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Cascadia Elite Training Group Hopes To Gain Strength By Chasing Dreams Together

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DyeStat.com   Mar 24th 2022, 7:02pm
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Dedicated Post-Collegians Form New Team Seeking To Compete On The Track And Roads At A High Level

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Amanda Phillips gave her new training group, Cascadia Elite, it's first significant result Sunday when she finished as the top American in the women's race at the Los Angeles Marathon. 

Phillips, who has competed mostly on her own for more than a decade since college, began to feel the benefit of being part of the group in the build-up to the race. 

She had questions about who else was in the elite women's field. Concerned that she might be out in front of 20,000 runners by herself, she asked whether she could bring a pacer. 

The answers weren't coming, at least until Cascadia Elite and coach Travis Floeck pushed the issue a bit harder, forcing the lines of communication open for her. 

"The biggest thing is having a voice," said Phillips, who achieved the Olympic Trials qualifying standard by running 2:35:06. "There is something to be said for having people back you, a coach advocating for you and making sure race organizers are doing the things that they said they would.

"It was an immediate example of being part of a team and feeling like I had just a little bit more power."

Cascadia Elite became an official group, with a name, logo and some branding in January.

wilsonBut the origins of it go back to last summer, when Marci Klimek and then her friend and former high school teammate, Phillips, linked up with Floeck for some coaching help. 

Floeck, whose main job is coaching the distance runners at the University of Idaho, was already providing additional workouts and coaching services for a small group of post-collegians. And he has roots in Southern Oregon, same as Klimek and Phillips. 

Out of an initial web of connections, a group of athletes located across the country began to feel like a real thing. 

"Before you knew it we had this little group of people, and it wasn't until right around the beginning of the year where we thought 'Maybe we can make it official and come up with team name," Klimek said. "Then it just accelerated so quickly."

Cascadia Elite currently counts 18 members, including 16 women. The roster includes track runners like Jenn Randall and Susan Ejore all the way up to the endurance athletes who race on the roads and trails. 

Peter Stice, Randall's husband, coaches several athletes in the group. He's been conducting speed workouts with Randall, Ejore and Anna Connor as they prepare to hit the track. 

Cascadia Elite serves athletes who are unsponsored, lead real-world lives with jobs and families, and yet seek to qualify for the Olympic Trials in their event. 

For athletes such as Phillips, who is a P.E. teacher in Hood River, Ore., having a coach and being part of a team has brought a new perspective to what has long been a mostly solitary drive to stay motivated and keep logging miles. 

The group spans eight states and three time zones. The runners stay connected through email chains and monthly Zoom calls. 

"After my race, my phone was blowing up," Phillips said. "I knew some of these people prior to forming the team, but we already have this bond of wanting to celebrate one another's successes."

One big early win for Cascadia Elite is its association with Tracksmith, which has supplied the entire group with racing uniforms and warm-ups, branded with the new logo. 

Some of the team's runners were already getting assistance through Tracksmith's Amateur Support Program

"They've been incredible to work with," Floeck said. "I had some anxiety about this in the beginning. What can I do for these people? I can't spend a lot of money out of my own pocket. (Tracksmith) has been gigantic. It's a remarkable thing they are doing and there is a lot of good will that the company is showing."

More than anything, Tracksmith's contribution feels like a start. There is more work to do as the athletes themselves brainstorm and carry out ideas for fund-raising, managing finances, outreach, social media and web design. 

Pooling some money for expenses and to offset travel costs to races is one of the team's early efforts. 

"It costs a lot to travel," Phillips said. "I've never done a USATF race, for instance. Mostly that's because I can't afford to get to them."

This spring, Cascadia Elite is looking forward to taking its place on starting lines across the country, to making its presence felt. 

The group is also hoping to network with other local running clubs in the Northwest and establish relationships with a wider range of the community. 

"We'd like to partner with other clubs in the area, get a network started," Klimek said. "So if you're going to an event, maybe somebody can provide housing, or you can ask somebody for good routes."

Klimek, who ran a PR 2:30:48 at the California International Marathon in December, is also looking into hosting a series of free webinars that would cover nutrition and other topics, as a resource for anyone. 

"If you're interested in running post-collegiately, unless you are projected to make a world team or something, there's not a lot of opportunities and support. The only way it's going to work is if we work together. Rather than rely on a tiny slice of the pie that's available, we can make a bigger pie for everybody and more opportunities. At least that's the idea."

For now, the runners in the group will forge on with workouts and plan races and know that they are part of something a bit bigger, backed by real-life friends and virtual friends. 

"Trying to get to the Trials, and get faster after college, and into your 30s, it's hard. And it feels like you are alone on a daily basis," Floeck said. "It feels good to help people in this position. There are a lot of amazing athletes out there who can do amazing things."

Klimek said the recent achievements of Sara Hall and Keira D'Amato have also proven to be inspirational. 

"What they've done, it makes you think, 'Well, there's still time. We can still get faster. It could totally happen,'" she said.



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