Dear John Legere,

Would you believe there is a slice of track heaven in Winston-Salem, North Carolina? It might sound crazy, but I assure you it’s real. My name is David Shannon, real estate developer by profession, track fanatic and avid runner by heart. During the winter I wanted to avoid running in the cold, so I came up with a crazy idea... let’s build an indoor track. However, what started as a way to come in out of the cold turned into something amazing.

This indoor track season, our facility, JDL Fast Track, will host over 40 meets including youth, high school, collegiate, and Masters track and field events, with the premier event being Camel City Elite.

The Camel City Elite races began in 2013 with $4,500 in prize money and a single race – the men’s mile. For 2016, the event consists of four race distances for each gender:  60m Hurdles, 800m, Mile, and 3000m. Prize money has increased to $60,000 with another $50,000 earmarked for additional athlete support. 

This event is a great opportunity for college athletes to qualify for NCAAs and achieve personal bests, while competing against some of the fastest pro athletes in the sport. Notable athletes who have competed at the Camel City Elite include Will Leer, Leo Manzano, David Oliver, Jason Richardson, Shannon Rowbury, Nick Symmonds and Morgan Uceny. As the Camel City Elite races continue to grow, our goal is to nationally televise the event and make it part of the USATF Indoor Championship Series.

We need your help raising the $175,000 necessary to televise our Camel City Elite races. We thought with your passion for track and field and status as one of the most influential people in the sport, you would be a great resource to help us raise this money.

With the next Camel City Elite set to take place January 30, 2016, there is still time for us to turn this event into one of the best televised indoor meets in the country. With a national television audience combined with your support and attendance, we can increase the national exposure of the sport we love.

Will you help us? If so, send us a message on twitter @JDLFastTrack and let’s start the conversation.

Sincerely,

David Shannon