Year 12 and Counting!

This is officially my 12th year of post collegiate running, and the last few year's have been a struggle. Between injury, COVID and two young daughters, running (and real training) has taken a huge back seat to other priorities in my life. I am optimistic about returning to racing in 2022, but even more so, I am amazed to see the mission of LRC Nebraska continue to play out. In summary, "to keep runners running" looks different for different people, but it is fun to see the longevity of the sport with members of our team, and then to see young members integrated into the organization when I know it's easier to just consider yourself "retired" from competitive running.

There have been times I want to retire from both running and the organization, but every year for the last 12, I've found reasons to keep coming back. The most attractive reason, year-after-year, is the opportunity for potential:  to integrate new members, to organize competitive groups at various levels and to provide a platform for new friendships.

Year 12 is not much different than many that preceded. With COVID continuing to be a factor with running/racing, there is hope that we have returned to a "normal" schedule that will allow for a return to competition, albeit with new precautions and requirements in place. Our crew has high hopes for returning back to our normal schedule of running that includes the Chicago Shamrock Shuffle, USATF Club Cross Country, Columbus Downtown Runaround and the Lincoln Track Club Circuit (Spring Forward, Lincoln Half/Full, Havelock, Lincoln Mile and Buffalo Run).

Other than running more and signing up for some races, I also have high hopes that I will be able to use this website as an outlet for my own musings on the running world, reflections of personal running experiences and updates to the "state of running" according to me. While I do not consider myself an authoritative source, I am a firm believer that "any running talk is good running talk", especially in Nebraska.

I hope that whatever you find your relationship to be with running, that you know there IS a place for you within the running community, whether that is coming in first, going through a training cycle, or just signing up for something you never thought you would complete.

Happy Running!

Logan Watley, LRC Nebraska President