Logan Watley is the President of the Lincoln Running Co. Racing Team. Logan discusses this year’s success and upcoming plans for LRC Racing.
Will: The Lincoln Running Co. Racing Team is over a year old now and the team has come a long way. What is the highlight of your first year?
Logan: We are actually coming up on the three year anniversary of LRC Racing becoming a formal team. It’s hard to pick just one highlight of the past three years but having our men and women’s teams win the Team Challenge at Hospital Hill was pretty cool, as well as having the top Nebraska finisher in 3/4 races at the Lincoln Full/Half marathon this past year.
Will: Will you be sending a team to New York City for next month’s USA Club Track & Field Championships? Who’s on the traveling roster?
Logan: We will not be sending anyone to NYC at the end of this month. We would definitely like to send a team, but we have limited funds available to us and going to NYC just isn’t financially viable for us at this time. Hopefully next year!
Will: What is the size of your group now? Are they primarily located in Lincoln?
Logan: Our team is now made up of 8 women and 16 men. I would say that the team is primarily based out of Lincoln, but we really are all over! We’ve had or currently had members in Kearney, York, Seward, Beatrice and of course a small contingent starting in Omaha.
Will: LRC Racing seems to be dialed in on the local team competitons, congratulations on the club wins at last weekend’s Hospital Hill Half Marathon. How are your teams selected?
Logan: Our team places a lot of focus on local/regional races. Along with being a financial issue, one of the goals of our team is to help promote running in the community, and what better way than supporting our local races? Teams are primarily split by the individual’s themselves, and really any team competition is open to anyone on our team.
Will: Is LRC a group based training program? Who is the Head Coach for the club?
Logan: We are definitely a group-based training program. We realize that everyone’s schedule is a little different, but we have a few different groups that train together during any given week. It helps when those groups are training for the same distance and the same race. We don’t have a “Head Coach”, but we do have a Board who helps run the team’s activities and several high school and college coaches who provide additional resources to our athletes, specifically in the form of training plans or workout ideas.
Will: You have a nice mix of talent, both your men and women have represented well this spring/summer. Any up and comers we should look out for?
Logan: Lots of improvement has happened in our team this last year. Eric Noel has ran two marathons at 2:30 or faster, Neil Wolford ran a 3 minute PR in the half at Lincoln (1:08:30), Michael Rathje cut 2 minutes off his half PR at Lincoln (1:10:45), Hannah Kinberg debuted in the Lincoln marathon at 2:53, Frankie Petersen cut 6 minutes off her marathon time at Lincoln (2:54) and Nora Youngs PR’d by 4 minutes at Lincoln (1:26). Lots of other improvements and great times and those are just a few examples of the members who help make our team standout.
Will: How would you describe the competitive landscape in Nebraska? With Team Nebraska always on the line it sounds like a good time to be a Real Racer.
Logan: Oh, definitely. Team Nebraska has been so good for so long, and NDORFNZ represents well at races too. I think that the competitive landscape is definitely improving with the addition of new teams to the racing landscape.
Will: What are the club’s competition plans for the rest of the summer? Will you be sending a team to Midnight Madness in Ames next month?
Logan: We leave competition choices up to the individuals. We may me sending a team or two to Midnight Madness in Ames, as well as a strong contingent at the USATF NE Association mile championship (Lincoln Mile July 7) and the 5-mile championship (Columbus Downtown Runaround). I’m sure we’ll go to some places next fall, but we won’t have a clearer idea until later this summer/early fall.
Will: What is something you would like everyone to know about Logan Watley, the runner.
Logan: I really enjoy training with other people. Ever since my wife and I moved to Elkhorn, it’s been tough to find a consistent training group that fits my work schedule.
Will: What is something you would like everyone to know about Lincoln Running Co. Racing Team?
Logan: We are a team made up of like-minded individuals who really just enjoy running. It can be really easy to just stop running, and our hope is that our team helps provide the opportunities that will keep those runners running.
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