MAGIC NUMBER 4: Northeast Track Club’s 4th Anniversary
“In the realm of spirituality, the number 4 holds great significance. It symbolizes the four elements of air, fire, water, and earth, representing the importance of collaboration and unity in achieving our goals.”
Four years. Four years of Tuesdays at the track and Saturday parades throughout the city. Four years of the unexpected, of friendships forged in sweat, of trial and error, of a really good time. For many of us, Northeast Track Club has become a pillar of our existence in DC. It is comfort and discomfort all in one. And for those of us who have been leading this ever-evolving titanic ship, the fourth year marks another milestone. While we realized early on that collaboration and unity are cornerstone to success, we continue to find that the foundation we set years ago is critical to our growth. Like air, fire, water, and earth; in year 4, we have found our stride with a balance of unique humans (air), opportunities that drive us (fire), triumph over past challenges (water), and above all, consistency in who we are (earth).
What’s Changed Over the Last Year?
Over the last year, Northeast Track Club made two pivotal decisions which have shaped who we are this June and what we can offer our runners: 1) we formalized our first official partnership with ASICS, and 2) while we have had our own dedicated track for a few years, we moved to a larger collegiate track at Catholic University.
Our relationship with ASICS started out as a blind date. We had a great coffee meeting last fall, wrote out a list of blue-sky dreams that we would hope to have from an official brand partner, and the ASICS team (almost too easily) said, “no problem.” While we have had many brand relationships in the past (which we are still incredibly grateful for!), many of them shied away when we asked for a formal commitment. Our relationship with ASICS has allowed us to take care of our athletes in ways we could not have done in the past, including financially helping to cover weekly track fees, backing annual events and activations, helping to take care of our leadership team who devotes dozens of hours per week pacing and planning for NETC, and offering opportunities for the broader NETC community to have the perks of gear, race entries, and other fun giveaways. We could not have dreamt up a better partner, and we are proud and grateful to be working with ASICS.
Our move to Catholic University was driven by two primary factors. We had developed a strong relationship with Cardozo (which we are happy to maintain, and we continue to stay in close touch with the school’s leadership team), but Cardozo really wanted to focus more on their own athletes’ programming to enhance what they could offer to their students. This created some logistical challenges on when we could use the track-- which were not insurmountable, but we also had the pressure of continued growth to solve for as well. Cardozo has a four-lane track, which is a bit messy when paired with 400 athletes running in circles. Ultimately, we decided that Cardozo’s focus on their athletes, plus our need for more lanes and space for our crew demanded a move to a bigger track. It has been a breath of fresh air, literally and figuratively. The track is surrounded by greenery (and deer!), offers parking for everyone, indoor bathrooms and changing facilities, and a safe space for us to offer our workouts to all.
Relationships and Reciprocity
Of course it is important to us who WE work with, but it is just as important to us that those we work with find value and enjoy working with Northeast Track Club. We have been thoughtful and intentional in identifying brand partners, and we always hope to differentiate ourselves in what we offer to these brands. We try to do as much of the leg work as possible on events and activations, we offer a consistently similar experience to our runners—from our weekly emails to our track sessions—which translates to consistency brands can expect, and above all, we care about one another and spread that ethos to our community. This is a community that has been built brick by brick, and brands can see and feel that.
Mack Baker, Manager of Communications Marketing at ASICS said, “Until you experience it in person, it’s challenging to understand the energy that NETC generates weekly. ASICS and NETC share a similar origin, both created to provide hope and opportunity through sport and movement, with the determination to build something positive during a difficult time. It has been a privilege working with the club’s leadership and getting to know many members. Each Track Tuesday, long run and cheer station serve as a wonderful reminder of the power running has to uplift communities.”
We have also worked closely with Bandit Running over the years. Tim and Nick West, along with others who continue to build the Bandit running community (and celebrated the opening of their second store in New York last week) became fast friends of ours who we instantly shared a vision with. Tim Rossi, Steve Finley, John Rice, Ardith Singh, Ale Iaccarino and the entire team at Bandit all share in our “Embrace Chaos” mantra at NETC. With whatever they have, they drive towards their goals with full speed and with full intention to elevate the running community. While in the trenches of opening The Running Room, Tim West wrote us a love note that we stuck on the fridge. Tim said, “Bandit could not be more proud to partner with NETC, a model community that embodies the spirit of inclusivity and support in the running world. The welcoming atmosphere and unrelenting commitment to show up for one another (and yourselves) inspires us deeply. Watching NETC members chase after personal goals and grow through the power of running year in and year out is a beautiful thing. Congratulations on four years. We’re honored to be along for the ride.”
So What’s Next?
Over the past few years, but perhaps especially over the past year, the running community has continued to evolve rapidly. Run clubs and crews are emerging often, and we are proud to see it. We have seen many new groups grow, and some have launched and faded almost as quickly as they came. Our position on this is two-fold: 1) run with any crew and many crews, as long as you are running, and 2) we never compete, we just keep doing what we do. Everything else takes care of itself.
We will keep dreaming of our NETC club house, which we know one day will become a reality. We will offer more NETC-hosted races, stay intentional with our relationships, and continue to fiercely protect and grow the community we have developed. We have a few tiny NETC interns who are growing up fast, and more track babies on the way! In every sense of the word, we plan to grow this family for years to come. Air, fire, water, and earth: forces on their own, forces in balance.