About Us

For over twenty years, RunGR has supported the West Michigan running community by providing structured coaching and a supportive community for runners of all skill levels and ages. Today, among RunGR’s 400+ members are those whose race performances are consistently at a high competitive level. The RunGR race team provides our runners competing at a regional or national level an opportunity to train with others with similar racing goals.

Expectations

As a member of the RunGR racing team, each member is expected to:

• Have a current RunGR membership.
• Athletes are responsible for keeping their USATF membership up to date in order to compete in national USATF championships.
• Meet at least one of the time standards annually (see below for both open and masters team standards). Time standards are to be met at least once every 12 months.
• Represent RunGR at area races by wearing the RunGR and sponsor-branded race team gear.
• Willingness to have your race photos and results promoted by RunGR publicly on the club’s website and via social media.
• Race in at least two core team races per year:
  • Amway Riverbank Run (5k, 10k, or National Championship 25K race)
  • Diemer 5K
  • RunGR’s Magic of the Mile
  • Team Cross Country Challenge
  • LMCU Bridge Run (5K or 10 miler)
  • National USATF XC Championships
• Attend RunGR workouts on a regular basis.
• Be a good ambassador of RunGR and the running community.
• Be encouraging and supportive of all runners.

Standards

See below for open standards per gender. Standards must be verifiable and are to be met at an accredited race/event. For masters runners (age 40+), the time standard requirement is a 76% age grade. If your race does not provide age grade percentages in the results, please visit the following website: https://runbundle.com/tools/age-grading-calculator.

Benefits

• Discounted membership to RunGR, which includes the full benefits of annual club members including by not limited to:
  • RunGR shirt.
  • Year round supported long runs (with hydration and nutrition).
  • Training plan.
  • Expedited access to University of Michigan Health West Sports Medicine physician.
• Race team singlet. This is an offering of RunGR’s sponsor, University of Michigan Health West Sports Medicine
• Opportunity for participation in USATF club events

Application Process

Race team applications should be sent to rungrracingteam@gmail.com. Include name, age, gender, and a race result link where the standard was recently met. The RunGR racing team captains and the club's board will review your application and reply within 30 days (1 month).

FAQ

Do you have to meet all the standards?

No. Athletes must meet at least one time standard yearly (every 12 months).

Are these times that need to be hit every season, every year, or some other time frame? How long is a time good for?

Times are good for the upcoming year after the time was run.

Why the attendance requirements?

Through this racing team, we are supporting the club and each other. Without attendance requirements at club workouts and key events, we aren’t able to do that. The racing team is also funded through generous donations from our sponsor, University of Michigan Health West Sports Medicine. Through that partnership, the sponsor expects to see representation at key events.

When are workouts?

RunGR meets on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays as a club. The times and locations are shared via weekly emails to all RunGR members. Members of the racing team are expected to regularly attend club workouts.

What if I am injured?

Injuries happen. Racing team members are expected to keep the captains up to date on any injuries that prevent attendance at club workouts or core club events. Injured racing team athletes should not wear the club and sponsor branded racing team singlets while injured or while returning to fitness following an injury.

Are race entry fees and travel compensated by RunGR?

Currently RunGR racing team athletes are fully self-funded. This means travel, race entry fees, and membership fees to RunGR and USATF are the responsibility of the individual athletes.

Which calculator should we refer to for equivalencies?

We will use the runbundle calculator: https://runbundle.com/tools/age-grading-calculator

Who do we submit times and photos to?

rungrracingteam@gmail.com