Dayton Track Club members share passion for running
It’s about more than pace or progress at the Dayton Track Club, it’s about passion.
The club was created to help people cultivate their passion for running.
“We are a Dayton-based running club designed to help people have fun and achieve their running goals no matter what they may be,” Dayton Track Club director Eric Contreras said. “If they want to run, we want to be there to help provide them with camaraderie and development.”
From fun pub runs to highlevel training and challenging trail runs to educational workshops and seminars, the route is different but the goal is the same – fostering and developing distance running in Dayton.
“And we want to be inclusive of all runners,” club president Greg Long said. “From people who walkrun to elite runners, we welcome all.”
Hitting the ground running
When businesses shut their doors in the early days of the pandemic in 2020, most running groups also paused.
“There were no group runs and no races for a while, so when things started to re-open, we as a management team wanted to figure out a way to reengage with the community,” said Contreras, also the director of the Runners Plus store.
The Dayton Track Club emerged as the community-focused running group of Runners Plus.
“It was created to be collaborative with other running clubs and groups in the Dayton area,” Long said. “Our goal is to advance running and get people healthy.” And have fun.
“It’s more fun to run with friends,” he said. “This gives us a chance to run together.” Dayton Track Club members may choose a free membership that provides connections as well as access to group runs. The $25 paid membership includes a t-shirt as well as various discounts.
“We wanted the club to be open to anyone and everyone,” Contreras said.
Hitting their stride
Fast forward a few years and the Dayton Track Club offers or collaborates with other clubs on as many as a dozen events a month yearround.
“We’re very happy with the way we’ve been able to grow our membership and have successful group runs with other clubs,” Contreras said.
Camaraderie, connection or competition, the club offers opportunities to share the track or the trail with other passionate runners of all ages and ability levels – from teens to runners well into their 70s.
“We really work hard to make sure no one runs alone,” said Long, a 64-yearold runner himself.
There are also training groups that provide focused workouts, individual guidance and educational topics. For runners looking to compete at the elite level, Dayton Track Club’s Elite Program is a high-level running club, designed to provide top open, masters, grand masters, and senior Dayton runners with the support they need to excel.
As little girls in ponytails they played basketball together in front of family members in quiet gyms. They worked on their individual skills, they learned to play together and they learned how to win.
They also learned what they did well and what their teammates did well. The process continued into middle school and high school. So in November, when first-year Springboro coach Mike Holweger asked his players to write down their roles, they were prepared.
“That’s guided us the whole way, and they were spot on,” Holweger said.
After a scrimmage, the coaching staff talked with each player about their roles. The sheet with the roles next to each player’s name still hangs in their locker room. And the consistent adherence to those roles has taken the Panthers to a place the program has only been once and not since 1978. At 8 p.m. Friday, the Panthers (23-5) play in the Division I state semifinals at UD Arena against Pickerington Central (25-3), a seven-time state champion making its 15th appearance.
“The roles are very accepted on this team,” junior forward Ava Wade said. “We come in, take care of business, do our job and then, if we come out, let the other person do it.”
Senior guard Morgan Meek appreciates the value of well-defined roles.
“To put that on paper, it made everyone realize that they have a value to the team,” she said. “Doesn’t matter if they’re starting or not.”
Two roles are universal: play good defense and be a leader, whether by example or words.
Junior guard Bryn Martin’s most important role is obvious: score and take the crucial shots. She averages 21 points, is the Southwest District Division I Player of the Year and was a finalist for Ohio’s Ms. Basketball award. She also leads the team in assists because of the double-teams and boxand-one defenses she faces.
“Bryn is a great leader,” Meek said. “Just the way she plays she makes people want to play with her and play as hard as her.”
Meek shares ball-handling and point-guard duties with Martin, is a good passer, is a high-energy provider and makes open shots.
Senior forward Chloe Downing’s versatility means she often guards point guards, is counted on for rebounding, getting steals and scoring in double figures when needed.
“It’s a great team to be a part of, and I’m glad we’re doing this together,” Downing said.
Wade wears the toughness label. She guards the best perimeter shooter, has to fight through lots of screens, posts up and rebounds. And she proved with a team-high 16 points in the region semifinal win that she can do that, too.
“Before the game we each try to focus on something,” Martin said. “The other day Ava’s job was to face guard someone. I said, ‘Ava, just focus on face guarding, and everything else will come.’”
Aniya Trent, the Panthers’ 6-foot-2 junior center, is a versatile defender, blocks shots, rebounds and gets points inside like she did with 12 in the double-overtime semifinal win over Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame. She scored the tying basket to force the second overtime.
“We all know we’re all capable of having a great game, and Bryn knows we all are too,” Trent said. “We really have a trust with each other.”
Off the bench, Holweger turns to junior Brooke Clear to make big shots and defend, junior Tessa Blain to be a good on-ball defender, junior Lydia Gabbard to defend and set screens and junior Carly Turman, injured most of the season, to help defend inside against big teams like Pickerington Central.
“We’re at the point where we just want to win,” Meek said. “Whatever it takes for us to win, that’s what everyone’s here to do.”