Who are those runners with the matching singlets?

More on the Lansing Running Community

by Kari Chandler

The fall racing season is quickly approaching. The final two GLARS races are just a few weeks away.

I for one am putting in the training miles for the upcoming Capital City River Run half marathon. Many area racers have a marathon or longer distances in their near future.

Who do you train with? Who helps make the miles go by with conversation, or pushes you to run a little harder? Who guides you in smart training practices? Who is your group, the ones who cheer when you’re up, or cheer you up when you’re down?

Lucky you if you live in the Lansing area, because there is a group for you!

Let’s start with Playmakers Elite Team and Red Cedar Running Group. Both were imagined by runners fresh from their collegiate athletic careers, young men and women with lofty goals looking for like-minded training partners and the benefits of being surrounded by a team.

The Playmakers Elite Team consists of approximately 40 men and women. There is a performance time criteria for acceptance onto the team, in either the A or B division. Those runners on the team get some support for travel and gear, mainly from Playmakers, but also from a varying annual contribution from New Balance. What started as a group of area runners, has spread across the state and country, but that doesn’t lessen the emotional tie to the team. Most of the runners would say it’s the culture of the team that is of the greatest value to them. It’s the network of people who embrace hard work. When they go to a race as a team, everyone puts in their best effort to be competitive for the team.

Playmakers Elite Teams are always a force at the very competitive USATF National Club Cross Country Championships held in December. This year’s edition will be held in Bethlehem, Pa. on the cross country course of Lehigh University, and you can bet that Playmakers Team will be there.

This all sounds so ‘elite’, and it is, but my contact on the team assures me that the culture is ‘friendly, inclusive and welcoming,’ both to those interested in becoming a team member, and those who just want to work out with the team.

This team not only runs together, they team up to volunteer at Playmakers Fitness Foundation events around the community.

To learn more, contact Abigail Cook at [email protected]

Although the Red Cedar Running Group started for the same reason as the Playmakers Elite Teams, it has evolved in ways that envelope the greater running community.

Karen Lutzke has a long history of coaching at the collegiate level and is currently head cross country and track coach at Olivet College. She is also the coach of the Red Cedar Running Group, based in Williamston, which she started 5 years ago in response to requests from her collegiate runners.

The base has broadened to include runners of different ages and abilities who are looking for the support and guidance that a group like this provides. Karen says membership depends only on the runner’s desire to train hard to achieve goals. She clearly loves coaching and takes the time to get to know her runners so she can design workout schedules to suit the individual. While one runner might be studying for exams, another is starting a career, or another raising 3 children. She recognizes that each one has unique goals and life circumstances and coaches accordingly. The group is not only diverse in ages and life stages, it is also geographically quite spread out. Wednesday night group runs that take place in Lansing, are mirrored in the Detroit area, all across Michigan and even in other states. They share workout results through the online app, Final Surge and have developed group camaraderie even at a distance.

You will also find Red Cedar Running Group at the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships. Several team’s worth, in fact!

Interested area runners are encouraged to learn more or contact Karen through the club website: redcedarcoaching.com or via their Red Cedar Running Club Facebook page.

There is also a club full of fresh new faces, not yet in college, in the East Lansing Trojan Athletics Club lead by head coach, Octavis Long. Practices for boys and girls ages 5-18 are held at the East Lansing High School track, and include all the track and field events. They compete with great success on the AAU circuit all over Michigan, as well as at the Grand Ledge track meets held on Wednesday nights during the summer.

This group is in its fifth year, with a roster of about 70 athletes. Coach Long made a point in our conversation to say that he and his 5 assistant coaches teach life lessons as well as coach track. Hard work, good manners and sportsmanship are of equal importance in this group.

The response to the club has been positive, as the numbers have grown each year. Octavis keeps an eye on that growth, knowing that he wants each child to get the personal attention they need to improve.

The system seems to be working, as a total of 27 young Trojan Athletics athletes qualified for the AAU Junior Olympics Track and Field meet in Greensboro, NC. Of that, 23 made the trip and 2 came home with All American honors!

Hopefully some of these talented athletes will also test the waters in the local road racing scene, and we’ll see them in the above racing groups in the future.

You can find them on Facebook for more information.

For the eager to run and race, there are several options in the Lansing area.

Stay tuned! Next month we’ll learn about area groups with an even broader appeal.

See you at the races!