Run and Jump
18 FEB, 2026
Track and
Field Fun for
Kids of All Ages!
Littles, Middles, Leaders
(3.5 years through 12 years)
Building Humans,
Not Just Muscles
I've coached for over 35 years, and what I've learned is this…
Technique matters,
but character matters more.
I want kids to leave practice standing a little taller, believing in themselves, and feeling proud of who they are becoming.
Joy's Jackrabbits blends expert track instruction with confidence-building, kindness, and community—creating a foundation that supports all sports and all stages of growth.
35+Years of Coaching
20+Olympians
3600+People Trained
5000+Joy's Giveaways
Joy - Founder &
Head Coach
Joy Upshaw is the heart behind Joy's Jackrabbits—a coach, competitor, and mentor whose love for track and field spans more than three decades. A former collegiate All-American, Joy began her journey at Acalanes High School before continuing at Cal State Hayward, where she built a foundation of excellence in hurdles and sprints.
Joy has gone on to become a multiple-time national and world champion in Masters Track & Field and a proud USATF Masters Hall of Fame inductee. She has represented the United States as a USATF National Head Coach, competing and coaching on the world stage well into her 60s—proving that strength, joy, and growth don't have an age limit.
While her competitive achievements are extraordinary, Joy is best known for how she shows up for her athletes. She blends technical mastery with encouragement, discipline with kindness, and high standards with genuine care. Her coaching creates confident athletes—and thoughtful, resilient humans.
That philosophy is what defines Joy's Jackrabbits.
Joy - Founder &
Head Coach
Joy Upshaw is the heart behind Joy's Jackrabbits—a coach, competitor, and mentor whose love for track and field spans more than three decades. A former collegiate All-American, Joy began her journey at Acalanes High School before continuing at Cal State Hayward, where she built a foundation of excellence in hurdles and sprints.
Joy has gone on to become a multiple-time national and world champion in Masters Track & Field and a proud USATF Masters Hall of Fame inductee. She has represented the United States as a USATF National Head Coach, competing and coaching on the world stage well into her 60s—proving that strength, joy, and growth don't have an age limit.
While her competitive achievements are extraordinary, Joy is best known for how she shows up for her athletes. She blends technical mastery with encouragement, discipline with kindness, and high standards with genuine care. Her coaching creates confident athletes—and thoughtful, resilient humans.
That philosophy is what defines Joy's Jackrabbits.
Masters Excellence,
Lived in Real Time
Joy Upshaw doesn't just teach lifelong athleticism; she lives it. Over more than two decades in Masters track she has amassed a body of work that is as quantifiable as it is inspirational. Joy has 50 world and regional championship gold medals, including 17 in the 200 m and 12 in the 100 m. At home, she has captured 75 USATF national titles across many events-17 in the 200 m, 14 in the long jump, 11 in the short hurdles, and nine in the 100 m—contributing to a full‑career dataset of 218 recorded victories, with 51 wins in the 200 m and 42 in the 100 m.
Her 200 m times remained within a tight 26.5–27.8‑second band from her early forties to mid‑fifties, and at age 64 she ran 28.87 s, a performance that would have broken the American record in any other year. She has consistently logged globally competitive, age‑graded marks in the 100 m and 60 m, and her data set shows no "drop‑off" years.
Those results have earned her induction into the USATF Masters Hall of Fame and recognition in 2012 as a 25‑time world champion; in 2023 she also received the USATF CEO Award for her leadership. Beyond the track, she has led from the infield: the book notes that she once stood at the helm of the USA U20 national team as head coach, mentoring the next generation of sprinters and hurdlers.
Joy's Masters journey isn't merely about amassing medals; it's an ongoing demonstration that discipline, consistent training and joy in the process can sustain elite performance for decades. That perspective shapes everything she teaches—especially her coaching of young Jackrabbits athletes, for whom she models habits and attitudes that last a lifetime.
"Excellence doesn't expire, and neither does Joy"
