Liberty Bell XC
Location: Kettle Falls State Park - Colville, WA Date: 10.3.15Distance: 1.5mi/3.1mi. Conditions: 65 degrees. Sunny with light wind.
Comments: The Can-Am race is quickly becoming a favorite of our kids and despite the early departure and a longish drive, we raced well again on a course far from home. Things get a little easier for spectators from here on out — with races this week in Chelan and Leavenworth, followed by Cashmere and then the League Championships at home on Oct. 24th. A big thank you to all of the parents that have been making early morning drives to place far afield. Your kids are doing great and your support is much appreciated.
MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS - 1.5mi. 17pts. 1st place.
Another week and another first place finish for the middle school lassie lions. A near perfect score in one of our more completive middle school races of the year - with Novie running hard from the front and Annika having her own best race of the year as well. Novie, great arms and good intensity throughout. Leavenworth this weekend is going to be even more crowded, competitive (I think) and fun! Plus, you and Rivers especially are going to love the hills. Rivers and Gretta, some fine running as well, but see what you can do to run a little more together in the races this coming week. Talk, trade places a bit, and encourage each other in the early going. A group will naturally break up later, but let’s experiment a bit with some group tactics early on. And Liv, you may benefit from that as well. That being said, things spread out early this week (probably the sand) and you looked nice and relaxed with a good eye on Rivers and Gretta just ahead. Even running mostly on your own, you were definitely thinking of it like a group, and PS — I got a good photo of your “smile for the camera” race face at the end! Lindsay, tough running as well on a harder course. Good arm carriage throughout, and I could see those arms helping to drive your legs in the final 400m through the sand and up the hill. Eva, nice and loose — a good open stride. You have found your natural form and looked much more comfortable without any bothersome side-stitches etc. Lena - a little under the weather and feeling it in the lungs. Still, good tall running in the final stretch, and you wound things up for a fine kick at the end. And Annika, like I said earlier, your best race of the year. Predictable to some degree by your great practices earlier in the week. Race week no. 4 and you are hitting a really good stride. Good arms and a good active legs. Racing people all the way to the finish and a really good job!
MIDDLE SCHOOL BOYS - 1.5mi. 33pts. 1st place.
Congrats to the middle school boys as well for their own 1st place team finish. Walker, hard from the start was your goal, and you ran it that way for sure! Even when you’re feeling zapped at the end make sure you challenge those “sit and kick” guys for at least a stride or three. You were definitely stronger than that guy up the final hill and into the turn. Sometimes, when you push back just a little longer… then their game of cat and mouse falls apart faster than you think :) Ian - smooth, fast, and relaxed. Your approach to running will take you far — especially when you get to challenge a little longer distance in another couple of years. Travis, good work again as well. Maybe a little leg-weary out of the sand, but you ran strong even without your usual mid-race company and did great to hold that 6th position into the finish. A great kick and strong final uphill as well, you’re going to love the hills in Leavenworth! Andrew - smooth and strong again even though we know that you were a little bummed about the finish. Still, they gave you the last second edge for 11th and your willingness to get out fast and fight through the middle of the race is impressive! Erick, congrats on your first race of the season! A few more races to find a good starting pace, but you did great today and a strong middle to end of the race. And Aidan, good racing again on a much tougher course than Manson. Your kick is strong because you get your arms involved. Try to use those arms to open up the stride a little more mid-race, and you will see those time dropping nicely in the last few races of the year.
JV BOYS - 3.1mi. 114pts. 6th place.
