Member Submission

Run Safe with UVRC - Free Cool Face Masks for Our Runners

By: Jim Burnett

At our UVRC Board meeting a couple of months ago, Krissy Flythe, the Lebanon Recreation and Parks representative  to the board, announced that she had discovered a pile of rollover funds in the UVRC account, due in part to lower expenses resulting from canceled club activities and events, and suggested that we might want to consider spending some money on a meaningful project. Installing a water fountain on the rail trail was one idea, supporting a local charity that promotes running was another. "How about face masks to protect our runners from COVID-19?" = great idea. Tim Smith and Paul Coats looked into what type of mask (one layer or two, etc.) was most effective, Dorcas DenHartog suggested checking out Podium Wear, the company Hanover High School had recently purchased masks from and I contacted them and got the ball rolling. I suggested we give the masks ($15 value) to new members and those who renewed for 2021. We also thought this would be a good “carrot” to get runners to renew their membership. Even runners can be forgetful…

I volunteered to process the 200 masks - slip them into envelops with a cover letter and pass them along to Krissy to apply postage and mail them out to those who wanted a face mask with a cool UVRC logo on it. The response was slow at first but then picked up and, as a result, on Friday January 29th I dropped off about 50 masks to be distributed to new and renewing members. I will say that the ordering and processing seemed like an onerous task at first, but then I started to get positive feedback from grateful runners and I couldn’t wait to distribute another mask to help keep our runners safe.

I have already started to compile a list for the next wave of mask distributions and I look forward to hearing from more of you who want to get in on this free offer. There are 150 masks left. Wouldn’t it be great if we had to order more? 

Lastly, I want to give a shout out to one of our UVRC members and newsletter contributor, Jennifer Hansen, who suggested that the club might want to add a line to our Mission Statement about safety, diversity and equality. See what we came up with, below, and please check out our upgraded website. Thanks to the efforts of Amanda Kievet, Alex Hall and Geoff Dunbar, among others, our website has a new look and we are making an effort to keep updating important messages like where we stand on COVID-19. 

Run on runners, wear a cool UVRC face mask and run safe. 

Link to UVRC website: uppervalleyrunningclub.org

Revised Mission Statement...

We run the Upper Valley

The Upper Valley Running Club is a diverse community of runners that promotes and encourages running as a healthy activity and competitive sport. We are committed to creating a safe, equitable and diverse environment for all our members.

Our Sponsors

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UVRC, c/o Lebanon Recreation & Parks

51 North Park St

Lebanon NH 03766