MONROE — Cheesemaker track and cross country coaches Eric Jubeck and Scott Mosher had been thinking over the past few years of ways to bring a community of runners, young and old, together. 

They wanted to grow enthusiasm in middle schoolers as well as provide an opportunity for high schoolers to have structured running opportunities in the offseason. That idea grew larger, and the pair began entertaining the idea of a running club, which could include adults.

“It was something we looked at doing as part of a youth development piece last year,” Jubeck said.

The Monroe Running Club was born, and when it held its first meeting as a club, the pair were impressed.

“At our first meeting we had 25 people there, and 10 of them we didn’t know were interested,” Mosher said. 

Mosher had been involved in a running club when he was living in Fond du Lac years ago. He said clubs he knows in Madison and Minneapolis have brought people together, creating local running communities.

“People post on Facebook about their runs, comparing times on certain routes or even noticing something at a house along the way that someone else might say ‘Hey, I saw that, too,’” Mosher said.

The Monroe Running Club began meeting in January and running along snow and ice-covered sidewalks, roads and pathways. The club met every Saturday from January to March, “when everything shut down,” Mosher said, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our new world kind of got turned upside down,” Jubeck said.

There are a large number of board members, and four club officers. Mosher is the president of the club, with Jubeck serving as vice president. Lona Slack is the club treasurer, and Patrick Klein works as the secretary. All are Monroe High School graduates. 

Mosher said they have runners of all skill sets in the group, from those just getting started to what he called “hardcore runners,” like Klein, who Mosher said is an “elite-level runner.”

“One guy did a 50K,” Mosher said. “That’s about 31 miles, or more than a marathon.”

Klein’s family is synonymous with Monroe Cross Country.

“There are five boys in my family, and all in some shape or form did cross country,” Klein said. 

After a successful prep career, Klein went on to compete at UW-Platteville, where his met his wife Alli, who had been a star runner in Dodgeville. The two helped out with the Prairie du Chien program for a couple years and have since moved back to Monroe. Patrick is a nurse and takes his secretary tasks with the non-profit club seriously.

“Being secretary of the club is about organization and recruiting,” Klein said. “Our foundation is solid.”

The club already has its sights on multiple events. It plans to hold a virtual Fourth of July run, with 5- and 10-kilometer courses mapped out. Jubeck and Mosher will stage themselves at Honey Creek Park for the event, handing out t-shirts from 7 to 10 a.m.

“There’s no live race, it’s going to be virtual,” said Jubeck. “We have over 20 people signed up already.” 

Runners can run at any time, follow the course on their phone or GPS and keep track of their own time and then submit it. The course will run from Honey Creek Park, then south on 4th Avenue West. Portions of the race will use the Badger State Trail. Prizes will be distributed by age group and gender and will depend on how many people participate. 

“Running provides a healthy family outlet. There are different leagues, like bowling and curling that are family orientated, but nothing is more accessible or cheaper to do as a family than to just go for a run,” Klein said.

Jubeck hopes the club can bring some level of excitement to young runners not yet in high school. The Cheesemakers track and cross country programs have been long-revered around the state, but getting athletes to buy-in to training and running before high school can put them on the fast track to success.

The WIAA canceled its spring sports seasons due to COVID-19, but did give clearance to schools for spring teams to meet up to 30 days in the offseason. Jubeck said competitions are unlikely, but that he and Mosher are monitoring nearby schools to see if any opportunities for competition arise. Jubeck said he and the track teams will meet this summer, so at least the underclassmen will have a chance to work on some skills and fundamentals. 

When the fall sports season gets underway, Jubeck and Mosher are hoping their runners will have a leg up on the competition thanks to the club’s efforts. In order to drive more interest, the club is aiming to hold an alumni race in late August.

“I still have a lot of friends and high school teammates that I still talk to and get together with, so it would be fun to run with them,” Klein said. “And with my brothers, it would will be a fun way to get together.”