Bakersfield Life

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Clicking through any of your friends’ Facebook pages can give you a sense of the lives that they’ve created for themselves — their friends, their interests, their goals, their community. And the Bakersfield Track Club’s page is no different. It offers an accurate reflection of the camaraderie and sportsmanship that the club has created. You’ll find a true runners’ community that’s peppered with snapshots from various events, and runners looking to help others find the next challenging race or ways to support another good cause. The page alone may be enough to inspire you to strap on your running shoes and see what all the fuss is about. 
“I’ll tell you the best thing is the people,” says Doug Johnston, president of the Bakersfield Track Club. “Our goal is to help the people of our community become more active by creating events and helping other organizations create events that are fun, family-friendly and have activities for as many different physical abilities as possible.” Those races include the Kern River Trail Run, which anyone can participate in; the 5K for walkers, joggers, and runners; the 10K for medium-ability runners, and a challenging 10-mile course for well-seasoned runners who can “perhaps boast a little about (it) when they’re standing around the water cooler (on) Monday at work,” says Johnston.  
The club draws people together in a network that branches out all over Kern County. The average member is 30 to 60 years old, according to Johnston, who believes that these are the “why did I let myself lose my fitness level, and what can I do to get it back?” years. The organization seems to provide a way of regaining what you once had and participating in a sweaty indulgence via a blend of track shoes and adrenaline. Katie Nickell, editor of the club’s newsletter, started running simply because she fell in love with the sport. “I started running 10 years ago after having two kids,” says Nickell, who has been a member for about nine years. “I was completely out of shape and started with a half-mile walk/run the day after Christmas — it just about killed me. I continued to walk/run daily for the next week … I fell in love with running then and haven’t quit.”
That type of energy and determination seems to be a common theme among other club members, who were also drawn to the friendly atmosphere that the organization creates. “I’ve been a member of the BTC for a very long time — since the mid-1980s,” says Sally Baker. “If I hadn’t been a part of the BTC, I wouldn’t have met some of my dearest friends … Throughout the world I have found the running community to be an awesome, strong, fun group of people to spend time with.” Baker lists the Summer Series of six 5K runs (“hot, dusty, ugly, but a great chance to run with others, eat cold watermelon and visit”) among her favorite club events.   
In addition to meeting people and getting in shape, the organization also offers a way for its members to track their goals and success as runners via a points system. “As a member of the BTC, you can submit your personal race results to our wonderfully capable stat man, and we’ll track them for you,” continues Johnston. He notes that the points are given based on the event distance, whether you placed, or if you volunteered to help. “It gives you the incentive to go to events, be your best, and strive harder to reach your goals,” says Johnston. An award is also given at the end of the year for the member with the most points.
If you’re interested in joining up with the club, membership applications as well as a complete calendar event list can be found on the website: BakersfieldTrackClub.com. Here’s just a taste of what they have to offer in the upcoming months:  
 
 
June
5 HALT Run (5K), Yokuts Park
8 BTC Summer Series #1 (5K), starts on Alfred Harrell Highway just across from CALM
12 Yokuts Park Fun Runs (1-, 2-, 3- and 5-mile options)
22 BTC Summer Series #2 (5K)
 
July        
6 BTC Summer Series #3 (5K)
10 Yokuts Park Fun Runs (1-, 2-, 3- and 5-mile options)
17 Rock to Pier (6 miles), Morro Bay
20 BTC Summer Series #4 (5K)
 
August
3 BTC Summer Series #5 (5K)
14 Yokuts Park Fun Runs (1-, 2-, 3- and 5-mile options)
17 BTC Summer Series #6 (5K)