General Competition - Associations and Masters
Joy UpshawCandidate, USATF Board of Directors
General Competition - Associations and Masters. Track has given me a lifetime of joy, purpose, and people I care about. I am ready to give that same energy back.
My message to delegates
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- 25 time World Masters Champion
- 2022 World U20 Championships Women's Head Coach
- 2023 USATF CEO Award
- Founder, Joy's Jackrabbits Track Club since 1998
Why I'm Running
I want to listen, bring people together, and get to work.
Track has been part of my whole life. I know this sport as an athlete, a coach, an association volunteer, and someone who built a club one family at a time.
I believe people do their best work when they feel seen, supported, and welcome. That is true for a child at a first practice, a Masters athlete at a championship, and every volunteer carrying the work of an association.
Local associations and Masters athletes are at the heart of USATF. You run the meets, welcome new people, recruit officials, and keep the joy in this sport year after year. I will show up, listen, find common ground, and answer the phone.
"My goal has never been about times or trophies. It has always been about sending good energy into the world."
1
Listen to every association and make its work count.
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2
Help more Masters athletes feel welcome and stay connected.
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3
Give young runners a joyful beginning in the sport.
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"I have learned that joy is not something you wait for. It is something you practice."
Masters Athlete
Movement keeps me grounded, connected, and joyful.
I started competing as a Masters athlete at 30. I am in my sixties now and still racing the sprints, hurdles, and long jump I loved as a kid. I enjoy working hard and racing well, but a result never decides who I am. Every race gives me something to learn and another chance to share this sport with people I love.
25
World Masters titles
75
USATF Masters national titles, 2001 to 2025
25
Seasons of championship racing, W40 to W60
98.2%
Age graded, 80m hurdles, W60, 2024
World highlights
2007 Riccione, Italy
World Champion, long jump, W45
2008 World Masters Indoor Championships
60m hurdles 9.09, W45 American record
2011 Sacramento
World Champion, 100m, 200m, 80m hurdles, W50
2013 Porto Alegre, Brazil
World Champion, 100m, 200m, 80m hurdles, W50
2014 Budapest, Hungary
World Indoor Champion, 200m and 60m hurdles, W50
2016 Perth, Australia
World Champion, 80m hurdles, 300m hurdles, long jump, W55
2017 Daegu, South Korea
World Indoor Champion, 200m and long jump, W55
2018 Malaga, Spain
World Champion, 200m and long jump, W55
2019 Albuquerque
National Senior Games all time records in the 50m (7.22), 100m (13.32), and 200m (27.71)
2024 Gothenburg, Sweden
World silver in the 100m and 200m, bronze in the 80m hurdles, W60
2024 USATF Masters Outdoors
80m hurdles in 13.04, a 98.2% age grade
2026 Geneva, Ohio
USATF Masters Outdoors, W65. Four national titles: 80m hurdles in 13.68 for an American record, 100m in 14.19, 200m in 29.30, and the 4x100m relay in 58.04
2026 Daegu, South Korea
Four medals at the World Masters Athletics Championships, W65 events and medal colors
Records and honors
- World and American record, W50 indoor long jump, 17 ft 10.75 in
- World record, W50 indoor 200m, 26.24
- American record, W50 80m hurdles, 12.19
- American record, W50 300m hurdles, 46.17
- American record, W45 long jump and 80m hurdles (12.07)
- American record, W45 indoor 60m hurdles, 9.09
- American record, W35 400m hurdles, 64.12
- Masters Track and Field Hall of Fame, 2012
- Nominated USATF Masters Athlete of the Year, 2014
Before Masters: All American at Cal State Hayward in the hurdles, long jump, heptathlon, and relays.
"Movement has always been my language. It is how I reset, how I stay grounded, and how I stay connected to the people I love. Even when my legs are tired, my heart keeps moving."
Our Masters club
Joys Jackrabbit Masters Track Club brings together athletes from across the country, ages 35 to 70 plus. We train hard, but we also laugh, encourage one another, and enjoy being together. We want to win, but never at the cost of kindness, honesty, or the people beside us.
Coach
Good job. You're awesome.
I have coached for more than 40 years, from children who cannot tie their spikes yet to athletes wearing the USA jersey. I want every athlete to feel seen and safe enough to try. I notice effort. I encourage loudly and often. Kindness, character, and a positive attitude always come before speed.
