10/10 Newsletter

Back to Training

Coming off of our flurry of races (check these links for a recap and photos from Notre Dame), we have a two-week break before our next meet.  That opened up a dedicated window for training this week.  We got in another (rain-shortened) neural day and some race-pace work, but we still closed out the week with some hide and seek tag fun, an easy run on the trails of the Sago Property, and this evening's team dinner at Hiko.

The Week Ahead

Monday 10/13 (3:30-4:45PM):  Pre-Race Workout at Course

Tuesday 10/14 (3:30-5:45PM):  Race-Pace Workout at Course

Wednesday 10/15 (3:30-5:00PM):  Fun Day/Recovery Run at City Park

Thursday 10/16 (3:30-4:45PM):  48-Hour Workout at Course

Friday 10/17 (3:30-4:45PM):  Optional Pre-Race Workout at Course

Saturday 10/18 (7:00AM-???):  Conference Meet (more details below)

Upcoming Race Lineups

Most athletes will only race one the remaining two regular season meets.  That breakdown is as follows:

Conference Meet Preview

Our Conference Meet has always been a bit of a death trap.  With the departure of St. Pius a few years ago, there are only 10 schools in the Jefferson County Athletic Association:  Crystal City, Desoto, Festus, Grandview, Herculaneum, Hillsboro, Jefferson, Perryville, Windsor, and ourselves.  Historically it has featured some of the best teams in the state.  This year isn’t shaping up to be an exception.  In Class 4 Festus is ranked 2nd on the boys side and 1st on the girls side.  Desoto is also ranked 6th on the boys side.  In Class 3 Herculaneum is ranked 1st on the boys side and 2nd on the girls.  And in Class 2 Jefferson is ranked 9th on the boys side.  Other than Crystal City (who doesn’t have enough boys or girls to score as a team), we are the only Class 1 school in the conference.  That definitely makes us a small fish in a pond with some very big ones.

The meet taking place during Homecoming weekend also complicates things.  Each of our athletes had the choice whether to run the meet.  Most of them did, but with the understanding that both our training and our sleep are going to be somewhat compromised the week before.  We also need to get back in time for athletes to get ready for the dance.  To help facilitate this, we will only be running in the varsity races.  That also isn’t ideal, but it’s the circumstances we have.  The races will look as follows:

The Conference meet has been in Festus for as long as we’ve been part of the JCAA.  The course at Larry Crites Memorial Park in Festus has undergone a few revisions over the years, but the course this year should be the same as it was the last few.  The starting line is somewhat in the middle of all of the action, which includes quite a bit of repetition.  The first mile is relatively flat and ends in the middle of two loops through the woods.  The second mile takes athletes the greatest span of the course and includes the steepest hill.  The third mile involves one final loop (albeit backwards this time) through the woods before athletes travel across the park road into a giant “U” toward the finish.

All of the repetition does make the course fairly spectator-friendly for those not wanting to travel too much.  Staying near the starting line will allow you to see athletes three times, with opportunity for more with a little venturing.  And a brisk walk can get someone over to the finish line just in time.  For the die-hard fans, the no-man land in the middle of the second mile tends to see nearly zero spectators.

As alluded to previously, the boys race should go pretty handedly to Festus.  With zero district competition other than four Crystal City runners, we mostly plan to use the fast competition to pull some better races out of us.  With some very impressive performances our boys could finish as high as 5th.  

The girls race should also go handedly to Festus with Herculaneum a clear but distant 2nd.  But with minimal district competition in this race as well, the focus for our girls is to try to nab 3rd place.  That would be the best performance ever at Conference by a long shot.  It is certainly within reach but will take some stellar races.

Medals are hard to come by at Conference, as they only go to the top 15.  This aligns with those who earn all-conference honors, as places 1-5 receive first-team, places 2-10 receive second team, and places 11-15 receive honorable mention.

Postseason Q&A

Now is the time of the season where a lot of questions start trickling in about the postseason.  To try to get out in front of as many of them as possible, you can find a list of frequently asked questions here.  If you still have questions, feel free to reach out to Mr. McLain.  However, please check the Q&A first to make sure it hasn't already been answered there.