Fall is coming. I love Knoxville during this time of year.
My absolute favorite run is on the morning of a home football game. Whether the
game is at noon or 7 pm, I find fellow Volunteers clad in orange setting up
tailgates and prepping for a day of fun with friends. I can already smell the
bacon, eggs, barbecue, and more as I run past those folks.
I hope to be able to lace up for those runs this year. I
have battled injury after injury this summer and just can’t seem to heal. But,
I keep trying. I may never marathon again but I keep going to therapy, testing
better eating habits, researching shoes, and continuing to educate myself on
how to be my best as a runner. My body needs a little extra love these days and
I am committed to loving it so I run well into the future.
KTC is full of pieces and parts and so many programs. Like a
runner, sometimes one or more of the pieces needs a little extra love. There
are so many components to my job but I’ve been making a conscience effort this
summer to think about KTC outside of events and I am committed to loving it so
it runs well into the future.
I love so many things about KTC. I love our history. I love
the stories of athletes who ran for KTC as youngsters and come back because of
their love of the sport and the organization. I love hearing about our founders
and our original road races. Can you imagine being timed using a stopwatch and
a popsicle stick? Let that sink in for a minute.
I love what we do. We provide an avenue for our community to
be its’ healthiest. Simple. Our vision is “health living, healthy community –
one step at a time” and that is still the best vision that I have heard in
years.
We work hard to offer the best to our participants,
volunteers, and participants. We research other organizations, we attend events
that aren’t our own, we read articles about running and programming, and we
follow your conversations on social media.
I could never, ever do this alone. You should all know that
the staff and key volunteers are doing their best to make sure everyone has the
same experience. We may not always get it right and when we don’t, we have
serious conversations about how to improve. When we do get it right, we go home
with a glow from a good day.
I love our people.
The heart and soul of this organization are the volunteers.
Even the staff give so much time that it can’t all be chalked up to being “part
of their job” but as a part of their being
In over 50 years, the organization has had its’ share of
injuries. But, I can tell you that I am so excited for the future. KTC is
primed to be injury free and running well next year and beyond.
See you on the roads!
Kristy
