PPTC Monthly Meeting Recap: July 2020
The Prospect Park Track Club has members-only meetings the first Monday of the month. We’re in our fourth month of virtual meetings, instead of gathering at Da Nonna Rosa on 7th Avenue in Brooklyn, but despite the venue change, President Tom started off the night with a familiar greeting: “I hope everyone has pizza and a beverage. Looks like it...Normally I’d blow my whistle, but I don’t want to hurt anybody’s ears.”
It was 7:30pm, and 60+ members were on the call when the meeting began.
Opening Statements
“Our world continues to change, and we still have been in a very stressful time in the last four or five months,” Tom said. “I hope everyone takes care of themselves. Sleep enough, hydrate—I don’t need to mention exercise.”
Tom transitioned into the next segment of the meeting—welcoming new members—with a tip of the hat to the efforts the club has been making to be more inviting to all runners. “The inclusiveness of our club is one of the things I think that has attracted a lot of us in recent years to want to join and get involved. It wasn’t always a hallmark of who the Prospect Park Track Club has been.”
New Members
One new member introduced herself. Despite living in Manhattan, she decided to join us Brooklynites because she has good friends in the club and liked what she knew about the PPTC culture.
“I’ve always been impressed by the family. I’m very glad to be a part of it,” she said. “I have also been part of the inter-club discussions lately on race issues and diversity and inclusion.”
Jana T, at the helm of the Zoom controls, then unmuted everyone so we could clap and welcome our new member.
Announcements
Adam then gave an update on the aforementioned inter-club conversations on diversity and inclusion in the New York running community:
PPTC has been part of New York City IDEA: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access.
The group meets biweekly
An intra-club diversity committee meets monthly
If you want to get involved, email diversity@pptc.org
Crystal gave a social committee update:
Virtual yoga continues on Tuesday evening and Saturday morning.
You can still sign up for the virtual PPTC Upstate Escape (you’ve got some running to do if you want to hit 500K or 1000K by Labor Day)!
Virtual food runs have arrived. It’s National Ice Cream Month, and instead of our usual group ice cream crawl, the committee encourages you to take up this noble quest on your own or in a small, socially distanced group. Through July 31, run to an ice cream shop, take a selfie, and post it on Instagram (tag @prospectparktc) or Facebook with the hashtag #PPTCIceCreamRun, and we will randomly award some PPTC-themed prizes to participants. Those not on social media can email Crystal directly to document their runs and treat consumption.
Stephanie and Stuart gave a race committee update:
161 people participated in the virtual Al Goldstein 5K
Stuart read off a list of the winners but I totally missed the names. Sorry (and congrats!)
The virtual race built on the successful fundraising the club has done since the beginning of the pandemic in support of organizations like the Park Slope Ambulance Corps, the Prospect Park Alliance, and Black Lives Matter.
Tom then mentioned that, as of the meeting (which was three weeks before this writeup was published), the permits for the July AGSS had been canceled and they were still waiting to hear about August. Turkey Trot planning continues, but that’s also up in the air.
Adam then gave an update on group events. In short: We’re still not doing them.
“The current board and captains believe we would like to be on the leading edge of shutting down and the trailing edge of opening up. We’re still uncomfortable with the current situation,” he said. “I don’t want to be a trendsetter on this particular subject, and I know that sucks.”
Guest Speaker
Leanne introduced guest speaker Jason Fulford, a Gowanus native, educator, member of Black Men Run and The Running Edge, and cousin of Eric Garner. He was recently featured in the New Yorker and organized the Run For Justice (which happened July 18). He spoke to the club about how running and activism are at the core of building a stronger and better community here in New York and across the country. Highlights:
Jason started running in 2017 to raise funds for the school where he teaches. “It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life,” he said. “It was very humbling because I was a college athlete and I thought it was one of those things I could just do.”
Through running, he got to know so many people, and saw uniting the running community and his activism as a natural extension of the coordinating skills he used at his job.
In 2019 with The Running Edge and Overthrow New York, he organized the Run for Justice to honor Eric Garner and other victims of police brutality. He spoke about this year’s event (which hadn’t yet happened at the time of this meeting), as an opportunity for different run crews to come together and show support for the movement.
In the Zoom chat, members chimed in with some questions (answers edited for brevity and clarity):
What are your thoughts on making the running community more diverse?
Fulford: I know when I grew up there wasn’t anyone I knew who was part of the running community. Maybe be more visible on your runs. People love to see other people running. Let’s make sure there’s entry points for everyone, and make sure it’s a space that everyone feels welcome. Maybe have uncomfortable conversations. I think the main thing we have to do is unpack some of the biases we all hold.
One of the most frustrating thing to hear is, “Let’s keep the politics out of running.” I feel like that’s like saying, “Let’s keep the long runs out of the marathon training.” These are people we’re investing a lot of time in. When you’re running with people and you’re training together, what’s a better time to talk about politics?”
You mentioned not feeling safe to run. Where are the ports of the city where you haven’t felt safe?
Fulford: The word I mean to use is not protected. [Jason was referring to running after two white men killed Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man, while he was running near his home in Georgia]. I haven’t felt protected by police officers. I’ve had encounters with police officers while running which has been 1) insulting, and 2) scary. Unfortunately, that is sometimes the reality.
How do we normalize the movement [against racism]?
Fulford: Right now everything is trending. Do things when it’s not trending. There should be short-term goals but there need to be long-term goals, too. You need to be consistent.
Thanks to Jason for making time to talk to the club. That’s it for this month—we’ll be back in August with a meeting on the 3rd.
Text by: Christine DiGangi
Edited by: Alison Kotch
Produced by: Alison Kotch