Nashville Striders

Active club provides race management, helps community, Tom King races are in March

By Peter Pressman, President, Nashville (TN) Striders

In early 1970, there were 17 original members when the Nashville Striders Club was established with Tom King as President. This group of runners mainly met at the Downtown YMCA or at Percy Warner Park.

The Club remained pretty much low-key for the next few years, with the group adopting the name of Nashville Striders in 1975, with King as president. By late 1976, the club listing included 74 members. The year 1977 marked a major milestone, as the monthly publication, the Funrunner, was established by Larry Wallace.

A surge in membership followed, with growth to 250 members by the end of 1977. With the increased interest in running and introduction of local events, along with publishing of the Funrunner, membership grew to 1,000 by mid 1978. By late 1979, records show membership approached 1,500.

Our website identifies our Mission Statement as follows: “The Nashville Striders running club is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote running, walking, and general fitness as lifelong endeavors.” Membership today remains consistent at 1000 individual members. We offer annual memberships for individuals [$20], couples [$30], and family [$35]. Rates are discounted for a 2-year or 3-year membership.

Incoming President Peter Pressman returns to this position following the two–year term of Diana Bibeau. Pressman had previously served as president for six years. Our Board of Directors consists of 12 members, each serving a two-year term. Committees include Volunteer, Social, Membership, and Race Management. Peggy Stanfield is editor of the monthly Funrunner, which features columns from contributing members, coaching tips, race flyers, race results, race photos, and a race calendar. We are fortunate to have Elly Foster serving as our volunteer photographer to capture photos of our members at area races and events to feature in Funrunner and on our website.

We have owned our own ChampionChip system since 2002, and with our Race management team headed by Nick Ged and Loren Bardwell, we managed 28 area races in 2011, including five club-sponsored races. Our signature club race continues to be our annual Gupton Jeep Tom King Classic, which includes a half-marathon, 5K, and Healthy Nashville Mayor’s 3K Walk. This year will mark the 18th running of the event initiated to honor Tom King for his contribution as one of the founding members and first president of the Nashville Striders. Tom participates at the event, and can be identified wearing the shirt announcing “I am Tom King”. It will take place March 10, and we host a Pasta Dinner the night before with Dave McGillivray as our featured speaker. Proceeds from the event will help fund our ongoing programs, with 10% of the net proceeds earmarked specifically for our Striders Youth Program. Please see our ad in this issue of Running Journal for additional event details.

Through our partnership with many area non-profit organizations staging races from one mile through half-marathon distances, we have assisted with both their fundraising and efforts to increase awareness of their missions. In 2011, some of those organizations included United Cerebral Palsy, Nashville Zoo, Nashville Predators’ Foundation, Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee, Purity Foundation, Girls on the Run-Nashville, Key Alliance for the Homeless, African Leadership, Nashville City Cemetery Association, Mercy Children’s Clinic, CASA of Nashville & Davidson County, Hoover Hope Foundation, Big Brothers of Nashville, YMCA of Middle Tennessee, and St.Jude/ALSAC.

Our club has supported the staging of the Annual Country Music Marathon & Half Marathon in April, and the Women’s Half Marathon in September. Club volunteers serve in key roles, and we have provided Pace Teams for both events, and have been able to promote our club at the event expos.

Our annual grand prix offers members the opportunity to compete for points at designated club-managed races. Awards are presented to age group winners at our annual summer picnic, which also includes a 5K Run. We couldn’t stage the number of events and execute them with the level of professionalism that our club is known for without our dedicated volunteers. Included in the grand prix series is a volunteer requirement to be eligible to receive an age group award. Awards are also presented to our top volunteers at the picnic. Diana Bibeau has served as our volunteer coordinator and Glenda Tetley will head up our volunteer committee in 2012. With our Volunteer Incentive Program [VIP], our members can earn volunteer tokens that can be applied to race registration entries and to purchase Striders merchandise.

