The Launch
by Drew Wartenburg
June 17th, 2014
In the United States, one year of every Olympic cycle is a ‘down year’ in the sport of track & field, a period that allows many athletes and coaches to take the opportunity to play with various elements of the training and competitive schedules without the pressures of making a World-level team at some point late in the outdoor track season. A glance at the down year plans of some athletes yields examples such as the choice to focus on an off event, heal nagging injuries, start a family or place greater emphasis on an indoor campaign or road circuit.
While one of the hallmarks of the best runners in the world will always be the ability to develop routines and consistent approaches for all aspects of training and life, sometimes a tricky balance exists between a functional, growth-oriented environment and the creation of a comfort zone. In the pursuit of middle-distance and distance running, the line between mere participation and ultimate success can rest on opposite sides of a razor thin margin between a comfort zone and a critical zone, and any quest for excellence must feature some degree of ongoing and relentless change.
Recent years in the US running scene have brought a reinforced dedication to the group model for athletes to pursue their career goals. Longstanding training groups like OTC, Hansons Brooks Distance Project, ZAP Fitness and Team USA MN continue to serve as successful undertakings while upstart groups like NAZ Elite, Team Indiana Elite and a renaissance at Mammoth Track Club add new or renewed options for athletes, coaches and industry sponsors to align their goals in the sport.
With an eye on the general climate and trends present in the US running combined with the specific objectives of a small, but evolving, group of professionals in the Sacramento area, the idea for the formation of the NorCal Distance Project was hatched and took shape. Far from adopting the philosophy of ‘build it and they will come’ the members of the NorCal Distance Project have first assembled gradually and only then began to align the pieces that will now form a more structured and articulated presence in the national running scene. As most budding professionals can readily attest, the very label of ‘professional’ can evoke a variety of different identities and perceptions, and often times one of the most difficult first steps involves being able to legitimize running post-collegiately as a valid and worthy career choice.
In addition to the countless miles and hours logged by the athletes that comprise the NorCal Distance Project, a great deal of time and thought has gone into the process of launching the group concept, even as we also realize that the group will undergo both rapid and gradual evolution from this point forward. There are a wealth of clichés that could be applied to the journey upon which this group is prepared to embark, and rather than apply them all it probably suffices to say that every member of the group is ready to take a leap and hopes that our parachutes open on the way down. I think that everyone shares in the understanding that change and lofty goals are not always easy, but therein lies the beauty of the journey.
