OVERALL: Some excellent efforts and another race in the hopper that will help us out later in the season. Some battles out there too - side stitches, and close sprints down the long final home stretch - but win or lose in those particular cases, you have faced them and survived. The beat goes on. Smile at your fortune. Come to practice. Run some workouts. Get stronger with Sarah’s help and laugh at Erik’s AMAZING jokes. We’re excited to have you here!
GIRLS: Varsity - 24 finishers. It was a super hot day with some smoky haze on a notoriously slow course. Be proud of how you handled all of that. Yes our glitter smeared more than usual in the heat, but you all put your heart into this one and we saw you working hard!
Leki: 20:45, 1st place, 1st Mile: 6:20, Overall Pace: 6:41
You had a real mental battle out there this week. It was hot and you had Kaydence right behind you for almost the first two miles. But, you kept your calm (and hopefully cheered yourself on in your head) and when you felt her falling back coming into the two mile you opened up the gap. As soon as that happened you looked even stronger and more relaxed –like you felt even better even though you were further into the race. This one should be a confidence booster for you – you’ve still got your competitive juices flowing and you are so so so mentally tough.
Sandra: 23:23, 5th place, 1st Mile: 7:03, Overall Pace: 7:32
When you do all the fancy conversions of your time last year on a 3 mile course to your time this year on a 5K course, you were almost a minute faster than last year. That’s awesome on a pretty tough day. As always, you had a really nice second half of the race and that’s when you moved into 5th place. You CAN run with both of the girls from Republic and next time if you go out with them, I think you’ll find you can outlast them over 5K. Every week you are clocking in an excellent, steady performance. Stay healthy and the end of the season is going to be amazing!
Zoe: 24:48, 9th place. 1st Mile: 7:17, Overall Pace: 7:59
Another terrific run, Zoe! 18 seconds a mile faster than last year on this course. That’s a real sign that all your hard work and consistency are paying off. You said it was hard the whole way, but you did it and you looked engaged with the race the whole time and like you were committed to giving it all. You were the 4th runner from our league in that race – that should feel very very good. Keep up your positive approach and your consistent miles and workouts and you’ll keep surpassing all your expectations.
Ingrid: 27:10, 12th place. 1st Mile: 7:50, Overall Pace: 8:45
You had a very very big kick at the end – and that was fun to see your competitive spirit come out. It also probably means you have a little more to give earlier in the race. You got out in the first mile quite a bit slower than you did at Twilight – and I think perhaps you were struggling with a side stitch or something like that given the tightness in your body. That happens and that hurts…and it won’t always happen. Next race I suspect you’ll feel better and you can get out a bit more boldly (maybe with Zoe) and that will get you in a good place in the race to compete. When you did open up into that amazing final kick, you ran tall, lengthened your stride, and relaxed your arms – we’ll get a chance to try to find that “flow” more this week during practice.
Yasmin: 28:10, 16th place. 1st Mile: 7:51, Overall Pace: 9:04
What an excellent race, Yasmin! You were actually out faster than the first mile at Twilight and on a course where most people were running about 30-40 seconds slower than Twilight, you were only 15 seconds slower than that much faster course. That’s terrific and I think we can attribute that to you getting out at the start more confidently. Let’s keep that up! A few more weeks of consistent running and training on your legs and you’ll be able to sustain that bold first-mile pace longer.
Juniper:
Here’s hoping you had a good time with family on your trip. We’ll look forward to seeing you at practice this week and back racing next weekend.
Josie:
Hang in there, Josie! We miss you and are hoping you’ll be back with us, feeling better this week sometime!
What an excellent race, Yasmin! You were actually out faster than the first mile at Twilight and on a course where most people were running about 30-40 seconds slower than Twilight, you were only 15 seconds slower than that much faster course. That’s terrific and I think we can attribute that to you getting out at the start more confidently. Let’s keep that up! A few more weeks of consistent running and training on your legs and you’ll be able to sustain that bold first-mile pace longer.
Juniper:
Here’s hoping you had a good time with family on your trip. We’ll look forward to seeing you at practice this week and back racing next weekend.
Josie:
Hang in there, Josie! We miss you and are hoping you’ll be back with us, feeling better this week sometime!
BOYS: Varsity/JV combined - 70 finishers. A close race with Cashmere but we prevailed 38 to 42. Some excellent aggressive first-mile running that will get easier as the season tapers down. Keep putting yourselves up and into the mix and a very nice job to all!
