–> Race Team Membership Requirements

First and foremost, any individual to be considered for the racing team must be registered as a member of the Howard County Striders. Membership must be current in order to remain on the team.

All members must successfully meet or exceed the established time standards for their age and gender in at least two (2) separate races within a one year time span. Qualifying times must be run at two different distances and be run on USATF certified courses. Qualifying distances must be at least 5km in length and no longer than a marathon. Only distances available in the age-graded calculator will be accepted. Time standards are based on age-graded performances, using this calculator.

Elite team members must exceed an age-graded percentile of 78.5% for men and 75% for women. Development team members must exceed an age-graded percentile of 75% for men and 71.5% for women.

Racing team members must participate and wear the team jersey in at least two local races within Howard County each year. However, it is strongly encouraged that members participate in as many local races as possible. Examples of local races include, but are not limited to: the RRCA Ten Mile Club Challenge, Clydes 10k, HCS Women’s Distance Festival, Columbia Metric Running Festival, and Run Through the Grapevine 8k. Among these, the RRCA Ten Mile Club Challenge is considered the most important race to participate in.

Racing Team members are expected to volunteer for at least three (3) Howard County Striders events over the course of the calendar year. These can include, but are not limited to: volunteering at weekly races, helping coach a Striders training program, or volunteering for some aspect of a local race (registration/packet pickup, course marshaling, finish line management).

If you have successfully completed the above requirements and are interested in joining the racing team, please contact the racing coordinator or submit an application.