NIRCA
Membership

The National Intercollegiate Running Club Association (NIRCA) is the governing body and central point of communication for the college running community. The grassroots organization promotes networking and friendly competition amongst collegiate running, cross country, and track clubs. NIRCA coordinates many events, including a fall cross country season, Cross Country Championship Series, Road and Track Nationals, and all-club conferences. NIRCA is more than just running.

We welcome any college running, cross country and/or track clubs to join. Applications for membership typically take one week to process and there is no fee required to apply. All newly accepted clubs receive their first year of membership free of charge. After the first year, a one-time $50 instatement fee is assigned, along with annual dues. Renewal of membership is pending until this instatement fee is received.

1Competition

Prior to the creation of NIRCA, running clubs had few, if any, options to race with other clubs like their own. Now teams compete against each other in sanctioned races as part of the Fall Race Series season and the NIRCA Championship Series, which comprises of the Regional and National Championships. Last year alone, 1000 runners participated in a Regional or National Championships race.

2Support

Club sports and student organizations provide college students with unique leadership opportunities and we strive to enhance that experience to the fullest. By working one on one with teams on a wide range of issues – race management, club development, officer transition – we make a personal investment to see that our student athletes grow as runners and leaders .

3Networking

Whether at a race or a NIRCA event like the NIRCA Winter Conference, runners are able to connect with one another and share ideas about anything from fundraising to member retention. clubrunning.org provides a venue for promotion of what clubs are participating in and events they are hosting. NIRCA acts as a link to start relationships and partnerships between both clubs and runners.

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