Like all of you, I am heartbroken by the devastation that is happening in the Los Angeles area. As a runner and member of this community, my thoughts have been with the team at the McCourt Foundation, many of 
whom have been personally affected by the destructive wildfires. There are details here on how to help one of their staff members, Melissa Christian who lost her home. I also ask you to help the McCourt Foundation during this time. Besides putting on world class running events, they are a multifaceted non-profit organization with a mission of curing neurological diseases. They need your help now and always. You can donate here.
You may know that recently I was elected to serve on USATF’s Board of Directors. I will be representing the 5-C organizations, one of which is Running USA. The 5-C group also includes RRCA, NCAA, NJCAA, NAIA, NIRCA and NFHS. I chose to seek this position for two reasons:
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The chance to lengthen and strengthen the athlete life cycle
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The opportunity to utilize the collective influence of the 5-C organizations and their constituents in the decision making of our national governing body.
Let me first talk about the athlete lifecycle. Track and Field and Cross Country are among the top sports for participation at both the high school and collegiate level. Yet, the average age of a road race participant in the U.S. is in the late 30s to early 40s. This group can work with USATF to shorten the gap and keep athletes.- no matter what their ability and talent – active and running after their scholastic competition days are over.
While small, there is an elite component to this as well. I believe it is possible and necessary to develop a true college to XC/roads pipeline to restore America’s standing as a road race and cross country power.
The 5-C groups represent and/or have direct connections to some of the most important constituent groups in the sport. High school athletes (and their families!), college athletes, road race participants and running clubs. Our concerns, successes, issues and ideas should be shared with USATF leaders on a regular basis. I am excited to help facilitate this conversation.
I invite and welcome your input. I hope to see all of you in Louisville in just a few short weeks when we gather for the Running Industry Conference presented by haku.
Happy Running,
Jay
