have at least one officer at each practice. There is a warm-up run followed by announcements from the officers. Then they break up into groups based on mileage for the day and result of overall practices.
“We always try to have at least two people running together for safety,” Reed said. Finally, depending on how far someone wants to run, practice may last up to an hour or as little as 25 minutes. Friday afternoons, the club tries to go off campus on local trails for a change in scenery.
“Since our club is relatively small, we have not been able to organize community events, as we would like,” Reed explained. “We were able to participate in the annual Campus Recreation food drive over seen by Campus Outreach.”
So what type of events does the club usually partake in? Well, most of the events being held this year are focusing road races because of the relaxed atmosphere. In past events the club has competed against numerous opposing schools.
They were in the National Intercollegiate Running Club Association (NIRCA) for two years and competed against schools like UNC Chapel Hill, James Madison University, Duke University, Eastern Carolina University and Clemson University just to name a few. The team has run in places such as Chapel Hill, Spartanburg, South Carolina and Harrisonburg, Virginia among other locations.
As a whole, the club won Trivium’s Racing Cross Country League in 2013. “We have had numerous individuals place in large
Categories: Campus Sports, Sports
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