Twas the Week Before PostseasonOur final week of the regular season was still an eventful one, with one last meet. You can find a few photos for that here, and a recap should be out tomorrow (Saturday). We also fit in a pasta dinner, as well as a track competition for today's fun day.
The Week AheadIt's district week. This is where the magic happens. Monday 10/27 (3:30-5:45PM): Race-Pace Workout at Course Tuesday 10/28 (3:30-5:00PM): Fun Day at School Wednesday 10/29 (3:30-5:00PM): 72-Hour Workout at Course. Our final pasta dinner will follow. Thursday 10/30 (12:00-1:30PM): Easy run at Viola Blechle Park. Friday 10/31 (9:00AM-12:00PM): 24-Hour Workout at Oak Ridge (Bus will leave from school). Saturday 11/1 (7AM-???): District Meet (More Info Below) District Meet PreviewSince the state introduced the Championship Factor back in 2020, our boys and girls teams have only raced in the same classification once (back in 2022). Thankfully with the new site structure, this year will once again feature both our teams racing in Class 1, where the District 1 Meet will be at Oak Ridge. The district contains roughly 20 teams on both the girls and boys sides. However, many of these smaller schools don't have enough runners to score as a team. On the boys side, 14 of the schools have had at least 5 boys complete a 5K this season. On the girls side that number is only 6. Only the top four teams from each district advance to the state meet. For the boys, Van Buren has cemented their place as the heavy favorite to win. Meadow Heights has made some strong strides for a case as the second best. Our boys are in the thick of the battle for one of the last two spots, with Alton, Oak Ridge, and Bloomfield also in the mix. For the girls, going into the year we expected a dogfight at districts with defending state champion Dora. The announcement of district assignments brought two surprises. First, Dora was placed in District 2, leaving a big opening at the top of District 1. Second, Alton was not only moved down to Class 1 but back over from District 2. Right now they are the favorite for the district title on paper, but it's going to be a very close race between our ladies and theirs.  The course at Oak Ridge is one we've raced at many times over the years. It is essentially the same course this time around. The biggest major difference is the start and finish. The course used to include a pretty sharp uphill soon after the starting line. This year the start has pushed over and back. There is still an uphill, but it should be longer and more gradual than before. The finish was next to the start and therefore also used to include a sharp downhill that has claimed many victims of a tumble in the dash to the end. But the finish has also been pushed back and over to make it more gradual. Otherwise the course is essentially two (nearly) identical loops around the school grounds and an adjacent crop field. The main hill is the one where the start and finish occur, but it traversed up and down at several other points in the loop. The ideal spot for spectators is this same region near the start and finish, as runners will pass through them multiple times per loop. For the more dedicated fans, the most valuable place is on the backside of the farm field between the 2-mile and 1-mile markers. The Oak Ridge meet is typically on a Tuesday afternoon in late September, when excessive heat has pushed back race times and shortened race distances. That combined with the structure of the course tends to make it a slower one. But on a Saturday morning at the start of November with high stakes racing, expect much faster times.  At districts there are only varsity races, and we are only allowed to run our top 7 athletes. That gives us the following lineups.  Awards for both genders will follow the conclusion of the girls race (at around 11:45). The top 30 individuals receive all-district medals and advance to state as an individual if they don't already advance as part of a team. One other important reminder is that an admission fee of $6 per person is charged at the district meet. This must be paid in cash upon arrival. Shirts (short-sleeve $16, long-sleeve $18) and concessions will also be available for cash-only payment. State Shirts/HoodiesAndrew at Hadyen Creative who has done our state shirts/hoodies the last few years just welcomed a new child with his wife earlier this week. That's wonderful news, but it has made things a little chaotic for him and our usual process. Andrew is confident he can get our order done once again, but the artwork might be a bit delayed compared to usual. We were hoping to have the final design done before making the shirt orders live, but given the circumstances it seemed best to go ahead and proceed. This year we will once again offer a short-sleeve shirt and a hoodie. The athletes chose royal blue for the fabric color. Both options are made from high-quality material and will have a state-bound design for our school on the front and all qualifiers on the back. We have to get items out on Thursday 11/6 so that runners can wear them for the sendoff, but the results of Saturday’s district meet obviously affect who will order them as well as the design on the back. That’s a very small turnaround window. To make life easier on Hayden Creative, our screen printer, we will be doing an early bird order before the district race for those who know they will be ordering regardless. Items ordered by Wednesday 10/29 at 3pm will receive a discount. Regular orders will close at 3pm on Sunday 11/2. Price breakdown will be as follows:  Early-bird orders are now live and may be placed using the link below. Payment can be any of the following:
Elementary School GreetingOur team has been invited to greet the elementary students as they're being dropped off for school on Thursday, November 6. Students should plan to arrive before 7:30 that morning to help with the greeting. Our hope is to build enthusiasm for our team with the younger students as we prepare for state competition. District Meet PoliciesThe hosts of the district meet sent out a notice that strictly prohibits the following items from being brought to the meet. We ask that all of our fans comply with these regulations.
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