From the Desk of the President

First and foremost, the Lincoln Track Club family was saddened to learn of the passing of its former president, Larry Worth, on April 6. He served and led the club well in this capacity from 1991 to 2012. Since stepping down as president, he continued to serve behind the scenes as our liaison with the city events team and on the organizational and logistical aspects associated with the many LTC running events. It is fitting that a tribute to Larry is the leading article to this issue of Fast Times.How quickly things change. Like everyone else, LTC has been impacted by the ever-changing conditions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the Tabitha Miles for Meals Run, Lincoln Marathon & Half-Marathon, and Havelock Run were cancelled and successfully converted to virtual runs. The Mayor’s Run was cancelled. However, with the approval of the Lincoln–Lancaster County Health Department, the remaining LTC events on the 2020 calendar hopefully will be held, with the Lincoln Mile postponed until August 9. A tremendous amount of work has been and will be expended to make these events happen to comply with the continued improvement of published public health initiatives. It’s a new normal we live in and we are doing our best to adjust accordingly, keeping the health and safety of runners at the forefront.Recently, on Sunday, June 7, our annual awarding of the LTC scholarships took place. Although the format was changed to a car parade of board members to each recipient’s home, each of the six individuals were honored in front of their families and in some instances their high school coach. They all received a $2,500 check, party size cookie, and balloon accompanied by a celebratory ringing of cowbells and the hoots and hollers of several face-masked and socially distant board members. The Lincoln Track Club now has awarded $83,500 to 37 aspiring track and field and cross country student athletes in its first seven years of providing these additional financial aid awards.As always, thanks for being a member of the LTC and for your ongoing commitment to the Lincoln running community. Indeed, these are not normal times as we continue to adapt and navigate the COVID-19 landscape to provide safe and healthy competitive running events. Your involvement enables the LTC to Run•Connect•Give Back to the community in many ways. If you are not running an LTC event, please show your support by volunteering. We need you now more than ever!Glen MossPresident, Lincoln Track Club