Come run this road with us!
Whether you need timers for your course, coaching on your runs, or a class or clinic for your group, we can help.
Let me introduce the team: I’m Bruce Oakley, the “O” to April Kramer’s “K” in OK Timing Plus (corporately Oakley Kramer Timing Plus LLC).
Bruce’s beginning
I’ve been at this for a while, ever since the high school golf coach suggested I’d have more success running around a course than playing on one and caddied me to the cross-country locker room.
I put on gym clothes and sneakers (it was 1972, the year the patent application was submitted for waffle soles on specialty running shoes) and joined about a dozen classmates jogging the three-mile route posted on the bulletin board. I was 12 years old, 5 feet tall and not quite 100 pounds, and a 5K was just that thing one did to start running for fun.
“Run for fun!” was always on the workout sheet or any other post on our bulletin board. That has been the sign I have followed on this long road, and the spirit I hope to share wherever the road winds.
April’s start
Fast forward almost 50 years to 2020 and another journey’s early steps: April has found running as her path to good health, basic fitness, and weight control. But now there’s a twinge in her knee. April teaches math in elementary school and does things with youthful enthusiasm, but also systematically and rationally.
Her eager “research” on the local running scene leads to yours truly, coaching “Rundamentals.” (Legacy site: Rundamentals.fitness)
How can she travel ever farther and faster on this road without breaking down? She was not yet jogging 10 minutes without stopping but had a half-marathon (13.1 miles) on her bucket list.
We settled on a six-month plan and went step by step. Found a destination race in the right time frame, set a pace target, built up mileage. As training season moved on and confidence grew, April entered an earlier half-marathon for a test experience — and surpassed her goal two months ahead of schedule! We set new goals and aimed still farther, faster, higher. She finished her first marathon a couple of months later in subfreezing weather and is now collecting regional age-group trophies at 5Ks. No struggle with those knees.
Our step up
Now, we’re combining our passion, experiences, and willpower in a run-support business. We offer automated RFID-chip race timing (but not yet to FAT standard for track meets), as well as private coaching, classes, and clinics. If you need running support, we can provide it.
I am an RRCA-certified coach and have led youth starter programs, directed beginner clinics for adult women, and guided runners from high school athletes to marathoners trying to qualify for Boston. I have experience running while managing chronic disease and after injury rehabilitation. As noted above, shared wisdom from my past coaching enterprise remains available online at Rundamentals.fitness.
April absorbed best practices and coaching principles in her buildup to the marathon and also has RRCA certification. She comes to this with fresher eyes and understanding of the beginner’s perspective. She has an organic understanding particularly of the differing needs of children and women starting as explorers rather than competitors.
Your journey
We can meet you wherever you may be on this long, lovely road.
Run for fun: It’s OK!