The Little River Band was one of my favorites back in the 70’s. Cool Change was a mellow tune that soothes me still.
I’ve been going through my own cool changes this year. After running 3000 miles last year I’m on pace to hit maybe 5 or 600 this year. And the well documented departure from my former club. And for those that may have noticed, my road race management efforts have been drastically reduced. The Big Blue Run went by the by after 3 years of attempting to raise money for prostate cancer awareness. And its only with a small twinge of sadness that I’ve canned the Swamp Stomp, ending its 8 year run bringing a little Cajun fun and food and racing.
Important to note here that none of the events would have had their modicum of success without the support of the road race management team members. There were a lot that came and went and are due their due.
Until last year the races had a single beneficiary, Team Nebraska. All race proceeds from 2005-2011 went to the club. In 2012 my change in marital status necessitated retaining most of the proceeds as income (joining others such as Ben Cohoon, Peak Performance, Susie Smisek, etc. as professional race directors). I did loan the club $6000 in proceeds from the Ni-Bthaska-Ke Trail Run last year. Fully expecting to be repaid. Half of the amount was returned earlier this year, after much wrangling. I’ve been told to forget the rest. Not a chance. And the prompt for today’s column.
No small change. During my reign of terror (ha!) I donated over $60,000 in race proceeds to Team Nebraska. Arranged sponsorship from the Lincoln Marathon, Brooks and Clif Bar that was worth even more. And those are soft estimates. That is how so many athletes were able to take advantage of so many competitive and developmental opportunities.
Just a few fun facts you should be aware of before weighing in on the current state of affairs.
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