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The Chapel Hill / Carrboro Pacers Running Club's spring track and field season begins soon, with our first practices likely scheduled for Tuesday, March 18th at UNC's Belk Track. As in years past, practices for the spring will be each Tuesday and Thursday, from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. Youngsters age 7 (or turning 7 during this current calendar year) - 18 may run, and the price is $70 for the first child, and $50 for siblings.
Co-head coaches will be this past fall’s cross-country head coach Meredith Bolon and also Randy Young, who will coach sprinters and jumpers. Other familiar faces will likely include Wendell Gilland, Layna Moseley, Jon Parker, Kelly Young, Tina Clossick, Jean McDonald, Isabela Archer, Amy Leigh Brown, Emily Hill, Jimmy Barbee, and members of UNC’s nationally-competitive Club track team. We will also count on the generous spirit of healthy volunteerism among parents.
NOTE: Click here for the Updated PacersRegistrationForm. (Forms will also be handed out at the first practice, and there's absolutely no need to pre-register prior to the start of the season. Unless other arrangements are made with the head coaches, however, the deadline for registration will be the end of the fourth Spring practice, however, Thursday, March 27th.
Whatever your ability, we're simply looking forward to offering creative aspects which aim to instill in participants a love of running as a lifetime sport. Runners are welcome to join the Pacers for a competitive edge, for exercise, or just for fun.
Training will also offer tips on such topics as running form, stretching, and nutrition during stretching sessions at the beginning of each practice. Runners will have the opportunity to prepare for USTAF Junior Olympic competitions, but the emphasis is always on fun and participation with the Pacers -- continually "on the run" since the 1970's!
Though a schedule of events has not been formalized as yet, the Spring season will likely include such competitive events as the Girls on the Run 5K, a pair of intersquad mini-time trial meets for Pacers only, and USATF Junior Olympic meets in June and July. Also, workouts may include scavenger hunts, obstacle course challenges, fountain runs, creative relays, and stair climbs in Kenan Stadium.
For those new to the spring program or unfamiliar with the UNC campus, Belk Track encircles Fetzer Field (where the UNC Women's McCaskill Women's Soccer Center is) and is just down over the hill from Carmichael Auditorium. The best parking after 5:00 p.m. is probably found by heading southward along Ridge Road -- the School of Govt. and Law School will pass you on your right. Before you get to Boshamer Baseball Stadium, take a hard right and follow that Navy Field / Lower Law Parking Lot all they way back to the Eddie Smith Field House. You will see the outdoor track from there. 18,000 UNC employees will be eagerly trying to leave work while you're trying to access campus, however, so allow for a bit of traffic. Flyers with maps to the track are available at Carrboro's Fleet Feet Sports store.
Once on the track, remember that we are guests of the UNC facility, and that neither the track nor the infield belong to us. Remind your children that there are "rules of the road" which our coaches and volunteers will spell out at practices, but these rules apply to adults and volunteers as well. Some UNC athletes may still be working out in the track area, and others also come to UNC to train.
If you have further questions about the season, the schedule, or eligibility, please feel free to contact Coach Randy Young at ryoung1@email.unc.edu or by cellphone at (919) 812 – 1040 or contact Coach Meredith Bolon at meredith@bolons.com or call (919) 619-4565 if you have any further questions.