Kyler: 20:01, PR, 18th place, 1st Mile: 5:57, Overall Pace: 6:27
Another gusty race, Kyler, and they will keep feeling tough for another few weeks until we step off the gas a bit. Still, with a first mile on par with Twilight, your relatively aggressive start launched yourself up into the race like any good fifth runner on a state championship-caliber team would do. And then you battled! Slower than the previous race, yes, but still 9 sec. faster for 5k than you were for 3mi on this course last year. Keep up the great work!
Hunter: 23:29, 49th place. 1st Mile: 6:52, Overall Pace: 7:33
Your fastest first mile ever! And really just 26 seconds off of your PR best from Twilight so among our best of the day for a week-to-week comparison. Also awesome to see you get in a race with someone at the finish. You never would have had the speed to do that last year, and this year it is noticeably different. Last year, in a shorter 3mi version of that race, you were 4.5min slower, so that pretty much speaks for itself! Keep running with your group in practice and keep challenging that first mile of the race. A sub-23 min race is definitely not out of the question this season.
Birch: Thank you, Birch, for helping out with the bike sweep and leading. It was especially great for the timers to know when athletes were still out on the course, and I think it was helpful to both of our lead HS runners to fix their gaze on a moving object and not just rely on seeking out the cones that are a little harder to see. Hopefully, you will get cleared to run again with your doctor’s appointment this Tuesday!
Tristan: Glad to have you there in support and the hoverboard cheering was a novel touch. Really hopeful that your medication does the trick and that we can get you back in the groove sooner than later.
Dexter: 17:03, 1st place, 1st Mile: 5:14, Overall Pace: 5:29
Very nice running! Again, wipe away the time on that amazing home course and focus on how you felt. You looked sharp and SO much more like yourself out there. You may even still be dealing with some lingering effects of the allergies and cold, but it is getting farther and farther in the distance for sure. Our race this week is another one for strength. Crush some hills in the woods and race with some very solid runners at the front of the pack. Practice some tactics. Use the downhills. Everything is pointing towards a very good time for you at the end of the year and our current slate of tough courses is only going to help you catch people a little off guard.
Will: 17:27, 2nd place, 1st Mile: 5:14, Overall Pace: 5:37
Bonus points today for being among a very small number of runners to log a season-best performance on that course and in that heat.! I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself - and I do hope that the effort didn’t swamp you - but you looked just a lot looser and more relaxed in the 30 min leading up to the race and that seemed to carry over really well to the bulk of the running as well. Of course, it was hard in the grind of mile three, but you walked away with still a little bounce in your step and it’s one more race tucked away under the belt. 17:27 = a 16:48 race equivalency for 3mi, so again much more in the ballpark for last year on this course and you are still gaining steam. That process continues this week, and this was a great result.
Very nice running! Again, wipe away the time on that amazing home course and focus on how you felt. You looked sharp and SO much more like yourself out there. You may even still be dealing with some lingering effects of the allergies and cold, but it is getting farther and farther in the distance for sure. Our race this week is another one for strength. Crush some hills in the woods and race with some very solid runners at the front of the pack. Practice some tactics. Use the downhills. Everything is pointing towards a very good time for you at the end of the year and our current slate of tough courses is only going to help you catch people a little off guard.
Will: 17:27, 2nd place, 1st Mile: 5:14, Overall Pace: 5:37
Bonus points today for being among a very small number of runners to log a season-best performance on that course and in that heat.! I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself - and I do hope that the effort didn’t swamp you - but you looked just a lot looser and more relaxed in the 30 min leading up to the race and that seemed to carry over really well to the bulk of the running as well. Of course, it was hard in the grind of mile three, but you walked away with still a little bounce in your step and it’s one more race tucked away under the belt. 17:27 = a 16:48 race equivalency for 3mi, so again much more in the ballpark for last year on this course and you are still gaining steam. That process continues this week, and this was a great result.
Aksel: 18:35, 8th place, 1st Mile: 5:26, Overall Pace: 5:59
First and foremost, on paper Cashmere was the better team. That being said, you were just eleven seconds behind their number one runner, and just enough ahead of their numbers 2 and 3 to give us the team title. This was totally critical to the team scoring today and is the exact same super close battle that we could be seeing with number 3-5 runners with the likes of PJP, St. Georges, and Chewelah at the State meet in November. In certain races the time is important, but in others, there is a victory in where you place. The ability to battle for those places is often more important. That being said, please, please, please keep being patient like I’ve said. Saturday was no kind of day for a season-best time, but you will get yours on November 5th!
