At first glance, Prospect Park Track Club (PPTC) is simply a running club. Yet, brief investigation will reveal that PPTC offers a wide variety of events and programs that go beyond the scope of running. Provided by the volunteers who form the board and the club’s twelve committees, these opportunities allow members to engage with the club both in-person and online.
Each element the club offers is thanks to a collection of people offering their time and work freely. It’s astounding. PPTC, a running club of over 2,000 members, operates (fairly) smoothly thanks to volunteers. A system built this way should be defunct, but yet it’s operable. What drives all these people to pour themselves into the club? A love of sport? Of community?
What exactly do these committees do, though? What is the purpose of the Board? How can one join a committee?

All should be revealed to you by committee chairs - simply scroll down.

A large group of people in red PPTC singlets posing together in a field of green surrounded by trees. — Club photo from the 2022 Team Champs. The club is run by volunteers. Photo by Jiyoung Han

The Board

Crystal Cun: Club President

Committees are the lifeblood of PPTC, and we want to empower our committee members to be the change they want to see in the running world. So, the Board’s role is to provide advisory guidance to committees, but committees handle the execution. In addition, the Board identifies cross-committee opportunities, steers the club's overall branding and culture, votes on major financial decisions, and handles code of conduct issues. Each Board member is the liaison to one or more committees, and updates the Board on that committee's activities, while advocating for resources to help those projects. It's probably no surprise that many Board members are ALSO chairs of committees, which means many of us lead on multiple levels. You can see there's a lot going on here, so we encourage all PPTC members to vote and run in the annual Board elections held every spring!

Blog Team

Rachael DePalma: Committee Chair

The Blog Team works to elevate club members, races, events, and topics related to running and Prospect Park through the written word. We hope to strengthen the club’s community through these stories and information pieces. Currently a small but mighty team comprised of myself, Rachael Nevins, and Linda Chan, we are always open to new team members and/or collaborators. If you like to write, edit, photograph, or design, the Blog Team has a place for you. Additionally, if you’d like to write something for the blog, but aren’t able to commit to joining the team, we welcome and encourage everyone to share their stories with us.

*Interested in joining the Blog Team or writing a piece? Reach out to blog@pptc.org.

A group of people running, the two people in front are wearing PPTC singlets and smiling while one person is pointing to the camera — PPTC members sporting singlets designed and provided by the Clothing Committee at a Al Goldstein Summer Series 5K this past summer. Photo by Samuel Trimble

Clothing Committee

Will Ngo: Committee Chair

The Clothing Committee can be thought of in two halves; the procurement and fulfillment teams. The procurement team is responsible for determining the needs of the club members, designing the team clothing and working with various brands to have those pieces produced. In the past, we would reach out to third party distributors like Running Warehouse and be strictly limited to the items and sizes that they had in stock. Some months those were red singlets from one brand, twelve months later those might be red singlets from a different brand with slightly different designs for their men’s and women’s options.

In recent years, the team has worked hard to address those inconsistencies by establishing direct relationships with athletics brands and working directly with them to design clothing for our members. It drastically increases the amount of time and effort of all of the volunteers involved, but also means that our members have access to consistently high quality gear. Partnering directly with the brands also enables us to provide feedback and have a greater impact that not only benefits PPTC, but ultimately has positive effects on the broader running community.

PPTC currently has the broadest selection of clothing in the widest range of sizing than we ever have in the club’s history.
Once we’ve received a large shipment of clothing from our brand partners, one of the more challenging aspects is managing the distribution of the items to our members. While some local running clubs require members to pre-purchase team clothing, PPTC attempts to maintain a certain volume of stock that can be purchased on a rolling basis. While this means an additional financial burden for the club and hours of time each week from our volunteers, it’s a service that we feel improves the quality of our membership. Fulfillment has been made possible thanks to the efforts of Claire Dougherty, Dan Dougherty, Emily Funk, Joanne Guralnick, Laura Hagadone, Jiyoung Han, Cressida Illingworth, Jimmy Leung, Robyn Neff, Doug Olney, Brienna Vos and Angela Workoff. Will Ngo serves as Committee Chair.

