Awards

Schedule

• December 13 - January 3: Nominations accepted.
• January 10–17 : Online voting open.
• February 3: The Awards Party

Award Period

The awards cover accomplishments from January 1 through December 31, 2023.

Eligibility

To be eligible for any VHTRC award, except for Rookie of the Year, a person must have been a club member for the entire year covered by the award. For the Rookie of the Year award, a person must have first joined the club after July 1 of the year before the award year and before July 1 of the year in question. (That means that to be eligible for the 2023 Rookie of the Year Award, a person must have joined the club after July 1, 2022 and before July 1, 2023.)

Multiple Nominations

You may nominate only one person for each award. We also reserve the right to ignore any nomination that is likely to be in poor taste. Nominating some people for “Runner of the Year” would be mean.

Club members may nominate one person for multiple awards. A club member may only receive the following awards once: Ambassador, Furbutt, Volunteer of the Year, and Rookie of the Year. Please check the link below before you nominate.

We may change the category of a nomination or even disallow a nomination. We may cancel categories that do not receive sufficient nominations. Any change in a nomination must be approved by the VHTRC president, and the appropriate nominator will be notified.

To assist in the award process, we now have a list of prior award recipients.

Nominations for the James Moore Award should go to James.

Those submitting performance-based nominations may want to consult either Real Endurance or UltraSignup site for background information on potential nominees.

General Comment

While organized events are obvious tests of ability and count heavily, any run may be considered.

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Performance Awards

Furbutt Award

The Furbutt award is all about participation in VHTRC club events as a runner and a volunteer. This award recognizes two runners — one male and one female member of the VHTRC — who showed up at just about every club run and participated by running to the very best of his or her ability and volunteered at several events. This person is persistent, engaged and always there at club events — running, volunteering, and representing the club and who we are. This award is performance based, in the sense that the recipients run most of our club events, and finish the events that they entered. The recipients are also active volunteers, helping out at club events throughout the year. This is the award for the person who is really engaged in the VHTRC and supports the club by running well and volunteering in all of our runs and events. A person can only win this award once.

Runners of the Year

Recognizes two runners — one male and one female member of the VHTRC — who have demonstrated consistently outstanding performances in trail runs during the past year. Nominees for this award may be considered not only for their speed but also for their versatility and consistency as well as their support and representation of the club while performing at this high level over the year.

Performances of the Year

Recognizes one male and one female member of the VHTRC for the most outstanding performance of the year in a trail run. “Outstanding” is considered in terms of course difficulty and weather conditions as well as the age, gender, and ability of the runner. In other words, this is a relative, not an absolute, test.

Most Improved

Recognizes one male and one female member of the VHTRC whose performances in trail running in the past year have significantly improved.

Rookie of the Year

Recognizes the male or female member of the VHTRC who, in his or her first year of trail running has demonstrated mental toughness and persistence as well as ability. A person can only win this award once.

Other Awards

Ambassador

Whereas many of our awards acknowledge service within the VHTRC, the Ambassador Award recognizes the single individual who favorably represents the VHTRC to the greater trail running community. Criteria for this award may include noteworthy performances at national and international races, improving trail conditions through volunteerism, serving as an advocate for trail running in civic and government arenas, and volunteering at VHTRC and non-club running events. In short, the Ambassador Award is given to the one person who somehow manages to make us look good. A person can only win this award once.

Volunteer of the Year

The Volunteer Award is for a person who graciously gives of his or her time to help at club events. The recipient of this award does not have to be a runner, but may be. This award is for the person who volunteers in many different ways: at aid stations, helping organize events, pacing, crewing, or otherwise helping the runners of the VHTRC. A person can only win this award once.

Best Photo

Best photo of a VHTRC run or of a VHTRC member at any run. The photo must be submitted in digital format and taken by a VHTRC member who authorizes its use in the contest. (If we receive enough submissions, we may make categories. If we do not receive enough submissions, we may cancel the category.)

James Moore Award

This award is decided by the former recipients of the award. If you have a nominee, contact James Moore or any of the award’s prior recipients directly.

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Member Accomplishments Slideshow

We will be putting together a slideshow spotlighting our member’s significant accomplishments and experiences in 2023! We all do some pretty amazing stuff, see some incredible sights and have fabulous experiences that test our limits, are a lot of fun and push us further than we can imagine. Oftentimes, these accomplishments and experiences aren’t shared widely. And other times, thanks to Facebook and Instagram, they are. But either way, this is a chance to share our greatest moments of 2023 with each other and provide some pre-award ceremony entertainment.

Please submit a photo with a brief write-up explaining the photo (name, event, date, quote, why it’s significant, etc…) to Jeni Dwyer before January 20. These photos will be compiled into a slideshow to play at the Awards Party on February 3. You can submit photos via email.

Now, get going!

Nominations will accepted through this Google form from December 13-January 3.

Prior Awards

Here is a list of prior award recipients.