Jackson: 19:26, 15th place, 1st Mile: 5:39, Overall Pace: 6:15
Right behind Cashmere no. 5 and you would have been w/ their top 3 without the side stitch. You also beat all of Okanogan, which is a good thing, and you took on a load of work at practice this week with that 7 x 800m effort on Tuesday – which is the right approach for a little bit longer. On the “be aware” front, you did finish just a few seconds back of Brewster’s no. 4 runner. That was his best race of the year and a little rougher one for you, but if those guys are paying any attention, they will gain confidence from that. In a close race at Leagues/Districts, every point will count. We are still the better team, but if we see them again we’ll want to remind them of that fact runner for runner we have them beat!
First and foremost, on paper Cashmere was the better team. That being said, you were just eleven seconds behind their number one runner, and just enough ahead of their numbers 2 and 3 to give us the team title. This was totally critical to the team scoring today and is the exact same super close battle that we could be seeing with number 3-5 runners with the likes of PJP, St. Georges, and Chewelah at the State meet in November. In certain races the time is important, but in others, there is a victory in where you place. The ability to battle for those places is often more important. That being said, please, please, please keep being patient like I’ve said. Saturday was no kind of day for a season-best time, but you will get yours on November 5th!
Jackson: 19:26, 15th place, 1st Mile: 5:39, Overall Pace: 6:15
Right behind Cashmere no. 5 and you would have been w/ their top 3 without the side stitch. You also beat all of Okanogan, which is a good thing, and you took on a load of work at practice this week with that 7 x 800m effort on Tuesday – which is the right approach for a little bit longer. On the “be aware” front, you did finish just a few seconds back of Brewster’s no. 4 runner. That was his best race of the year and a little rougher one for you, but if those guys are paying any attention, they will gain confidence from that. In a close race at Leagues/Districts, every point will count. We are still the better team, but if we see them again we’ll want to remind them of that fact runner for runner we have them beat!
Kyler: 20:01, PR, 18th place, 1st Mile: 5:57, Overall Pace: 6:27
Another gusty race, Kyler, and they will keep feeling tough for another few weeks until we step off the gas a bit. Still, with a first mile on par with Twilight, your relatively aggressive start launched yourself up into the race like any good fifth runner on a state championship-caliber team would do. And then you battled! Slower than the previous race, yes, but still 9 sec. faster for 5k than you were for 3mi on this course last year. Keep up the great work!
Little T (Tristan H): 20:31, 24th place. 1st Mile: 6:02, Overall Pace: 6:36
Faster than Twilight – and maybe the only person with a faster first mile as well. Excellent to see you looking a little stronger and more aggressive in that early part of the race. It definitely serves you well to be in the same group as Kyler and Jayden, and you also proved that you can run in the heat and rougher than normal conditions. Definitely, still, some work that we can do to get you up on the balls of your feet and striding out on the kick, but stronger for sure is the theme this year and the top-end speed will come. Definitely some 19:30 kinds of times in your future!
Faster than Twilight – and maybe the only person with a faster first mile as well. Excellent to see you looking a little stronger and more aggressive in that early part of the race. It definitely serves you well to be in the same group as Kyler and Jayden, and you also proved that you can run in the heat and rougher than normal conditions. Definitely, still, some work that we can do to get you up on the balls of your feet and striding out on the kick, but stronger for sure is the theme this year and the top-end speed will come. Definitely some 19:30 kinds of times in your future!
Jayden: 20:59, 30th place. 1st Mile: 6:00, Overall Pace: 6:45
Side stitch…ugh! Nothing that you did wrong and you were far from the only one (Jackson, Omar, Sandra, etc.). That being said for every good race or two there is an occasional rough one. Good to do it here and great that Tristan was able to balance our team with a good race of his own. That is what team XC running is all about. You did an excellent job again with moving those arms quickly at the finish, and even with only one arm to work with you were kicking down the runners just ahead. As our 7th man too, you were still ahead of Brewster’s no. 5. This is good and means that you added points to their team total – just the kind of tough, run-for-place kinds of work that we will need to move along to State on Oct. 29th.
Side stitch…ugh! Nothing that you did wrong and you were far from the only one (Jackson, Omar, Sandra, etc.). That being said for every good race or two there is an occasional rough one. Good to do it here and great that Tristan was able to balance our team with a good race of his own. That is what team XC running is all about. You did an excellent job again with moving those arms quickly at the finish, and even with only one arm to work with you were kicking down the runners just ahead. As our 7th man too, you were still ahead of Brewster’s no. 5. This is good and means that you added points to their team total – just the kind of tough, run-for-place kinds of work that we will need to move along to State on Oct. 29th.
