The Start of a SeasonThis week we officially broke open our season, starting it much like our summer weeks with a neural day and a long run at the lake. It's been a hot week, but our athletes have show up ready to work hard and have fun!
The Week AheadMonday 8/17 (3:30-5:45PM): Neural Day at School (Bring Spikes). This will be very similar to our summer neural days with a bit more volume and a bit more games. Tuesday 8/18 (3:45-6:00PM): Long Run at Perry County Community Lake. To keep things close to school, we will once again do our long run at the lake. We'll meet in the same parking lot as last week. Wednesday 8/19 (3:30-5:15PM): Recovery Run/Fun Day at School (Bring Spikes). We'll do a recovery run before playing some kickball. Thursday 8/20 (3:30-5:15PM): Easy Run at Blechle Park. This will be very similar to last Thursday's run. Friday 8/21 (3:30-4:45PM): Pre-Race Workout at Course (Bring Spikes). This will be similar to last Friday's workout, but we will do it at the course instead of school which is where it will be most of the rest of the meeting. Saturday 8/15 (8:00-11:00AM): Mock Meet at Course (Bring Spikes). With our first meet just a week away, we'll get some practice for the real thing. We'll practice setting up for a meet, warming up for a race, and breaking off as a team before doing some 600s and 400s at race pace. Athlete ChecklistThere are a lot of things that need to be turned in/accomplished as the season begin, and it can be hard to keep track of it all. We've created a checklist where you can see all of these things and whether an athlete has completed them. It also shows an athlete's progress toward the 14 practice days required in order to be eligible to race. You can access the checklist here. At this point it should be up to date, but if you believe there are any mistakes, please contact Mr. McLain. Course Build DaysOur first course build day is this Saturday. We try to get the brunt of the work done this day so that our course is ready to practice on and too much work isn't left for the second build day. Thank you to everyone who has already signed up to help, including some non-athlete students looking for service hours. That being said, there are still a number of jobs that need to be filled. Currently the biggest need is on the crew setting posts for boundaries along turns and other key places on the course. We use plastic step-in posts. If it's rained recently, they go in without much difficulty. But if it's been dry recently, that's another story, and we've found pre-drilling holes makes things much easier. Having several people with strong enough drills/bits on this crew would be a huge help. If you haven't already signed up and can help, the form to do so can be found here. Our second build day on 9/1 is also in need of workers. If you would like to sign up for it, that form can be found here. Team PotluckFollowing our second course build day on 9/1, we have or team potluck dinner. This takes the place of a pasta dinner for our home meet and provides an opportunity for not just athletes but families to gather together. Parents and siblings of athletes are invited. The main course will be chicken from the American Legion, with the other sides and items provided potluck style by families. To cover that cost, we are asking for $3 per person high school age and up and $2 for students in grades K-8. Anyone younger is free. We do ask that you RSVP using this form with how many people from your family will be attending no later than 8/27 so that we have enough chicken. Payment can be made by the following means:
To cover the other items (salads, sides, and desserts), we are asking that each family bring a dish. On the RSVP form there is the ability to list the dish(es) you will bring. Please select the type of item you will be bringing and then add a description in the comments section. While in the form, if you click on "View Current Responses" at the bottom, you can see what people have already signed up to bring so we don't get 28 potato casseroles. You should also get a confirmation email from which you can edit your response in case you need to make any changes. Pasta Dinner SignupsThank you to all of the families who have stepped up to serve as either primary or secondary hosts for our pasta dinners! Currently every dinner has a primary host, but they could all use more secondary hosts, particularly the dinners on Tuesday 9/22 and Wednesday 10/28. We would ask that each family sign up to help in some capacity. Families that haven't already signed up can do so using this form. To make sure each dinner has ample coverage, we ask that if at all possible, the second slot for a dinner not be claimed until the first slot for all dinners has been filled. Shoe SalesIf an athlete still needs shoes/spikes, many sales are still going on the rest of the month. Online: --First to the Finish has some pretty steep discounts on a number of models of spikes. Do make sure they say cross country or XC. --TC Running Company has several spike models on clearance. Note that the Adizero Avanti from Adidas, the Dragonfly from Nike, and the Havok from Saucony are all more aggressive and probably not ideal from new runners. The rest of the models that are on sale are all suitable for beginners. --Running Warehouse has some closeout deals on a few of last year's models, though sizes are limited. The HOKA Crescendo is one of the most cushioned spikes out there, making it favorable for beginners. The Puma Crossfox and On's Cloudspike XC are both more aggressive super spikes, meaning they are better options for athletes with several seasons of spike use under their feet. And be aware the On Citius is actually a track spike (despite the filter for XC spikes). In-Person: --Missouri Running Company (Cape Girardeau) are running a promo the first two weeks of August where cross country athletes will save 20% when they buy a combo of spikes and training shoes. --Fleet Feet St. Louis (5 locations in the greater St. Louis area) is offering a 15% discount to all cross country athletes during the month of August on the purchase of regularly priced shoes, spikes, socks, apparel, as well as 10% off all electronics. --Big River Running Company (3 St. Louis locations) is offering a student athlete discount August 1 through September 15. That entails $20 off any training shoes, $15 off any spikes, and 15% off any accessories and apparel in store. You should also be able to use the codes STUDENTATHLETE20 and STUDENTATHLETE15 respectively to get these discounts online. Team StoreIt is still possible to order items from our team store. However, orders might not be ready before our first meet. If you would like to place orders, you can find the full assortment of items at this page, and it's also accessible from the top menu on our team website. Orders can be placed and paid for online. Items can either be shipped directly to your home or picked up in town. Meet SnacksWe have snacks and drinks available for athletes at all meets to allow for adequate pre- and post- race fueling and hydration. Last year we switched from having parents sign up to provide these to simply charging a fee and then the team providing hem. The feedback on this was generally positive.
Pre-race nutrition is tricky for runners. We've been fortunate to consult with dietitians like Maddie Riley who work with runners to get lists of items ideal for athletes at different stages pre- and post-race. Centralizing the snack provision allowed some consistency in options for athletes so that if they find something that works for them, it will be available at each and every subsequent meet. As it also allows the ability to buy items in bulk and/or on sale, we hope it divides the financial burden evenly among all families and ultimately lowers that burden. And more than anything, it simplified logistics with coolers, drop-offs, space, etc. while giving peace of mind that snacks and drinks were always going to be there. Thankfully none of our snacks have to be shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, so we are able to keep the fee the same as last year. We are asking that each family contribute $40 to help cover the cost of these items. This not only covers the cost of snacks, water, and electrolytes at all meets, but it also helps with snacks and electrolytes provided at all hard workouts this summer and during the season, as well as the Snocker Dollars that are awarded to the top performers after every meet. If families have not already done so, the snack fee can be paid via the following means:
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