Even though my boys have graduated from high school, I still can feel the anticipation of what today is...first day of cross country! (For the record, I had my first cross country practice in 1985.) There was always some apprehension on the opening day along with anticipation and usually a lot of sweat since August is generally muggy and often warm. The team my boys ran on had a 300 mile challenge each summer. The kids got approximately 10 weeks from the end of track until the start of cross country to run 300 miles for boys or 250 for girls. For accomplishing this feat, the runners were rewarded with a special t-shirt and a pizza buffet one afternoon the first week of practice. The t-shirts were always the same design, but new colors selected by the captains and everyone's name on the back who had EVER earned a shirt, not just this year's guys. I was never too good at getting a photo on the first day of school due to working in another district and leaving for work early, but I always got the shot of the fellas with their blue (always blue) training log. This one popped up on my Facebook today. Blake was a senior and David was an 8th grader. In order to encourage younger runners, 7th or 8th graders who made 100 miles were also included in the pizza but not shirts. Both the boys earned 5 shirts with just the pizza as 7th graders. We felt that 300 miles was an awful lot for 12 year olds. They both had nice CC running careers with 2 trips each to State, so I think it worked out well! Don't worry, the little guy grew and is now almost as tall as his brother...it took him about 14 years to get taller than Blake's shoulder.
My niece and nephew (Stephanie's kids) are starting practice today. They were on a challenge to finish at least 200 miles this summer and the last time I checked, they were on track to finish that and earn t-shirts. Those summer miles are critical to getting the season off to a good start. Kids who haven't been running during the summer are still encouraged to come out, but do lose some training time getting themselves into shape the first couple of weeks. They can still have a great season, but might miss their potential by a few seconds per mile. When I'm done posting, my next stop is to check on the CC races for my niece and nephew's team to see when I can catch a race. I had so much fun watching them last year. My nephew had a season-best race and when I told him how glad I was that I got to see it, he said that I may have contributed to it! I'm quite sure the hard work was all his, but it made me happy that he appreciated my cheering. Watching young runners is a great motivation for all runners. It's refreshing to see their raw love for the sport and their teammates. Cross country is one sport where no one gets cut; junior varsity races are nearly always unlimited so everyone gets "playing time." Those who are able to put together a lot of hard work, some talent and a little luck to stay injury-free earn a spot on the varsity teams and sometimes have a little more pressure, but those are the runners who are ready for the challenge. Good luck to all the cross country runners at all levels. Happy first day of practice and happy running! Missee
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AuthorMissee and Stephanie are two Minnesota sisters and moms who love to run. We are not experts in running, parenting or anything else, but we do have years of experiences that may be helpful or entertaining to others. Archives
May 2020
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