Tri-county club promotes running

By Staff
Kim West
Franklin County Times
FLORENCE – Frank Spires describes the Tennessee River Athletic Club as a family-friendly organization that encourages running.
"We're the only (running) club that's fully organized in the three-county area," said Spires, who helped start the non-profit club in 2001 with a group of runners. "We really set out to form a running club that would appeal to all classes of runners, from the very competitive to those who just want to jog, and we also wanted to be very family-friendly, so that families are comfortable bringing their kids."
The club is based in Florence but has members from northeast Mississippi, southern Tennessee and several counties in Alabama, including Franklin, Colbert and Lauderdale.
Spires said the club provides timing equipment and finish-line staffing for most of the 5K races in this area.
"We do the timing and the results of a lot of the races around here because we are the only local club with the timers, clocks and finish-line equipment," said Spires, who has run five marathons and plans to run more in the furture. "We provide a race-management service – assisting with the results and advising the race director because so many races are fundraisers and have directors that aren't experienced yet."
TRAC membership costs between $6 and $15 per year, depending on the type of membership (student, family or individual).
For more information, visit www.shoalstrac.com.