The International Trail Running Association (ITRA) has announced that Janet Ng has been elected President of the organisation, replacing Bob Crowley… ‘to lead the largest trail running association in the world.’
Janet Ng was elected president of ITRA on September 11, by the organisation’s steering committee following the resignation of Crowley. Since 2015, she has been the treasurer and a member of the Executive Board of the association.
In his resignation letter, Bob Crowley stated that, due to the pandemic, the needs of his businesses have increased significantly, leaving him inadequate time to lead ITRA.
He said “I have strived to guide ITRA to a better place than when I assumed the office. I believe together, we have achieved this goal. We have accomplished independence and steadied the organization through the disruptive times of the pandemic.”
Trained as a lawyer, Janet Ng started trail running two decades ago. She has also been a race organiser for over a decade and volunteers in trail races both locally in Hong Kong and abroad. She is the president of the Trail Running Association of Hong Kong and a race director and co-founder of the Vibram Hong Kong 100.
Janet Ng will also be the first female president of ITRA. She said “I am honoured to receive the trust of members of our Steering Committee to be the new president of ITRA.
“I am excited to lead this unique organization as our sport begins to reopen in many countries around the world. The pandemic has accelerated interest in trail running in the great outdoors and we expect our community to expand rapidly.
“As a non-profit organization dedicated to the sport of trail running, ITRA will continue to develop a wide range of services and tools for both runners and race organisers. We are here to serve the international trail running community and its members from all four corners of the world.”
She continued, “I would in particular like to see an increase in female participation in trail running. With that in mind, the ITRA team will continue to work hand-in-hand with runners and organisers, to listen to their needs and wishes and help them in achieving their individual goals and dreams.
“I would like to thank Bob for his significant contribution to ITRA and to the trail running community over the years.”
Janet Ng begins her role immediately. A new treasurer will be elected in the coming weeks.
Founded in 2013, ITRA (International Trail Running Association) is a leading reference organization for trail running globally. It provides services to individual trail runners and trail running organizations. ITRA is also the sole representative of trail running with the world governing body World Athletics (WA).
With over 150,000 runner and organizer accounts, ITRA ranks 1.8 million runners from 163 countries with its Performance Index (PI). There are nearly 8,000 trail races listed in ITRA’s event calendar.
