Love at first ice

Ross and Kayla Krempley outside Wild Duck Café during the 2021 Olympic Trials. Photo courtesy of the Kempleys.

Love at first ice

For Ducks Ross and Kayla Krempley, a mutual love of track and a love story that begun in a chilly cooldown tub at Hayward Field, was the beginning of a 14-year marriage, a thriving business, and three children.

While both were students at the UO, Kayla was an NCAA qualifier and Ross made USA indoor Nationals, shared athletic accomplishments that would influence their future career paths.

Ross graduated in 2001 with a degree in psychology and 2002 with a master’s in educational leadership. Kayla earned a degree in human physiology degree in 2005. During their time in Eugene the couple learned how special it is to be a Duck.

“I was very fortunate to spend my freshman year under coach Bill Dellinger, who really took me under his wing when I needed it most and taught me firsthand how special it was to be a Duck” Ross says. “He connected the rich history and traditions in a way that made you feel like family, with an expectation to help carry this forward.

After graduating, Ross and Kayla never left the world of track and field. Ross spent two years as a coach with Lane Community College, Team XO (a team of elite post collegiate track and field and cross country athletes looking to continue their athletic career), and the Oregon Track Club Elite in Eugene. Following her graduation, Kayla coached sprints and hurdles on a voluntary basis at the UO for two years. She also worked at Northwest Events Management, the organizing team for the 2008 Olympic Trials.

Through their frequent interactions with athletes, Ross and Kayla noticed something was missing from the track and field community—the accomplishments of many of the athletes were being overlooked. Without recognition, sponsorships, or publicity, many struggled financially, which meant missing opportunities to travel to meets.

“There were these people that deserved attention, and they weren’t getting it,” Ross says. “We were super frustrated with this.”

Ross, Kayla, and their children—Wynn, Myles, and Chace, at Hayward Field during the summer 2021 Olympic Trials.

Seizing an opportunity, the couple along with Ross’ father, Dave Krempley, established RunnerSpace, a place where athletes could share their stats and create opportunities for recognition. The online platform captures track and field statistics, provides current news in the track world, live-streams meets, and shares results in real-time. Through all their business ventures— RunnerSpace, AthleticNET, AthleticTV, AthleticLIVE, Coaches Choice, and Dyestat, Ross and Kayla have innovated track and field statistics.

As the digital hub of the sport, their websites garner over 335 million pageviews each year. Additionally, their platforms capture roughly 12 million results from track and field and cross country meets across the Unites States and Canada from over 20,000 events.

Impressively, they have over one million users who utilize their platforms, including participation from 70% of high schools across the nation and 70,000 active coaches.

The Krempleys are also the founders of Oregon Relays which is has been held at Hayward Field each April for the last fifteen years. The premier meet brings together US Track and Field athletes as well as college and high school athletes from around the world to Eugene to compete.

The type of exposure that Ross and Kayla generate with their companies not only helps athletes understand where they are in comparison to their competitors, but also creates big contract opportunities. Athletes who had little exposure are now being noticed by companies through their coverage—pivotal for up-and-coming athletes.

“The idea of ‘Once a Duck, always a Duck’ is alive and well at athletic.net and RunnerSpace. Our Oregon roots run deep, and we carry a deep sense of pride in what’s been built by a dedicated group of largely local talent.”
-Paul Swangard, MBA ’99 (general business) Hayward Field announcer, chief strategist at the RunnerSpace

In addition, the availability of film for athletes to study technique at home after a meet is something that benefits field athletes especially. The minor changes that can be made after watching film can be the extra push to the next level.

Since starting the business 14 years ago, the couple now have a team of 50 employees, including nine Duck alumni.

“We get energy from how much we can accomplish in a day,” Kayla says.

For Ross and Kayla, it’s not just about the numbers, they are passionate about telling every athlete’s story.

“The last-place person, and every single race at Prefontaine Classic is worth a story,” Ross says. “We have really evolved into trying to help athletes bring attention to their events and be a part of trying to create opportunities for all.”

Despite the disruption of COVID-19 this past college season around the globe, Ross and Kayla worked to film as many races and field event attempts as possible. This is not the norm for field athletes, and the visibility meant a great deal to those on the field. For some, it was the first time that families around the country could watch, slow down, and cheer on each field competition.

Hayward Field announcer and chief strategist at the RunnerSpace Paul Swangard shares that the couple are the epitome of what makes Eugene a track town.

“The idea of ‘Once a Duck, always a Duck’ is alive and well at athletic.net and RunnerSpace,” says Swangard, who graduated with an MBA in 1999 in general business. “Our Oregon roots run deep, and we carry a deep sense of pride in what’s been built by a dedicated group of largely local talent.”

The Krempley’s hope to carry on their Duck track tradition with their three, aptly named children—Chace, Myles, and Wynn.

- Riley Ovall, BA ’21 (general social science), UOAA Student Associate