President's Address - July 2015

By Alex Morrow

Can you sense that? Those palpable feelings of excitement, enthusiasm, and passion throughout our club? And, those feelings are spreading. From the Executive Committee, to the hundreds of BTC volunteers, to the general membership, the sense of camaraderie, unity, and willingness to have fun has made our group one of the leading running clubs in the Southeast. The growth of our club, the launch of new programs, and the large amount of events still planned for 2015 are the reason for this buzz. For instance, last month we held our BTC Night at the Birmingham Barons. Social Chair, Katherine Dease, put together a fantastic event, and despite a little rain to begin the evening, a great time was had by all. That is just the tip of the iceberg!

• As I sit here on a Friday evening, July 3rd to be exact, I am finalizing the last minute details for the 34th running of the Rick Melanson Peavine Falls Run on July 4th. We have 576 pre-registered runners (we had 329 last year) and are on pace for a monstrous increase, setting an attendance record for three years in a row! 
• The BTC general membership, which was right at 700 when I joined the club several years ago, now is just under 1300. 
• Last month, BTC Vice President Darnell Allen launched her BTC Ambassador program and it was a raging success. Not only did we get to meet new runners and introduce them to the BTC, we picked up several new members. 
• On Saturday, July 11, BTC Pacers will officially join our Saturday long runs to help everyone train for the 4 Bridges Half and 7 Bridges Full Marathon in October. 
• On July 16 the BTC is bringing back our Thursday night run socials and this first one is going to be a great one. Free gait analysis and massages! 
• August 1, will serve as our next big Saturday Run Social. Not only will it be held at Vulcan Park, it will serve as the kickoff for our 2015 Vulcan Run 10k campaign. Plus there will be an informational meeting for those BTC members wishing to receive free training for the race. 
• The BTC Triple Crown Challenge registration is already well under way and we are projecting a record number of participants who are willing to take on three half marathons in three months. Not to mention, as BTC members everyone gets 10% to 15% off each race! 
• A new look and feel to our newsletter is in the works as BTC Newsletter Editor Julie Pearce actively strives to enhance the readability and quality of our publication. She is doing an amazing job! 
• And 1200 Mile Coordinator Ali Hoover has done a superb job managing the BTC 1200 Mile Club, which also has a record number of participants. 

When you read those bullet points you may notice a theme. Words and phrases like record numbers, growth, new, and expansion to name a few. Programs such as the ones above are creating the buzz I referred to earlier. Our local running community is excited and it is your Birmingham Track Club which is the driving force behind it. I hope you will join me in making the second half of 2015 as exciting as the first half. There are many great miles, laughs, and fun ahead, so get involved and join in! 

Kindest Regards, 

Alex Morrow 
BTC President