Simon, a strong rebound from illness just like Peter, and you are right back in the thick our 5th-9th place boys with a good showing on a tough course. You seem to like that 6:40-6:45 range for an opening mile, and as the season builds you will have more left at the end AND be able to tolerate a 6:30 to 6:35 opening mile. Lazo, nice moving up throughout the race. A shorter course (2.4 miles) in Chelan might be a good chance to try that harder 1st mile and then to see how well you hang. Another step in the right direction with your pace compatible to last week’s on a harder course. Michael, love the consistency of those first two miles. Let’s keep 7:15 in mind for another week or two and focus on mile three. Go after people from the two mile as if you were thinking about the finish. You are stronger than you know and if you get things moving just a little earlier, then momentum will carry you home with some significant chunks of time following in your wake. Ian - BOOM! No idea where that came from, but you were racing! Actually, this was evidenced a bit this past week in your workout on Thursday afternoon. Good arm tempo to drive the legs, and you just looked in the zone from start to finish. A harder start than usual put you in good company to compete in that middle part of the race. Zach, spot on with your first mile just under 8 minutes this week. A tough, sandy, final mile, but hang with that approach and keep driving for the finish in that last third. You will hit that 7:50-7:55 race pace average before year’s end!
GIRLS - 3.1mi. 83pts. 3rd place.
And the scoring girls team streak continues :) After a prolonged week of “the crud” Larkin and Johanna will hopefully join us again next week. And Ella no doubt rocked the SATs along with Ben and Geza. On the running side, things are looking nice for Liberty Bell Girls XC. Week-to-week we are closing time gaps on the competition, gaining race experience, and experimenting with race plans and strategies to help us to run our best in another few weeks. Its definitely working ladies, and you should be excited about your efforts! Athena, strong again and getting so close to Shania from Republic. This is putting you near a “podium class” of finishers on the State level, and your teammates are none too far behind. Awesome! Another opportunity this week with Erin Mullins from Cascade and the girls from Tonasket to challenge that first mile and to keep running with an eye on the leaders near the end of the race. Icel and Ava aka “dynamic duo” picture-perfect group running and a finishing kick from the bridge to the line that was as strong as anyone on the course — except for maybe Mia and Sage! When we can run tough through the middle AND still finish strong after that sandy 3rd mile, we are in a great place. Same to be said for Mia and Sage. Congrats to Mia on race no. 2 and excellent work in crafting a successful race plan. Teamwork rocks! - as we may have said before :) And Sage, right there again with the girl from Republic. We see Tonasket this week and you will have good matches there as well for racing in the final two miles.
VARSITY BOYS - 3.1mi. 146pts. 6th place.
No Ben and Geza today but we still had a curly blond running point for the mountains lions in the form of Eli Nielsen. Eli, a gusty race. Matching Omak’s Israel Escamilla step-for-step until the final 200m and then opening up for the kick worked incredibly well. You mentioned his mid-race surges — which you also wisely matched — hence the 5:29 middle mile! Your strength and mental toughness helped you both in out kicking the competition AND in recovering from the sand and a tough mid-race battle to still finish strong. Cade, welcome to the racing! Great to have you out there and its clear that you like to run. Solid opening effort, and impressive too for you to bring that closing mile right back down to the ballpark of your opening. Fewer folks to race at that point, but you were able to focus on something enough to move forward steady and to hold your ground in both the placing and the pace. Emerson, thank you for doing well to pace Cade through the middle part of the race. Know that you can run that sub-6 average in races ahead, but that combo of a quick middle mile plus the sand does take a little life out of the legs. Mid-race tempo looked good and a fine finishing kick as well. Carter, your stride/usual cadence do you no favors on this sandy course. Love the opening two miles being consistent, and you will feel some life in those legs for the end again on a firmer surface. Peter, welcome back. Your plan to go out reserved didn’t seem to happen from my vantage point (IE faster than advertised) but it was clear that you’d found a sweet spot and you did great to run in a comfort zone and still move up. Even better weeks ahead as you pull clear of sickness and fatigue. Glad that you had fun running in the spikes! Tim, still a bomber kick and your focus in that last 400m is fierce! Would LOVE to see you find some surge opportunities mid-race to knock that overall time down another 20+ seconds. You can do it. And Cameron, congrats on your first-ever varsity XC race. A solid effort in a tough field. You’re a strong kid. On a non-sandy course, if we can get you out just a little faster in the first mile then you will hold tough through the middle to end but knock another 15-20 seconds from your overall time.
