Be warned, I’m writing this blog immediately after carrying a queen-sized mattress up a flight of stairs on my own...which is good news for the purpose of this blog because I am pretty amped (and a tad sweaty)!

It has surely been a year of changes, challenges, and big events for the Raleigh Distance Project (RDP) and we’re ready for yet another big milestone! Our six-athlete team is seeking new athletes! And I get the honor of writing a blog about what our squad is about and why being an RDP athlete is such a privilege.

I joined RDP in September of 2019, about a month after starting my graduate program. At this point, I had been a long-time fan, newly introduced friend, and my training was escalating to a place it hadn’t during my undergraduate years as a D3 cross country and track and field athlete. Continuing to run post-collegiately and joining RDP felt like a chance to see what I was really capable of pursuing with running. Although I was a little apprehensive about training at a high level while also getting my Master’s degree, training with women who worked full time as project managers or attorneys or were completing medical school made the task feel more feasible.

So, since I have touched a little bit about my own running journey and my time as an RDP athlete, I would like to highlight what being part of RDP will look like for interested applicants. First, this team respects and encourages the pursuits of our athletes not only with respect to running fast and chasing big goals, but also those goals outside of high-level training. Whether it’s working towards a degree or a promotion or balancing family life and life outside of running, our team believes that what makes us whole as a person is also what makes us strong athletes. We all prioritize high-level training and doing what it takes to accomplish our running dreams, but never at the expense of the things we are passionate about off the track.

Secondly, the opportunity to train with athletes who have running resumes that make my eyeballs pop out of their sockets is a true, true gift. By training with women who have incredible running backgrounds, I’ve been able to learn and grow from the myriad strengths each member of our squad collectively brings to our team. Each of us has strengths and weaknesses we bring to the table (my weakness being poor pacing in speed workouts, sorry in advance for a positive split or two in a workout) and by working with each other through endless 1k sessions on the bark chip trail at Lake Johnson or tempos on the American Tobacco Trail, we bring out the best in each other. I can say with confidence that my training and racing have been elevated to a place never possible without the support and hard work of RDP.

Lastly, our mission involves staying connected to and building upon the rock-solid community in the greater Raleigh area. Sometimes this looks like events that we host on our own - such as our weekly Thursday morning Cup a Joe squad running through downtown Raleigh, a much-anticipated local shoe drive (see y’all August 29!), or woman-ing aid stations at local races to support other runners. And occasionally, it means joining forces with the Sir Walter Running team to try to tear down American records! Other times, it’s being involved with and participating in community events hosted by the other amazing organizations and companies in our area that align with our mission. All of these things feel incredibly special to us and bring greater meaning to the daily grind we love to endure as we work towards our lofty goals (and grind we do!).

This is certainly an abridged version of all the reasons why joining the Raleigh Distance Project has brought so much value to my life, and I’m so excited that we will be opening our roster to add new athletes in the post-Covid world!

So, if YOU have an interest in being part of something greater than yourself and training at a higher level, we want you to send us a message here and tell us a little bit about yourself and why you are interested in being a part of RDP. Please complete this by August 9, 2021, and Amy McDowell, RDP’s team manager, will follow up with you regarding the application process via email. Please feel free to reach out to any member of RDP with any team-related questions you may have in the meantime. We look forward to meeting you!

Strength in Numbers - Join our Squad!