President's Column - May 2024

Enjoying the cooler fall weather, which at the GWTC means election time in tandem with local and national elections, Turkey Trot, the 5/10 Mile Challenge, the Ultra and then Tannenbaum to round out the year! Hoping I can run some some of these as I have been suffering...

My entry into the race directing world happened in a rather random way more than a decade ago—2012ish. My favorite partner in crime on the DeSoto Trail PTO board, Amy O’Kelley, and I declared that carnival hosting wasn’t our thing and decided to start a 5K as the...

Fall is Coming!! September always signals the start of lots of racing and used to signify an almost guaranteed break in the weather with a cool front or two blowing through. This would ensure that at least one or two of the three signature September GWTC races could...

One of my favorite things about our recent member survey is seeing how much y’all value the GWTC running community. It sounds like most of you are having fun working together to be your best self. (There are a few lone wolves out there who said they’re just in it for...

I subscribe to Popular Mechanics magazine. While the name is a bit of a misnomer in my view, I mostly have a subscription because my Dad always had one. There are always interesting articles, but the magazine starts out with a section called “Can’t Stop Thinking...

First and foremost on my mind this month are the Springtime Races, which Jackie and I direct. All is well at this point due in some measure to a new Volunteer initiative of the club’s(more on that in a bit), but also due to the marketing efforts of Jon Brown and the...

I spend a lot of time talking with people about running and walking and the role that being outdoors plays in our wellbeing. It’s a part of my job at REI that I really love, and it has become a bit of a passion as you can probably tell given all the energy I pour into...

This column may tend to meander a bit but stay with me. I see and talk with my mother a time or two each week and we often chat of her past, growing up. She was an only child and often laments her loneliness growing up with no siblings. By contrast, my wife Jackie,...

Jerry did a great job of succinctly summing up the past year of our club in his President’s Letter last month, and now we get a chance to look forward, to decide where our club is headed, who we want to be as a community. I’m the newbie here, so it’s easier for me to...

As you read this letter, we will be into December of 2023 and closing out my first year as President of the club and last column. This necessitates a look back on the year for me to see whether the club has back-tracked, stalled, or moved forward from some of my...