Elite Running Group NE Distance Announces 1st Signing

New Elite
Running Group NE Distance
Announces First Signing

 

As we watch the 2012 London Olympics, a new
community group
based in Woonsocket and Providence, Rhode Island is doing what it
can to
prepare the next generation of runners.  NE
Distance, Inc., the New England Distance Project
(www.nedistance.org), is a
501(c)(3) charity dedicated to supporting post-collegiate elite
distance
runners who will represent New England at national and
international
races.  Today they
announced the signing
of their first athlete to participate in the program.

 

NE Distance athletes will live in Woonsocket,
RI in housing developed
by NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley (NWBRV) and will train in
and around
Woonsocket and Providence.  In
addition,
they will be working part-time 16-20 hours per week with one of
the Woonsocket
After-School Coalition (WASC) organizations- providing vital
services such as
tutoring, mentoring, and coaching to local youth.

 

Through donations received from the local
running community
and partnership arrangements, NE Distance is able to provide its
athletes the
basics they need to be able to train to be their best:  Housing, part-time work,
sports medicine
injury prevention and physical therapy, a stipend to travel to
races and places
to train. 

 

Aside from the housing and part-time work
partnerships,
sports medicine and physical therapy will be provided to the
athletes by Foundation
Performance of Pawtucket (www.foundationperformance.com), a
facility that has a
tremendous amount of experience with local Olympians such as Molly
Huddle, Kim
Smith, Ava Hutchinson and Stephanie Reilly.

 

New England Distance starts their program with
two athletes
and hopes to expand over time.  Nich
Haber,
President of NE Distance says, ‰ÛÏWe
have been absolutely overwhelmed by the support we‰Ûªve received
from the running
community.  Grassroots
donations from 35
individuals so far have provided us with enough funding to
provide the two
fellowships we are starting this fall. 
We are hopeful that this is a model that we can expand on
and eventually
we would like to see this grow as large as some of the more
established
Distance Projects in this country. 
We‰Ûªd
love to see as many as 15 athletes living, training and working
right here in
New England‰Û.

 

The first athlete to join the program will be David Goodman, the 2011
National NCAA
DII champion in the 3000 meter Steeplechase. 
David graduated from Western State College of Colorado in
2012 with a
degree in Environmental Studies.  David
has
a personal best of 8:48.45 in the Steeplechase and placed 5^th
overall in the NCAA DII National Cross Country 10k Championship
this past fall.  David will
be moving into his Constitution
Hill apartment with the NE Distance program at the beginning of
September.

 

David
says, ‰ÛÏI find
the part-time work with youth part of the program to be very
appealing.  It is moral
work, and it will help motivate
me during my training‰Û.

 

David‰Ûªs specialty is the steeplechase, which is
7 ½ laps
around a track that is covered with obstacles and barriers.  ‰ÛÏWe are excited
to have David
move into the neighborhood to start training and working with
local youth.  It‰Ûªs our
hope that we can all learn how to
overcome obstacles and barriers from David‰Û said Margaux
Morisseau,
Director of Community Building and Organizing at NWBRV.

 

People interested in supporting NE Distance can
purchase
‰ÛÏshares‰Û in the team via their web site, www.nedistance.org.  Shares are not redeemable
like shares in a
for-profit company, but shareholders are invited to the annual
meetings to meet
the athletes and vote on key decisions for the group.

 

#####

 

About
NE Distance:  NE Distance,
Inc.
(www.nedistance.org) is a community-based distance running program
funded by
individuals in the running community.  NE
Distance will provide a supportive environment for post-collegiate
runners
committed to representing their community and reaching a higher
level of
competition.

 

About
NWBRV:  NeighborWorks
Blackstone River
Valley (www.NeighborWorksBRV.org) is a nonprofit community
development
corporation that works with residents, businesses, and
neighborhood
institutions to enrich neighborhood life and make affordable
housing
opportunities available throughout Northern RI. 
With over 20 years of experience, the organization offers
innovative
programming that goes beyond bricks and mortar- including youth
after school
and summer academic and enrichment activities, financial fitness,
credit and
homebuyer education, foreclosure prevention, and much more.

 

About
WASC:  The Woonsocket
After-School
Coalition (woonsocketafterschool.org) supports individualized
learning needs of
youth by coordinating efforts among eleven organizations, families
and schools
to expand opportunities for success within the community and the
world
beyond.