George: 22:29, 42nd place. 1st Mile: 6:29, Overall Pace: 7:14
Sorry to hear that you weren’t feeling well at the start, but you never would have guessed it based on how fast you got out and how close you were to Kyler in those first 400m. SO many good workouts in the last two weeks and you have looked incredibly comfortable when you have the watch in your hand and are pacing things out. Next week we will try something similar in the race. It’ll be a little harder to do over 3mi, but we’ll pick an ideal pace for something like 21:15 and see if you can hit it - one mile at a time. I really think by the end of the season you can break 21 min. Your race today was another very solid one and you had quite a good battle in kicking to the finish!
Sorry to hear that you weren’t feeling well at the start, but you never would have guessed it based on how fast you got out and how close you were to Kyler in those first 400m. SO many good workouts in the last two weeks and you have looked incredibly comfortable when you have the watch in your hand and are pacing things out. Next week we will try something similar in the race. It’ll be a little harder to do over 3mi, but we’ll pick an ideal pace for something like 21:15 and see if you can hit it - one mile at a time. I really think by the end of the season you can break 21 min. Your race today was another very solid one and you had quite a good battle in kicking to the finish!
Hunter: 23:29, 49th place. 1st Mile: 6:52, Overall Pace: 7:33
Your fastest first mile ever! And really just 26 seconds off of your PR best from Twilight so among our best of the day for a week-to-week comparison. Also awesome to see you get in a race with someone at the finish. You never would have had the speed to do that last year, and this year it is noticeably different. Last year, in a shorter 3mi version of that race, you were 4.5min slower, so that pretty much speaks for itself! Keep running with your group in practice and keep challenging that first mile of the race. A sub-23 min race is definitely not out of the question this season.
John: 24:26, 56th place. 1st Mile: 6:58, Overall Pace: 7:52
Race number two – and it was a tough day to be out there! Just like in practice you still look SUPER smooth. Given your relative newness to the distance, it seems like you maybe just don’t trust your fitness – but you should! That 800m repeat workout last week was SO solid. And you and George crushed it on the final leg in like 3:02 or something like that. You are stronger than you think, but seem to get a little cautious in the early part of the race. Let’s throw caution to the wind and experiment a bit this weekend. Go out with George and just see what happens. The results, I think, will be great!
Race number two – and it was a tough day to be out there! Just like in practice you still look SUPER smooth. Given your relative newness to the distance, it seems like you maybe just don’t trust your fitness – but you should! That 800m repeat workout last week was SO solid. And you and George crushed it on the final leg in like 3:02 or something like that. You are stronger than you think, but seem to get a little cautious in the early part of the race. Let’s throw caution to the wind and experiment a bit this weekend. Go out with George and just see what happens. The results, I think, will be great!
Omar: 30:31, 66th place. 1st Mile: 8:26, Overall Pace: 9:49
5k number three, Omar, and yep, it’s OK to be a little mad. A solid opening mile and like I said at the meet you are now in that groove where you will have good days and bad days with the occasional wild swing either way. It’s OK. It happens. It was hot and we worked hard last week. Everybody felt it. Someday we’ll get a little reprieve from the heat. In another two weeks, we will taper for the final races. Look forward to a little pep in your step and also to a slightly cooler race (I really hope) next weekend!
5k number three, Omar, and yep, it’s OK to be a little mad. A solid opening mile and like I said at the meet you are now in that groove where you will have good days and bad days with the occasional wild swing either way. It’s OK. It happens. It was hot and we worked hard last week. Everybody felt it. Someday we’ll get a little reprieve from the heat. In another two weeks, we will taper for the final races. Look forward to a little pep in your step and also to a slightly cooler race (I really hope) next weekend!
Birch: Thank you, Birch, for helping out with the bike sweep and leading. It was especially great for the timers to know when athletes were still out on the course, and I think it was helpful to both of our lead HS runners to fix their gaze on a moving object and not just rely on seeking out the cones that are a little harder to see. Hopefully, you will get cleared to run again with your doctor’s appointment this Tuesday!
Tristan: Glad to have you there in support and the hoverboard cheering was a novel touch. Really hopeful that your medication does the trick and that we can get you back in the groove sooner than later.
