by Larry Eder
Road Runners Club of America
Acquires
RunPro.com and the RunPro Camp
Arlington, Virginia – Feb. 11, 2013 – The Road Runners Club
of America (RRCA) announced today it has acquired the RunPro.com website (www.RunPro.com) and the RunPro Camp and will
operate the two entities as official RRCA programs.
RunPro.com and the RunPro Camp were developed by Team USA
Minnesota with the support of a 2010 Excellence Challenge Grant from USA Track
& Field. The purpose of the
RunPro effort is to be the go-to source that assists promising young distance
runners make the transition from collegiate to professional running.
“We are very excited to take the reins from Team USA
Minnesota and carry on the great legacy they started with RunPro.com and the
RunPro Camp,” said Jean Knaack, RRCA executive director. “The RRCA has a long history of
supporting elite athlete development, including financially supporting athletes
going to international events back in the late 1950s to our Roads Scholar
program that has provided nearly $400,000 in grants to emerging elites.”
The web site provides athletes with a comprehensive overview
of what it takes and what is involved in becoming a professional distance
runner – competing on the track, the roads and in cross country. The companion three-day camp, scheduled
to be held again in mid-July in Arlington, is designed specifically for
athletes who are interested in pursuing a professional running career.
“Our goal with the RunPro effort was to attract more
talented distance runners to the sport,” said Patricia Goodwin, president and
founder of Team USA Minnesota. “After successfully launching the web site in 2011 and
holding the RunPro Camp in Minneapolis that summer, we realized that we didn’t
have the time or resources to continue the effort long term.
“We are pleased that RRCA has stepped forward to take RunPro
under its wing. We are confident
they will do an excellent job with managing and enhancing the website and the
camp, and in turn we will be able to focus all our resources on developing
national and international distance runners.”
About Team USA Minnesota
Team USA Minnesota is based in the Twin Cities of
Minneapolis/St. Paul. Formed in 2001,
the purpose of the training center is to improve the competitiveness of
post-collegiate American distance running and to develop Olympians. For more information, visit the team’s
web site at www.teamusaminnesota.org.
About RRCA
About
RRCA: Founded in
1958, The Road Runners Club of America is the oldest and largest national
association of running clubs, running events, and runners dedicated to
promoting running as a competitive sport and as healthy exercise. The
mission of the RRCA is to promote the sport of running through the development
and growth of running clubs and running events throughout the country.
The RRCA supports the common interests of runners of all abilities during all
stages of life by providing education and leadership opportunities along with
programs and services that benefit all runners. The RRCA strives to provide quality
programming that can be replicated throughout the country, such as our highly
successful Start a Running Club program has been the cornerstone of our organization for
over fifty years. The RRCA is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization with the IRS.
Learn more at www.RRCA.org.
