Elite Athletes and Coaches Unite to Create the Bay Area Track Club

Elite Athletes and Coaches Unite to Create the Bay Area Track Club
February 22, 2010, 4:11pm

San Francisco, CA, February 22, 2010 — A group of elite athletes and coaches residing in the Bay Area have come together to create the Bay Area Track Club (BATC; www.bayareatrackclub.com). The group has two main goals: To provide support for Olympic athletes and emerging elites, and to promote running, health, and fitness within the community.

BATC athletes have represented Team USA 19 times, with four athletes competing at the Olympic Games. With the 2012 Olympic Games as their biggest goal, the BATC has gathered the support of world-class coaches and facilities in the Bay Area to help its athletes in their medal quest.

The BATC will also promote running and fitness within the community by taking part in events such as instructional clinics, meet appearances, group fun runs, peer mentoring, motivational seminars, and running camps. These programs will aim to educate and motivate the public, as well as supplement and enrich existing fitness-based organizations.

The BATC’s Shannon Rowbury, a USA Olympian, World Championship Bronze Medalist, and San Francisco native describes the need for such a group: “The idea of a post collegiate group in the Bay Area is something I and many other local elite runners have dreamed of for a long time. To be the best athlete I can be I need a training group. More importantly though, having grown up in the Bay Area, it is important that I give back. The BATC’s community programs will provide me with the opportunity to have a great impact on youth fitness.”

The BATC is an organization that will help achieve the goals of many local elite and emerging athletes and at the same give back to their community. “Our vision is much greater than supporting a small group of elite runners,” says BATC President Tony Kauke. “We really want to support a health and fitness movement, a running movement, across the Bay Area for people of all ages and abilities.”

The current roster includes four Olympians: Shannon Rowburry, Blake Russell, Magdalena Lewy Boulet and Bolota Asmerom. National Champions and aspiring Olympians: David Torrence, Garrett Heath, Alysia Johnson, Tim Bayley, Jon Rankin, Clara Horowitz Peterson, Tom Kloos, Peter Gilmore and Francis Gadayan.

The Bay Area Track Club was formed by a group of elite runners and coaches to provide support for aspiring Olympic athletes while also serving as an epicenter of healthy living for youth and adults pursuing an active lifestyle in the Bay Area.

For more information and to learn more about the Bay Area Track Club, its athletes, and how to support the Club please visit www.bayareatrackclub.com.