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Houston Striders COVID-19 Protocols for Organized Workouts
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Houston Striders COVID-19 Update Rev06-25-2020
Last Update: June 25, 2020
Striders,
For the last couple of weeks, we’ve been having ‘unofficial’ Striders workouts to meet the needs of club members who are comfortable to continue exercising together. These have only been posted on Striders social media channels.
Unfortunately, some alarming events have unfolded in the last couple of days: 1) a current spike in COVID cases in Texas; 2) Houston hospitals are nearing capacity; and 3) Our governor is urging people to stay at home. Based on this knowledge, I have decided the best course of action is to suspend all in person club workouts – official or unofficial.
The health & safety of our club members, including their friends and families, is our top priority. We do not want to put anyone at risk.
We will re-evaluate again in 2 weeks. During this time, I am asking all workout leads and club members not to post any in-person workouts/events in our club communications (online or in the newsletter).
If any club members - including workout leads - intend to continue doing in-person workouts during this period at their own risk, they have the choice to do so, but, I strongly suggest everyone strictly follows the local and RRCA guidelines:
More details here: https://www.rrca.org/…/advice-for-rrca-members-running-coac…
The decision to suspend all in-person workouts is not taken lightly. During the most recent board meeting, I suggested to the board that we re-evaluate and re-open all our official workouts. I understand this is a big umbrella club. I wanted to make sure we are catering to everyone who is comfortable in either participating in in-person workouts or continue with online workouts. We are also a RRCA club and I want to make sure we re-open safely, not risking the club or our membership, and that we follow the RRCA guidelines. Unfortunately, the situation is currently getting worse and this is not the time initiate the re-opening. Brian and I are currently working on simplified guidelines (based on RRCA / CARA recommendations), which will be shared with club members when we are officially re-opening our workouts again. If any of you have any feedback, please feel free to reach out to me at president@houstonstriders.org.
Thank you again
Hans
President of Houston Striders
Houston Striders COVID-19 Update Rev05-01-2020
Last Update: May 1, 2020
Striders,
As business in Texas begin to reopen, we’re keeping a close eye on the situation to determine when it may be safe to resume our weekly workouts.
At this time, we don’t plan to officially resume workouts until mid-May or later. Some workout leads may choose to offer ‘unofficial’ workouts before then. Because the nature of our runs (long runs, track, trail runs, etc.) varies significantly, and social distancing is more challenging in some situations, it is likely that we won’t resume everything in the same week. Keep an eye on this page and the weekly email news for more information. Our workout leads will be posting here when their workouts resume, and will share any necessary guidelines (bringing your own water, for example).
RRCA's guidelines on running in groups may be found here: https://www.rrca.org/news-articles/news-archives/2020/03/15/advice-for-rrca-members-running-coaches-and-club-leaders
Until then, don’t forget Julia’s Tuesday/Thursday workouts on Zoom, as well as Lyenna’s Wednesday Houston Half workouts!
Brian Speck
Houston Striders - Training Director
Houston Striders COVID-19 Update Rev04-27-2020
Last Update: April 27, 2020
Striders,
Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.
Per Houston Chronicle on 4/22:
“Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Wednesday ordered that people in Harris County wear masks or facial coverings in public for 30 days. The order is set to go into effect on Monday, April 27 (which is today) and applies to adults and children older than 10. Hidalgo said the order would include exceptions for people with disabilities or health conditions that would be exacerbated by a face covering, and for people who are exercising outside alone, driving or eating.”
See details here: https://tinyurl.com/ydcyn6nf
(Note: Please follow local news for any latest update/change)
Couple of club updates:
Membership Quarterly Meeting – The meeting in May is postponed to June. We may change it depending on the latest guidelines from the city of Houston. Lisa will provide more details soon.
Membership – Due to the current situation, the board decided to provide $5 off during the month of May for the 2020-2021 Striders Membership. You can renew your 2020-2021 membership starting May 1st. Details to be announced via newsletter. Please thank David for this effort!
Training / Organized Weekly Workouts – We have gone virtual for our online workouts over the last few weeks. This will continue until we can run together again! Please join Julia and Lyenna from the comfort of your home every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Details on our club / race FB events. Also, a quick shout out to Calum Neff, Brian and Brooke who just attended the virtual RRCA Coaching Certification Program. Looking forward to the SMART kick off this summer!
Social – Stay tuned for another virtual happy hour with Kit!
Volunteer/Community Outreach - The board approved our volunteering program during our last board meeting! Stay tuned for details.
Weekly “Challenge Challenge” with Kit & Brian / Virtual 5K with Erin – Please take this opportunity to stay engaged with your fellow club members online!
Racing - Strider Racer Program / HARRA Spring Series – Per HARRA’s newsletter “HARRA will not be holding the HARRA Family Picnic, the HARRA Summer Banquet and will not be awarding a Spring Series winner as most of the races have been cancelled.” Therefore, the board will make a decision on our Strider Racer Program for the spring series in our next board meeting.
The board will continue monitoring the situation and will make a collective decision to "re-open face to face" club activities as soon as we see it fit as per city guidelines. If you have any further questions, please contact Hans at president@houstonstriders.org
Thanks
Hans
President of Houston Striders
Houston Striders COVID-19 Update Rev03-16-2020
Last Update: March 16, 2020
Striders,
Today, President Donald Trump issued new guidelines instructing Americans to avoid social gatherings of more than 10 people for the next 15 days to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. See the details here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/coronavirus-guidelines-america/
We always made the safety of all club members our top priority. As of now:
We are postponing all 'official' club events held in a confined area as per CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommendation until further notice.
We also cancelling all ‘official’ club weekly workouts until further notice. We believed this is the right thing to do, as sad as it makes us. However, we would still encourage you all to continue running on your own, but please take extra precaution and engage in preventative measures to protect yourself and others as per CDC recommendations: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/prevention
As runners, we may likely not at the highest risk of getting a more serious illness after contracting COVID-19. However, the last thing we want is to have our club member(s) attending our club event(s)/workout(s), contract the virus, become a carrier and spread the virus to a more vulnerable love one at home. Per CDC, older adults and persons with severe underlying health conditions are considered to be at increased risk of more serious illness after contracting COVID-19.
If you have any further question, contact Hans at president@houstonstriders.org
Stay safe and healthy! Stay tuned for virtual challenges / tips that we will roll out to fill this strange and challenging time.
We will get through this together and stronger!
2020 Houston Striders Board of Directors