Good day, runners! We hope you’ve benefited from and enjoyed the community, camaraderie, and competition of FLRC’s races, teams, group runs, workouts, and events in 2025. Now we need your help to make 2026 even better.
Our bylaws require us to hold an election late in the year for next year’s board of directors. We include the election in a survey to learn more about what you think of FLRC and how we can improve.
Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey by the end of the day on December 14. To encourage you to complete it, we’ll select three respondents at random to receive free entry to all FLRC races in 2026 (excluding the Finger Lakes 50s), valued at $250. (Drawing rules here.)
The proposed slate of new and second-term directors to serve a 3-year term is:
- Lucia Chen: After running many FLRC races last year and being a super volunteer at many others, Lucia, who hails from Taiwan, brings the perspective of a newcomer to the Ithaca running community to the board.
- Dirk Swart: A lecturer in the Engineering Management Program, Dirk has taken up running and racing relatively recently and has become an enthusiastic regular at club workouts and group runs.
- Amy Dawson: An educator in Trumansburg, Amy was one of the top runners in the 2022 FLRC Challenge and co-manages PR for the Turkey Trot and the Winter Chill 5K Series. She will be entering her second three-year term.
- Scott Dawson: Scott works remotely as a user experience designer; he was third in the 2022 FLRC Challenge Most Miles competition and co-manages PR for the Turkey Trot and the Winter Chill 5K Series. He will also be entering his second three-year term.
- Charlie Fay: Charlie Fay is handing the role of treasurer off to Jesse Koennecke and going into his second term as a board member. He is also the assistant race director of the Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile, co-captains the High Noon UltraVet Men’s team in the PGXC series, serves as FLRC Compliance Officer, and chairs our Governance Committee.
- Jeney Wierman: Jeney is the race director (with her husband, Adam Moody) for Finger Lakes 50s. She will be entering her second three-year term.
If elected, they will join these returning board members:
- Adam Engst (President): Adam times races, coaches FLRC’s Tuesday night workouts, captains the High Noon cross-country team, wrangles FLRC’s tech, coordinates the FLRC Challenge, and directs the club’s track meets, the Hartshorne Masters Mile, and the Skunk Cabbage Classic.
- Heather Cobb (Executive Vice President): Ultramarathoner Heather Cobb coordinates FLRC’s regular group runs, is a stalwart on the Communication Team, and tirelessly advocates for runners of all paces on various other board committees. She is the race director of Parallel of Latitude.
- Jesse Koennecke (Treasurer): Along with taking on the treasurer duties in 2026, Jesse is the Senior Assistant Dean for Collections and Technology Services at the Binghamton University Library, is one of the core members of FLRC’s Timing Team, captains the High Noon men’s Vets team in the PGXC series, and designs and coordinates FLRC’s local PGXC race each season.
- Diana Hackett (Secretary): Diana is a librarian at Cornell, manages the Trail Circuit, is the primary sales person for the Merch Team, and is very happy about completing her first 100-mile race recently.
- Ian Golden: One of the best-known figures in the local running scene, Ian is the owner of the Finger Lakes Running Company and director of races for Red Newt Racing. He also coaches FLRC’s Monday/Wednesday track workouts.
- Rebecca Lambert: The current head of FLRC’s Communication Team, Rebecca is also known for her speed and expertise with bib handout at track meets and large races like Skunk. She was twice the first finisher in the FLRC Challenge.
- Jon Lewis: Our second expat Brit on the board (with Diana Hackett), Jon has volunteered on the Finance Committee and Communication Team, has organized a number of club-wide gatherings to watch major running events like the Olympic Trials, and is the co-director of our Thursday night Young at Heart group runs.
- Rebecca Lovenheim: Long a member of the scholastic coaching community, even after her own racing career came to an end, Becca served for eight years as the head cross-country and outdoor track coach at Lansing High School and is now the head cross-country and track coach at Ithaca High School. She is the NYSPHSAA cross-country coordinator for Section IV.
- Kate McCormick: A graduate student at Cornell in Human Development, Kate also ran cross-country and track while an undergraduate at Cornell. She co-directs the Thursday night Young at Heart group runs, and coached the kid workouts at our Tuesday night track workouts for several years.
Thanks to all of them for volunteering their time and expertise, and thanks to you for being a part of our running community and filling out the survey!
Finally, a special thank you to Bethany Schiller, who is stepping down from the board after completing her three-year term. We appreciate her participation in the board and Diversity & Inclusion Committee!