MOSES LAKE - Track and Field runners in the R.A.W. SPEED Track Club are gearing up for their 2013 season, but needed a way to help offset the costs of travelling out of town for track meets.

In order to help raise extra funds for the upcoming season, the track club launched its online apparel store about two weeks ago, said head coach Eugene Ransom.

The store sells a variety of apparel including T-shirts, sweaters and hats as well as bumper stickers and skins for smartphones and tablets.

Ransom said everything in the store can be customized with various colors and R.A.W. SPEED logos.

"We have more than 1,200 products," said Ransom. "We have a variety of items for people who want to support the track club."

Ransom said he started the track club when he first moved to Moses Lake about a year ago, because he noticed a need for a summer track program in the area.

"It went well, but then I noticed that some families didn't have the extra money to help their kids participate in summer sports," he said.

Ransom said that some kids were unable to participate in sports clubs because of the associated costs.

"Some sports programs are priced out of range for these kids, but they are athletic kids," he said.

Ransom then began to brainstorm ways he could help those kids, and the idea for an online apparel store was born.

"I really want to introduce the sport to this community, and the online store will help us do a lot for kids that really want to participate," said Ransom.

Ransom said he has always been interested in helping kids gain access to sports programs since someone helped him join a sports program while he was growing up in Tacoma.

"I came from a single-parent home, and I had nothing to do," he said. "Someone pulled me off the streets and introduced me to track and field and I've just been going at it since."

Ransom not only fell in love with the sport, he went on to excel at it. As a former sprinter, Ransom was a city champion in the 100 yard dash as a freshman in high school.

He was a semi-finalist his sophomore year and won the state championship his senior year.

Ransom continued to run after high school, setting personal bests in the 100 meters and 200 meters while in the Army.

He said he wouldn't have been able to accomplish those feats if it weren't for the track coach that initially introduced him to the sport. Ransom said he hopes to do the same for kids in the Moses Lake area.

"We have a lot of kids that are very talented," said Ransom. "I just want to help kids the way someone helped me."

Ransom said that the R.A.W. SPEED Track Club started off with just his kids as members. However, the team has grown since then, and he was able to take five athletes to meets last season.

And all five runners ranked in the top ten for runners in the region, which includes runners from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska. Ransom said two of the five also qualified for the Junior Olympics.

"This season, I'm looking for all of them to go," he said. "A few more runners have come on board so I think we'll be very successful."

Ransom said the club has runners in middle school and high school from Moses Lake, Warden and even Ritzville. R.A.W. SPEED is also open for collegiate runners, who often don't have meets to run in once their college season is over.

Their season begins next month and will go until about July, he said. Ransom said he hopes the store is successful because funds will help pay for travel expenses and meet fees for out of town track meets.

"For me, it's all about the kids," said Ransom. "I do whatever I can to find ways for them to get involved with the sport."

Supporters of the track club can search for the R.A.W. SPEED Track Club on Facebook, and find a link to the club's online store on their profile page, said Ransom.