The University of Oregon has a few advantages that many Clubs don't. In "TrackTown, USA", there's never a shortage of running enthusiasts or resources. So, it may be a surprise that Oregon did not have a Club until recently. A small, relatively unorganized group of recreational runners formed a Club in 2002, but Oregon’s Club really got its start when Tom Heinonen, longtime UO women’s coach, retired after 27 years with the team. The day after his retirement, he decided to volunteer as coach for the Club. On his final day of UO women’s coach, he said: "I'll give it a try. It's a pretty informal group, and we'll see what we can make of it, and if it's fun and rewarding for the kids and for me, then I hope I'd get to keep doing it."

Needless to say, the venture worked out pretty well. In the new Club’s first year, it began competing in collegiate cross country and track races. However, for its first couple years, with the exception of a few individuals, the Club was trounced by NCAA competition. While the group was devoted, it was very small – fewer than five people showed up for most practices. The team enjoyed a full competitive schedule in the fall and spring, but lacked a championship meet to aim for; seasons simply ended without a satisfactory conclusion.

Two of the outstanding individuals in the Club’s formative years were Carlos and Steve Trujillo, twins from Middleton, Idaho. The pair started what has become a special relationship with the UO varsity team: those who are unable to walk onto the NCAA team run for the Club, and are then given the opportunity to join the team if they meet certain time standards. Many of the Club’s top runners planned to run for the varsity team before joining the Club. The Trujillos are an example of the success of this relationship. Both would go on to run at the NCAA level, and Carlos won the 2008 Pac-10 5000 meters for the Ducks after years of dramatic improvement.

The fall of 2007 was a transformative season for the Club. After a lackluster 2006-2007 season plagued by injuries and low numbers, the Club decided to compete at the NIRCA National Championships. In addition to the obvious hurdle of having to travel across the country, it wasn’t clear whether the numbers existed to field a full team. That question was quickly answered as the season began. Just like the rest of Eugene running as it geared up to host the Olympic Trials, the Club experienced somewhat of a renaissance. Huge numbers of talented freshmen finally brought the Club to critical mass. Instead of a conglomeration of runners, the Club now existed as a real team.

As the season began, it became clear the Oregon was ready to compete on a higher level. In the leadup to Nationals, the Club’s men bested several Division I teams, and took second only to the University of Oregon varsity team at the final meet before the Championship. The women, however, were somewhat more untested. Going into Nationals, they had only fielded a full team once.

Earning a trip to Nationals required far more than putting together a team - the fund raising required for a cross-country flight was far more than the Club had ever needed. Between a letter-writing campaign and working at varsity volleyball games, the team scrounged up enough money and embarked on the trip to Bloomington, Indiana and came home with both team titles.

Today, between 15 and 25 people show up for practice on any given day. Despite the competitiveness of the group, the setting is very relaxed; people make it a priority to work together rather than race one another in workouts. Every Club event is completely optional, and in addition to the devoted core of runners that comprised the Nationals group, there is a regular group of recreational runners that might show up once a week or once a month.

Oregon's Tips for Running Club Growth

• Find a coach
  Most clubs probably won’t be able to find an NCAA coach to lead them, but it’s not necessarily Tom’s wisdom that makes him such an asset to our club – it’s simply the fact that he’s there every day, serving as a base around which we can build. Every college community will have a number of retired runners, many of whom would probably love the opportunity to lead a group of runners looking to improve.
• Establish a core group of runners
  The key to our success this year was establishing a critical mass of runners who we knew would be at practice every day. Once that core is established, the club really starts to grow itself. This is largely for the same reason that a coach is a great addition to a club – it turns the group into more than a few runners who meet occasionally. It makes a team.
• Start a web site
  One of the most important parts to our recent growth has been our web site, uorunning.com. By maintaining and updating a site, potential recruits can really get an idea of what your club is all about. It also aids in retention of current members, keeping them excited about the club. All NIRCA clubs can set up a web site at clubrunning.org/web_request.php.
• Keep members updated
  Every member of our club receives a weekly email from Coach Heinonen outlining the previous week’s happenings and next week’s plan. The update is also posted on our web site, giving recruits an even more accurate picture of what we do. The email serves a function that is complimentary to the web site: keeping people in touch with the club.