Running Scholarships

It’s that time of year when high school seniors are narrowing down their college choices and signing letters of intent. At the same time parents are scratching their heads and crunching numbers as they figure out how they are going to pay for their children’s education. In today’s financial environment every little bit helps.

Parents are lucky these days. 20 years ago when I was in college it wasn’t nearly as easy as it is these days to track down scholarship information. These days all you need is internet access and some free time to do a little investigation. Recently I sat down and did just that, within five minutes I had a slew of information at my fingertips.

Parents, let me make things a little bit easier for you. If your child is an athlete here are some great sites to help you ease the financial burden.

www.collegescholarships.org
www.sport-scholarships.com/index.htm
www.athleticscholarships.net/
www.college-athletic-scholarships.com/

Did you know that the Lehigh Valley Road Runners club offers scholarships?

There are several scholarships for which you can apply. The first is the Lehigh Valley Road Runners Annual Scholarship which has 4 separate scholarships available to two young men and two young women for $4000 each. Eligibility requirements are as follows:

1. Applicant must be a Pennsylvania resident for the past two years.
2. Applicant must be a graduating high school senior from the Lehigh Valley area (Lehigh and Northampton Counties).
3. Applicant must be a member of the high school cross country and/or track team. Must compete as an individual in running events.
4. Applicant must have a minimum 2.5 Grade Point Average.
5. Applicant must be accepted at a 2 or 4 year college.

The next two scholarships are the Ed Thompson Memorial Scholarship, a $2000 scholarship available to Emmaus High School male seniors, and the Nicole Reinhart Memorial Scholarship, a $2000 scholarship available to an Emmaus High School female senior. The reason why these scholarships are offered to EHS seniors is because they are both in memory of two Emmaus graduates.

Ed Thompson was a 1973 graduate of EHS who went on to serve with the US Marine Corps. After his discharge from the service he returned home and joined the now defunct Emmaus Road Runners, a running club which later merged with the Lehigh Valley Athletic Association to form the current Lehigh Valley Road Runners Club. Ed passed away in the early 1980′s after developing an aggressive form of brain cancer. The scholarship was created as a tribute to Ed.

Nicole Reinhart was a 1994 graduate from Emmaus and member of the EHS cross country team, track team and Marine Corps Youth Physical Fitness team. Nicole passed away in 2000 from during a cycling race and this scholarship is a tribute to her.

If interested in any of the above LVRR scholarships, please contact your high school running coach or guidance counselor. You can also download an application here.