*Interested in joining the Clothing Committee? Reach out to clothing@pptc.org.

Communications Committee

Rachael DePalma: Co-Chair with Will Ngo

The Communications Committee works to keep the club and local running community informed and connected. The committee maintains our social media platforms, the PPTC website, our weekly newsletter and the club's various communications platforms.

For any questions concerning communications, please email communications@pptc.org.

Social Media Managers: Alexis Gordon, Lillian Park,Melissa Devine, and William Ngo

A subset of Communications Committee, the Social Media Managers work to disseminate news and information about the club and its events to the public through social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, and X [Formerly Twitter]).
To submit a photo or story for publication on PPTC’s social media channels, please email insta@pptc.org.

*Interested in joining the communications committee? Reach out to communications@pptc.org.

A close up of the leaf shaped bronze medal that reads "Five Mile Run PPTC Turkey Trot Race for Reconciliation" on a white tablecloth. — The Design Team often designs the race medals. Above is a medal from the 2023 PPTC Turkey Trot Race for Reconciliation - Five Mile Run. Photo by Larry Le.

Design Team

Will Ngo: Committee Co-Chair with Grace Mennell

Sometimes contributing to the work of the Clothing Committee, the Design Team attempts to maintain a high level of brand consistency in all design-related items for PPTC. In recent years, this has included designing new race medals, bibs, signage and race products that support our races. The team also contributes regularly to club communications, supporting the Blog Team with graphics and creating content for social media. Recently, contributors include Erin Anthony, Rose Milgrom Kohn, Matt Safian, Scott Teplin and Brienna Vos. Grace Mennell and Will Ngo serve as leads for the team.

*Interested in joining the Design Team? Reach out to design@pptc.org.

Diversity Committee

Karen Thomson: Committee Co-Chair with Yves Nozil

The Diversity Committee works to improve the diversity, equity, inclusion, and access within the club and at the club’s events. The Diversity Committee also works in the club’s efforts to improve DEIA in our community.

*Interested in joining the Diversity Team? Reach out to diversity@pptc.org.

Grants & Partnerships Committee

Divya Sooryakumar: Former Grants Co-chair

Current Committee Co-chairs Kesone Phimmasone and Michelle DeFeo

Through our grants program and in line with PPTC's mission, we aim to reflect, support, and grow the diversity of the Brooklyn running community. Over the last year, we focused on supporting organizations, initiatives, and informal clubs that make running accessible to those that may otherwise not be able to participate in the sport. In 2023, we supported running for the unhoused as a wellness and empowerment tool, running programs for differently-abled young people across the city, and a trail-running club focused on the inclusion, participation, and representation of POC, especially AAPI trail runners, among other initiatives. Over the next year, we're looking to deepen our relationships with our grantee partners and expand our reach to continue to uplift and support all the forms of diversity in our Brooklyn running community.

*Interested in joining the Grants Committee? Reach out to grants@pptc.org.

Membership Committee

Oren Efrati: Committee Chair

We are the little elves behind the curtain making sure PPTC is running smoothly. We add new members to our various platforms, and remove members when they are leaving the club. We also are the main point of contact from non members interested in joining the club. If you want to help the club, are tech savvy, and prefer to do your volunteering from home, this could be a good fit for you!

*Interested in joining the Membership Committee? Reach out to membership@pptc.org.

A group of people in winter coats and PPTC red windbreakers surrounding a table of medals in the snow. — Volunteers at this February’s Cherry Tree Race, planned and directed by the Race Committee. Photo by Chris Burris

Race Committee

Jennie Matz: Former Co-Chair

Brian Schwartz Current Committee Co-Chair with Tom Meany

Here's something unique to PPTC: not all running clubs put on an annual roster of races but we DO! This says something about the history of our club: that it was started by a group of racing enthusiasts that were also some of the OG members of NYRR, which irrevocably ties us to the history of running and racing in NYC.

