A Message from our Executive Director

Happy Holidays, Happy New Year!

As you know, I love history, and I love to use this space to talk about the Knoxville Track Club’s history.

The first director of the track club was Allan Morgan, whom many of you know and who we, as a club, owe a lot of today’s success to. I started running when I was very young, and in 1988ish, I completed my first race with my parents. In an edition of Footnotes from 1988, Allan talked about the growth of KTC and had this to stay:

“So, what does being “big” mean and how big would we like to be? I say this with the state of Oregon in mind. “Come and visit,” the billboards proclaim, “But we’d prefer you don’t hang around to stay.” When things get too big, you get congestion, anxiety, heart disease, and just another lost face in the crowd. You lose a sense of belonging, the sense of the personal, of feeling you can make a difference. I and a number of others are wary of these potholes. If you feel this, give me a call, or come to one of our Classic Series Races. We don’t want to lose more than we gain by being big.

But being big? Again, why go for it? It generates excitement, Witness EXPO, SPRINGFEST, the FIREBALL, ARTFAST, AUTUMNFEST. More folks enlarges our pool of volunteers and as we attempt to do more things in and for the community, those added faces are mighty helpful.”

A few caveats – locals aren’t as worried about Oregon transplants these days; billboards are much more welcoming; names may have changed, but some of those races still exist today!

A member-driven organization like KTC needs to be big. The more that people align with our mission, the greater the impact we can have in our community. Not just in terms of volunteers, but opportunity to host more group runs, to raise more money for our partner organizations, and to create a place for all people, young and old, to invest in their physical health. Allan was very aware of the pitfalls of growth, and we should be, too. We do not want to lose the sense of belonging we have. We do not want people to feel like now they can’t make a difference. I, our staff, and our board, are always available to discuss these with anyone who has concerns – we’re all aligned in our desire for this community we love to grow and thrive.

As we close out the year, we’re celebrating a lot of things. Participant records being shattered at Turkey Trot, numerous races growing in their areas, memberships increasing month after month, so many PRs and BQs from our RunKNOX team. We’re recognizing our top volunteers, our grand prix series winners, the commitment and dedication of outgoing board members. And 2024 brings with it the hope of a fresh start, new opportunities, new partners, and new members. If you weren’t as engaged as you wanted to be in 2023 (injury, work, schedule conflicts), ease yourself back in. The calendar may turn over, but we (KTC) are already revving up for a big January and a big 2024.

Remember, don’t neglect the gift, run the extra mile!