As we continue to celebrate Women’s History Month, we are highlighting and sharing a bit about Clara Terrell. Clara runs Twilight Operations, a non-profit that promotes bike races in OBRA. We hope her interview inspires and encourages many more women to do the same. Be sure to say hello to Clara and the Twilight Operations crew next time you’re at one of their races.

Promoters are the lifeblood of OBRA bike racing. Their hard work is what provides all of the different racing options to our community. Without our great promoters like Clara, the races you all love would not exist. Race promoters are always looking for volunteers. If you’d like to volunteer, please reach out to see what they need help with.

OBRA has quite a few women race promoters including Clara, Jana Jensen, Molly Cogswell-Kelley, Ann Leitheiser, and Carol Cohen to name a few. We will continue to share stories about our great race promoters throughout the year.

Click here: industry.obra.org/promoters to learn more about promoting races.

Enjoy!

Name?

Clara Terrell

Where are you located?

Eugene

What race(s) do you put on?

Twilight Time Trials, Twilight Criterium, Twilight Hill Climb, Twilight Cyclocross, Psychocross, 2019 State Championship TT and Crit, etc.

What made you start promoting bike races?

Sal retired and told me to do it.

What would you like the OBRA membership to know about your races?

The valley is a great place to live the bike life and the local races in and around Eugene are the best way to commune with the people who are making the most of it.

What is your favorite thing about promoting bike races?

My first races were weeknight Twilight races and they altered my course. My favorite part of promoting bike races is seeing new racers stumble in, recognize new capabilities in themselves, and decide they love the pain and absurd glory of it.

What advice would you give to any team or individual that is considering putting on a race?

Every race promoter learns by doing. The first year I promoted races, I hosted more than 20 races and survived, while working an unrelated full-time job and training for my own racing goals. Imagine if 20 OBRA racers next year decided to show how much they loved the sport by promoting just one new race! What a fascinating variety of venues and formats we would see.

What are the greatest challenges you face in promoting your races?

Weather, wildfire smoke, plagues, off-leash dogs, and whiners.