The Striders have maintained a very visible presence within the running community, sponsoring many events for members and non-members. Our popular spring and fall Marathon Training Series attracts local runners preparing for their target marathon or half-marathon. This schedule of bi-weekly training runs is set to coincide with the Country Music Marathon and Chicago Marathon dates.

Our All-Comers Track Series and Cross Country Events in June and August respectively attract hundreds of participants ranging in age from 3 to 80+. We will be reestablishing our walking program under the direction of Bill Cohen. Our running program at the Charles Bass Correctional Complex celebrated a milestone with the 10th Annual “Jaunt in the Joint,” an event which features a marathon, half-arathon, and 5K, all run around the perimeter of the Complex Recreation Field. In the spring, we host the “Striders & Stripers 5K”. A banner hangs proudly to identify the field as the Home of the Jaunt in the Joint and Striders & Stripers. Our members have volunteered at the Complex to run with inmates at these two annual events. Our program has been cited by NPR and CNN, as well as local media. For the past six years, the Striders have helped host the traditional pasta dinner in the CBCX Gym the night before the Jaunt.

In 2008, Board member CJ Gibbs took the initiative to develop our ReachOut Program. Through this program, our members donate race shirts, shoes, and other clothing items and accessories at our races and training runs. CJ gathers these items collected in the designated containers, then organizes the items for distribution to those in need. Organizations that have received distribution from this meaningful program the last two years include Eastside Community Center, Monroe-Harding Running Program, Women’s Shelter, Magdalene House, St. Luke Youth Center, and Room at the Inn.

The Striders played an integral role with establishment of the Nashville Chapter of Girls on the Run Program (GOTR) in 2007. Jennifer Kimball, one of our members and now executive director of GOTR-Nashville, presented the initial proposal to our board, and her request for funding was approved. This program has since grown to eight locations in the Nashville area. We continue to provide our financial support, and manage the annual GOTR 5K. Many of our members have found it rewarding to serve as “Running Buddies.”

The Nashville area has rebounded well from the historic flooding of early May 2010. Many of the Parks and portions of the Greenway System sustained heavy damage. Over Memorial Day Weekend a few weeks later, the Striders sponsored on short notice a 5K / 10K along one of the greenways that had been restored well enough to run along. More than 70 members came out and we collected $1,500.00 to “Help Keep Music City Running.” Our Club then matched that amount, and we donated $1,000.00 each to Community Foundation, Greenways of Nashville, and Friends of Percy Warner Park in support of the recovery effort.

This past year proved to be as active as ever. One of the highlights was our partnership and support of Nashville Mayor Karl Dean’s Walk 100 Miles with the Mayor, and Mayor’s Challenge 5K Walk/Run Program. The latter offered area residents a nine-week training program which culminated with a Community Mayor’s Challenge 5K Walk / Run [at no charge] in November. A team of Striders’ volunteers were responsible for weekly training sessions at one of the designated Metro Parks locations. Our race management team and volunteers assisted with race day logistics and set up of the start/finish lines. More than 5,000 participants turned out to celebrate their personal victories achieved through the training program.

To cap off our very successful and rewarding year, we hosted our annual holiday party at the Second Harvest Food Bank. Warm hospitality was provided by its staff, and Mark Rubin, director of Culinary Arts Center, catered a wonderful selection of tasty treats. We engaged our members in the spirit of the season, and donations of food and/or cash were made to the Food Bank. As part of the evening, we were given a tour of the facility and now have a better understanding of the needs and resources of the Food Bank.

In 2012, we see another active race management and event schedule. An upgrade of our ChampionChip System will allow us to more efficiently time local races. A goal of our Board is to establish a more formal structure to our Striders Youth Fund Program.

For all current Nashville Striders Events and Programs, please visit our website at www.nashvillestriders.com.

Top photo: Nashville Striders Summer Picnic with GP Series Winners – July 2011
Middle photo: Start of 17th Annual Gupton Dodge Tom King Half Marathon – March 2011
Bottom photo: 10th Annual “CBCX Jaunt in the Joint” – October 2011