FIVE YEARS OF NORTHEAST TRACK CLUB
Five years ago, the five year anniversary would have been marked by a house party rager on A Street with every NETC runner carrying boxes of beer into our house, having finished a group run just hours before. This year, June 9th came and went with a sea of work commitments, childcare arrangements, and other obligations that forced NETC to be somewhat of an afterthought. I realized today that even though it would be late, I owe an annual blog post to NETC, as I have written most years on the club’s birthday. This post is meant to be a personal account of how my relationship with Northeast Track Club has shifted over the past five years, and how I have never been prouder of what it has become.
In June 2020, each Tuesday, Matt and I skipped blissfully out of our condo on H St. in NE DC and to the track. We stayed for tacos and beer after workouts and built the group, via James Majewski’s Instagram page for us and really solid friendships. We took as much time as we wanted. Fast forward to now, where the group is 300+ strong on Tuesdays and Matt and I collectively made it to maybe 3 of 8 Better Your Mile practices. I traveled once a week every week this month for work, and on weeks where we made it to track, we raced home to relieve the babysitter as soon as we got done co-hosting the session. On Saturdays, we load the car up with strollers and snacks and do our best to be there with the group. There are no ragers after runs, only playgrounds and naptime schedules for the kids; that’s what we live by these days. We love them so dearly, and we also miss the past so much—those two points definitely coexist. Matt and I have grown with this group, and in many ways we have grown apart from it.
What I am proud to say, is that the group has not missed a beat. The leadership of this team has evolved significantly over the past five years, and in the best way. While I didn’t pause enough to celebrate June 9th five years after the first June 9th—it doesn’t mean any less. What is most special and profound is that Northeast Track Club has maintained it’s core purpose: to bring runners of all levels together, offering them a safe space to run and leaving an impactful mark on our city. With a pandemic start and an ethos of togetherness at our core, I can truly say that this has been a north star throughout our existence. Our leadership team influences by true influence, not by brands or reels or surface level relationships. We have partners who are also dear friends and invest a great deal of time vetting those relationships carefully and working hard to do our part on their behalf. In many ways, I believe the running influencers of today often actually deter runners from running. Will I fit in? What if I don’t have the latest gear? What if I don’t look like the others? Will I be taken care of? For us, the answer to all of those questions is, just show up. However you are, with whatever you have, and you will be welcomed and celebrated. Our leadership team embodies this in their kindness, their diversity of ages, backgrounds, and experience, and welcomes herds of new runners every Tuesday and Saturday.
Cheers to another five years of NETC. Of a culture that transcends trends, shifts, and challenges. A force that is steady and brings joy to so many. Happy birthday NETC, and Happy sixth Better Your Mile—see you all tomorrow night under the lights.