Team USA assignments
2006
DecaNations
Paris, France
USA Head Women's Coach
2010
NACAC U23 Championships
Miramar, Florida
USA Assistant Women's Coach, hurdles, sprints, multis
2011
Pan American Games
Guadalajara, Mexico
USA Women's Assistant Coach, jumps
2012
Five Nations Match
Glasgow, Scotland
USA Head Women's Coach
2014
World Indoor Championships
Sprint coach
2022
World Athletics U20 Championships
Cali, Colombia
Team USATF Women's Head Coach
Career timeline
- 1983 to 1989
- Los Gatos High School, hurdles, sprints, jumps, relays. Many state qualifiers.
- 1990 to 1995
- Hawaii Preparatory Academy. State titles in cross country (1993, 1994) and track (1995).
- 1995 to 1996
- Menlo College, co head cross country coach
- 1997 to 2004
- UC Berkeley assistant coach, hurdles. Director of Cal summer track camps. Helped found the Cal Track and Field Family Club.
- 2006 to present
- Gunn High School, Palo Alto
- 2010 to present
- Acalanes High School, Lafayette
Education and development
- B.A., Kinesiology and Dance, Cal State Hayward, 1983
- M.A., Human Performance, San Jose State, 1988. My thesis was a book I wrote and illustrated: "Positive Attributes of Sports for Kids!"
- USATF Level 3 certified, sprints, hurdles, and jumps
- 2012 USATF Coaches Mentorship, Olympic Trials, Eugene
- 2013 IAAF Academy Level 5, jumps, Olympic Training Center
"Kindness is one of the most powerful things in the world."
Leader
Service begins with listening.
I have served this organization from the association level up. I know the work behind a meet and the care volunteers bring to it. I listen for common ground, value honest effort, and want people to feel glad they are part of the work.
- 2023 USATF CEO Award, for leadership and integrity
- USATF Masters Track and Field Committee, Women's Commission
- Pacific Association Masters Athlete Chair, 2006 to 2011
- Vice President, U.S. Women's Track Coaches Association, 2012 to 2013
- 2013 USATF PEP Grant recipient, Annual Convention
Recognition makes me grateful. It also reminds me to keep showing up for others.
Builder
We grow by protecting the joy.
I started Joy's Jackrabbits Track Club in 1998 because I wanted children to feel the joy of movement. Today we coach kids ages 3 to 13 in Lafayette, Palo Alto, San Francisco, and Los Gatos, and we also train Masters athletes.
Building a club means budgets, payroll, permits, insurance, hiring and training coaches, and answering parents. I know the work associations carry because I carry it too.
Every child matters equally. The fastest child and the child trying an event for the first time both belong. At the end of each 8 week session, every child takes home a mug or plate I paint by hand. Growth should never take away that personal touch.
Every spring our Jackrabbits run the half lapper at the Stanford Invitational. We've been part of that meet for more than 15 years.
1998
Coaching kids since
4
Bay Area locations
3 to 13
Ages we coach
Thousands
Kids served
Growth is good when more children feel welcome and every child still feels special.
With Kids
What I Make for Kids
Children learn best when they feel happy, encouraged, and proud of their effort. I write for them, draw for them, and paint for them because those personal things say, I see you, and I am glad you are here.
The Original Jackrabbit
A comic storybook I wrote for our Littles, ages 3 to 5
It's the true story of my dad, Montague "Monte" Upshaw. He was a boy from Piedmont who ran everywhere. In 1954 at Edwards Stadium in Berkeley, on his third try, he jumped 25 feet 4 and a quarter inches. That broke Jesse Owens's national high school long jump record.
One page for each of our 8 weekly themes: Kindness, Etiquette, Technique, Determination, Positivity, Confidence, Teamwork, Gratitude. Every page ends with a "Jackrabbit Try", one small thing a child can do that day.
Page 1 of 6
Running with Joy
A book about my family, my Masters career, and 25 years of building the Jackrabbits. It covers our Curriculum of Character, my coaching philosophy, and service to the sport.
“I have learned that joy is not something you wait for. It is something you practice.”
From Joy's reflection in The Joy of Track and Field
Hand painted mugs and plates
One for every child at the end of every session.
"My goal has never been about times or trophies. It has always been about sending good energy into the world."
Ask About Joy
Questions about my coaching or the club?
Ask anything about how I coach or about Joy's Jackrabbits and our Masters club. Answers come from this page, and nothing you type is saved.
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Endorsements
What Leaders Are Saying
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Talk With Me
I want to hear what matters to you and your association.
Tell me what is working, what is hard, and what would bring more joy to the people you serve. Send a note and we will find a time to talk.