An Adventurous WeekWe had a great second week of our season. The front half had heat and storms, but the second half has been perfect so far. The Week AheadMonday 8/25 (3:30-5:15PM): Neural Day at School Tuesday 8/26 (3:30-5:45PM): Race Pace Workout at Course (Meet by Stage) Wednesday 8/27 (3:30-5:30PM): Fun day/recovery run at school. Thursday 8/28 (3:30-4:45PM): 48-Hour Workout at Course. Pasta Dinner to follow hosted by the Burgins and Meyers. Friday 8/29 (3:30-4:45PM): Pre-Race Workout at Course Saturday 8/30 (6:45AM-???): Jackson Meet (more details below) Jackson Meet PreviewThe Jackson Meet has been the first races of the season for our team since the beginning of our program. In fact, the meet was the very first ever for SV Cross Country back in 2011. Unlike our other meets, the races are only 2 miles rather than the standard 5K. Furthermore, races are divided by grade rather than Varsity/JV, with the freshmen racing first and boys starting 2 minutes after the girls. Unlike the typical setup, team scoring is based off the first four runners for boys and first three runners for girls. Sadly that means only our sophomore boys and senior girls will score. Boys starting times for each grade are below.  Most years there are roughly 30 schools and more than 500 runners across all races, so expect crowds. If spectators arrive super early, they can sometimes find spots along the main drive through the park. Otherwise, they will need to park at the swimming pool. If that fills up there is a gravel lot near the skate park, and even that can sometimes get quite a few vehicles. The start and the finish of the course are right next to each other, and runners pass that same area in the middle of the race. Our team tent is also fairly close, so it's an ideal location for spectators. Otherwise the course goes pretty much all over the north side of the park, so there are many parts of the course with minimal spectators to cheer runners on. If you are the more adventurous type, consider watching at one of those spots. Timing will be done by Big River Race Management, and so you should be able to find the meet and access live/final results here on race day. There will be an award ceremony after the final race, with medals going to the top 25 finishers in each race. That should include at least a few of our runners, so please consider sticking around.  Meet ExpectationsAll athletes are expected to travel to meets on the bus with the team. Athletes are encouraged to return from meets on the bus. We usually stop somewhere to eat, and it's a good opportunity for athletes to debrief their race experiences together while supporting and celebrating each other. However, we recognize that at times plans will make this unfeasible. The evening before each meet a survey will be posted in the parent GroupMe asking whether your child will be riding the bus home. The poll will remain open until the conclusion of the meet. If an athlete is not riding the bus home, it is imperative that this be indicated in the survey so that we are not waiting/searching for an athlete who left long ago. Athletes not riding the bus must either leave with parents or else a coach must receive direct communication from a parent stating who an athlete is allowed to leave with. An athlete telling a coach "My mom said I could ride with So-and-So" doesn't work. A parent needs to talk to a coach or message them before an athlete will be allowed to leave with someone other than a parent. If an athlete isn't riding the bus, we do still prefer that they remain for as much of the meet as possible. We are one team. We might race at different times but we compete as a team, and it's important to recognize that by supporting teammates in other races. Potluck Dinner Final Call to RSVPOur team potluck is scheduled for 9/2 at 6:30PM. If you haven't already done so, please RSVP for your family at this link no later than Thursday 8/28, as the chicken order will be placed at that point. When you select the type of food item on the form you are bringing, you can add a more specific description in the comments. For example, if you select "Dessert", you can put brownies in the comment. This allows others to know exactly what is being brought. You can see the full list of what is already being brought by selecting the option at the bottom of the form. To cover the cost of the chicken we are asking that each family pay $3 per adult or high school age child and $2 for any children in grades K-8. Anyone younger than that eats free. If you haven't already paid, please do so no later than the night of the potluck either by cash (in envelope with athlete name and potluck), check to Mr. McLain, or Venmo (mistahmclain) with potluck in the memo.  Course BuildThank you to everyone who signed up to help with the course builds. Our first build was a huge success, and we got so much accomplished. Our next build is on Tuesday 9/2 from 4:30-6:30PM. The full list of shifts is below. There are still a few openings. If you would like to claim one of them, please use this link.  Pasta DinnersThank you to everyone who signed up to help host one of our pasta dinners. At this point we do have at least one family signed up for every pasta dinner. We did have to move the dinner on 9/9 to 9/8 to make that work. There are still a few dinners in need of a second family. If a family has not signed up, please help with one of these if at all possible. Given the size of our team, we really need every family to step up to help with a pasta dinner. These are some of the best memories for runners in our program. We want to be able to continue to offer these opportunities to our athletes, but that is dependent on parents helping out. You can see the current signup list below. If you can help with one of the remaining dinners, you may sign up using this link.  Meet Snack Fee ReminderAs addressed in the parent info page, this year we are pivoting from parents bringing snacks/drinks to coaches organizing this. To cover the costs of this, we are asking that each family pay a fee of $40. If a family has not already paid this fee, please do so. This can be paid via cash (in an envelope with name and "Meet Snacks on it), check to Mr. McLain, or Venmo (mistahmclain). Snocker DollarsI know there was a desire for athletes to have tabs or balances with the Snocker. While that isn't feasible, we are introducing Snocker Dollar purchases These are slips of paper that work like gift certificates and are redeemable for $1 from the Snocker. Athletes may purchase them from my classroom during regular Snocker hours, or parents may send a payment for an amount of their choice via Venmo with the heading Snocker Dollars, and I will deliver that number of Snocker Dollars to the athlete. Unfortunately there are no "Snocker Quarters" at this point, so athletes will still need to purchase $1 worth of items at a time. But hopefully this alleviates concerns of athletes carrying excessive money around or parents not knowing where that money will be spent.  Meet Uniform RulesQuestions about uniforms for races come up a lot regarding what an athlete can or can't wear. The rules have become much less strict in recent years, but sometimes the old rules are still spread among parents and runners as if they are in still in effect. I have linked the current uniform rules from NFHS, the governing body for high school sports whose uniform rules the state follows. You are welcome to read them in their entirety, but below are a few points of emphasis that come into play during the season.
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