The eight members of the Tinman Elite running group have high hopes for the upcoming year as they train in and around Longmont for the upcoming Summer Olympic games.
Drew Hunter, co-founder of Tinman Elite, moved to the area in 2018 to continue his running career. He convinced two of his friends and teammates Sam Parsons and Tim Fischer to join him. Shortly after, the team became fully sponsored.
Over the years, the team has grown to include eight male members with the hopes of adding a women’s team to Tinman Elite over the next few months.
Tinman Elite members live and train in and around Longmont, Hunter said. The group can be seen on LoBo Trail or racing around Laugerman Reservoir.
Hunter said Tinman Elite is a unique running team. Typically running teams focus on gathering members who specialize in the same race. Tinman Elite invites running athletes of all kinds to its ranks.
According to Hunter, this allows each team member to learn something from their teammates. For example, Hunter’s event is the 1,500m. It suits his personality, he said, because he is more fiery and is ready to hit the ground running. His team includes three marathon racers. Those members bring lessons of patience and level-headedness to the group, Hunter said.
“What’s unique about our team is that we all get to train together and it’s pretty special because we all have different strengths and weaknesses and we can bring those to practice every day and help each other get better at what we do,” Hunter said.
The marathon runners will compete for a chance at the Olympics in February. The remaining five athletes will try for an Olympic spot in June.
Hunter invites the community to show their support for the team as they spot Tinman Elite athletes training in the Longmont area. He said you can spot them as they wear their team gear everywhere. The team will be selling its gear on Nov. 24 to support the athlete's dreams of going to the Olympics.
“I really just wanted to let the community know that we have this group of young men and women who are working really hard toward something and if you see us out there, all we need is a fist bump or something to say ‘go get 'em Tinman.’ That means a lot to us,” Hunter said.