PPTC has managed to organize races since its inception in 1970 because of the volunteer efforts of our members. If you've ever run or volunteered at Harry's Handicap, The Cherry Tree 10 Miler and Relay, Al Goldstein Speed Series, or Turkey Trot Race for Reconciliation, then you may have witnessed that they are beloved events of the community beyond our club. And if you're a running nerd (let's face it, if you're a member of this club, you are!) perhaps you'd like to see how the sausage is made. I can't think of many other running crews where you can learn how to apprentice to become a race director like you can by joining the Race Committee!

Oh, and have you enjoyed free pizza at our club events? Or have you attended other *ahem* social events where food, drink and entry was subsidized? You can thank Race Com! Who's the BEST committee now? As our illustrious former club President Tom Meany will tell you, Race Com is "where the rubber meets the road!"

*Interested in joining the Race Committee? Reach out to race@pptc.org.

Social Committee

Evy Barnett: Committee Co-Chair with Clark McCaskill

We are very excited and appreciated for all who are looking to get more involved! The energy of those on the social committee is what makes our committee special (and some may say it makes us the best committee) because they are always coming up with new ideas and bring enthusiasm to each event they plan! They are always looking for ways for our community to build connections and have fun!!

*Interested in joining the Social Committee? Reach out to social@pptc.org.

Runners running in a line across a path surrounded by green trees and grass. — The Training and Competing Committee helps coordinate coaches and training for the team. One of most successful training programs for the club is the Tuesday morning speed work known as Marathon Training. Photo by Will Ngo

Training and Competing Committee

Jonathan Giles: Committee Chair

Here are some of the responsibilities for the Training and Competing Committee:

Promote NYRR Club Points races by:

Informing club members about the series
Member-led Club Points specific training sessions
Distribution of additional Club Points bibs to members

Organize the fall Marathon Training Group in-person training sessions for club members (including Marathon Training plans)
Organize regular in-person professionally coached training sessions for club members
Organize ‘Last 10’ run for New York City Marathon
Highlight noteworthy performances of club members at all paces
Act as PPTC’s liaison with NYRR
Distribute any additional bibs that NYRR provides for their races based on club distribution policy
*Interested in joining the Social Committee? Reach out to training@pptc.org .

Volunteer Committee

Danielle Fagenblat: Committee Chair

The Volunteer Committee supports community involvement of PPTC members in our club's races or other events that support running in Brooklyn. The committee manages volunteer registration for PPTC races and other large events, volunteer communications, volunteer points tracking and reward redemptions, and partners with various committees and event organizers to determine and adjust volunteer needs.

*Interested in joining the Volunteer Committee? Reach out to volunteer@pptc.org.

The Welcome Wagon

Linda Chan: Committee Chair

The idea of the Welcome Wagon is to help orient new members. We’ve been in a holding pattern, but will be starting up again soon. What we need most is veteran members who will be buddies to new members.

*Interested in joining the Welcome Wagon? Reach out to welcomewagon@pptc.org.

Committee members and other volunteers wrote why they volunteer or want to volunteer at the Committee Fair in January 2023. Photo by Rachael DePalma

If you need any more convincing to join a committee, at our first committee fair in January 2023, committee members wrote down why they volunteer on post-its. They poured out heartfelt messages and goofy jokes:

To give back
For the snacks
To support others!
To make friends
To strengthen community
As a creative outlet
To create spaces for all
For all the love
To do my part for our team
It’s fun!
“This community has allowed me to grow so much, I could never reciprocate the amount of love and support I’ve received from PPTC, but I keep trying!”
“Be the running change you want in the world”
And last but not least, “Crystal promised me a loaf of bread.”

Intro text by: Rachael DePalma (she/her)
Committee Texts by: Crystal Cun, Rachael DePalma, Will Ngo, Karen Thomson, Divya Sooryakumar, Oren Efrati, Jennie Matz, Evy Barnett, Jonathan Giles, Danielle Fagenblat, Linda Chan
Photos by: Jiyoung Han, Samuel Trimble, Larry Le, Chris Burris, Linda Chan, Will Ngo, Rachael DePalma
Produced by: Rachael DePalma

PPTC is a diverse and supportive team. We want to celebrate the diversity of our club and membership. We welcome and encourage everyone to share their stories with us.

PPTC Committees