Blue! Reach! were the callout signals of my high school 4x 100m relay team. Blue! signaled to my forward teammate runner to push out of his ready stance and accelerate to the exchange zone. Reach! signaled to reach back for the handoff of the baton – in the 30m exchange zone – while accelerating to maximum speed. Our 4x 100m relay team was successful in those critical parts of the race, primarily because we practiced, we practiced, and we practiced. 

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When thinking about the name for my run coach program, I suddenly remembered those callouts from over 30 years ago and immediately thought “this is the perfect name.” Three reasons come to mind:

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• The color “Blue!” traditionally symbolizes dedication, introspectiveness, wisdom, and depth. My own long-distance running that included winning a 5K, qualifying for Boston, and age group wins can be attributed to dedication, discipline, and learning how to run and race well. Blue is also the color of my high school alma mater, East Burke High School.

 

• The callout “Reach!” symbolizes, today, what I bring to my coaching program: inspiring athletes to reach their running goals by being dedicated to preparation and to the hard work that running requires to race well.  

 

• The Baton symbolizes the handoff. My training program ends with each athlete being presented with a baton as a symbol that he/she has received all the training and knowledge to run their best race. 

 

While Blue! Reach! Running begins its journey of coaching athletes; its present-day mission and values have origins from a 4x 100m relay team who were dedicated, disciplined, and prepared to run their best race at every track meet.