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MESSAGE FROM BILL ROE
President USATF
 My name is Bill Roe. I am the President of USA Track & Field
(USATF), the national governing body for the sports of track & field, long
distance running, cross country running, and race walking in the USA. I have been a runner since I was in junior high school in Seattle in 1964, and that's quite a while ago. When I was in school, we only had boys' sports. I had a girlfriend who couldn't earn a high school letter because she was female, but she eventually won an Olympic silver medal in swimming. I was a pretty slow runner, and the longest competitive distance they had for my high school team was two miles. I grew up in the days before the road running boom, so my chances to run longer races were slim. I became a manager for the boys' cross-country team, and actually earned my way through college as a manager. Although I ran on and off during high school and college, I really began running steadily right after college. Now after a quarter century of pretty steady running, I still manage to jog at least a couple of miles every day.  You are all very lucky for the opportunities you have today. You
are encouraged to run and have fun with your running at a much earlier age
than me. Both boys and girls have active programs starting in most
elementary schools, and these opportunities can continue right up to and
through your adult life. At USATF, we have thousands of kids
running, but we also have thousands of masters runners, walkers, jumpers,
and throwers; people like me over the age of 40, but still competing in
our sport.We want to make sure that every kid who wants to run can find a place to run and people to run with. If you or your parents (or guardians or other family members) have trouble finding a running program near you, let me know. I'll do my best through our network of over 2,500 clubs to help you find some people and places. Above all, keep running and you'll enjoy more out of life! My running and my activities with USATF have taken me to Europe several times, Japan three times, South Africa once, Australia twice, and New Zealand twelve times! If you look on a globe or map, you can see that my running has taken me some places that are pretty far away from the USA. Have a great time with your running and maybe someday I'll see you on the roads! You may contact Bill Roe by email at bill.roe@wwu.edu or bill.roe@usatf.org.
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Editor's Note: As of February 16, 2002, we have printed 90 stories for our