USA Track & Field Foundation releases $30,000 to Team USA Distance Training Centers

INDIANAPOLIS - At a time when sport sponsorship and fundraising sources are scarce, the USA Track & Field Foundation has joined once again with New York Road Runners, Twin Cities in Motion, Houston Marathon Foundation and MarathonGuide.com to make possible a significant investment in USA distance running.

The USA Distance Project funders have contributed well over $1 million dollars to the resurgence of America’s distance running performances over the past 6 years.

Following a rigorous evaluation process, the following six post-collegiate training groups are receiving grants in 2011:

• Mammoth Track Club (Mammoth Lakes, CA)
• Team USA Minnesota (Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN)
• Team USA Arizona (Flagstaff, AZ)
• ZAP Fitness (Lenoir, NC)
• Bay Area Track Club (Oakland, CA)
• New Jersey/New York Track Club (New Brunswick, NJ)

“The USATF Distance Project has done a tremendous job through both their financial support and their organizing force for so many of the great distance running centers around the country,” shared Terence Mahon, head coach at Mammoth Track Club. “Their assistance to these running centers of excellence has brightened a road that was once dark for promising college distance runners forging ahead in their pursuit of the Olympic Dream.”

“We applaud these premier training centers not only because they have fueled the surge in USA distance running performances,” said Jack Wickens, USATF Foundation Board member, “but also because they each have engaged their local communities and inspired America’s youth.”

The USATF Foundation provides a means to attract and guide funds to new and innovative track and field programs with an emphasis on providing opportunities for youth athletes, emerging elite athletes, distance training centers and anti-doping education. The Foundation depends upon donations from its Board of Directors and from generous fans of track & field.

For more information, or to contribute to the Distance Project, please visit the USA Track & Field Foundation website at www.usatffoundation.org.