Leading the Charge: An Exclusive Interview with the Executive Director of Light Horse Track Club

How did Light Horse come to be? 

We had a group of runners training together and saw a collective need for a competitive running team in Loudoun and Fairfax.  We also noticed a lack of emphasis on competitive running in the DC-metro area and are looking to change that.  

How many people are currently on the Light Horse team?

We currently have over 105 members ranging in age from 17 to 70! 

On Saturdays, we meet for long runs at either the Vienna Community Center or Aslin in Herndon.  We gather, discuss the run and then break out into pace groups.  On any given long run, we'll have folks running 6 - 20 miles, depending on what they're training for.  After the run, we sometimes have a group that'll stick around for coffee or breakfast.  

On Wednesday mornings, we meet for workouts at Herndon High School.  We'll gather for a warmup, explain the workout, break out into groups, and get it going!

  

Seeing runners at different levels support each other and watching our team members grow and improve.  It's incredible when you have someone who's qualified for the trials cheering on someone breaking 20 minutes for the 5k.

Every runner is different.  They have different training backgrounds and different goals.  Understanding each person and what they need to improve is what it's all about.  So, you'll see people running slightly different workouts, long runs and easy runs.  A big part of my philosophy is progressive overload, so you see systematic gains over a long period of time.  If you can get better at running 50 miles a week, run 50 miles a week for 4 or 6 or 8 weeks - don't increase your mileage just for the sake of working harder.  

There's a lot of great memories.  We got our first racing kits right before the Dulles Day 5k/10k in 2023, so it very much felt like our debut.  There was heavy, heavy rain with 30+ mph wind gusts, it was an awful day!  Seeing our guys line up for the 10k and watching Adam LaFemina coming down the long straightaway to the win wearing a Light Horse singlet was pretty special.  At that moment it felt like we had a real team.

If it's a goal race, we'll back off 10-20% of volume in the last two weeks and start to hone in on race pace.  Everything gets very specific.  I'll sometimes have a conversation with our runners the day before the race to go over strategy and make sure they are good to go.  But the bulk of preparation happens in the weeks and months beforehand.  We focus on the mental side as much as the physical side.

How has the group's partnership with PR and with New Balance been helpful?

PR has been a phenomenal supporter and partner.  I called up Ray (Pugsley, store owner) within the first month or two of starting the club, and his support and excitement definitely made us feel like we could put this together and grow the team.  When New Balance came aboard, that's when we knew we had a legit team and could become a force in the region.  Their support and outfitting the team have given us the ability to focus on running and taking things to the next level.  

Head to our website lighthorsetrackclub.com and complete the "join us" form!  I'll reach out after and schedule a time to chat about the team and learn more about their running.  

Currently, we are running a fundraiser to support our events in 2025.  We plan to host two high-level community-to-pro outdoor track meets and a cross-country meet, and we're 50% toward our goal of $40k! As a startup nonprofit with no outside funding, we rely on contributions from companies and individuals alike to help us reach our goal of elevating distance running in our community. We are also partnering with Girls on the Run Northern Virginia as our 2025 beneficiary. Five percent of all of our proceeds will go to support GOTR NOVA and future programming. If you are interested in donating, you can head to our website, lighthorsetrackclub.com.