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Cross Country Fall 2019

3 February 2020
Kalem S, Rogers ‘21, Captain; Photo by Paul Fletcher
The 2019 Cross Country Running season began with a trip around beautiful Thetis Lake, followed by a swim, and a top secret ice cream stop. It seemed so easy, but by the next week, Mrs Reynolds and Mr Skardal had the team running over roots, branches, and rocks - not to mention through puddles and mud. We ran up hills; we ran down hills; then we mastered more hills. There was torrential rain, swollen streams that had burst their banks, mud-slicked corners that only a few could successfully navigate, mountains that seemed unscalable, and Clif bars. Always Clif bars. Undaunted, we continued our training for the competitive season.

The team participated in the Cowichan Valley XC Series, and runners who participated in all events earned a very stylish completion shirt. The series consisted of four races, and several of our runners, including Peyton H, Katie L, and Suzanna G earned first place finishes. The final run was hosted by Brentwood at Cobble Hill. Although it was a labyrinthine mostly uphill, race, our marshals did a fine job of guiding the runners up and down the right trails.

The CVXC Series was followed by provincial qualifiers, which were held in Nanaimo. It was a cold and drizzly day, but our runners earned great results. Peyton H (Jr Girls), Suzanna G (Sr Girls), Avik B and Thomas M (Jr Boys), and Keaton H individually qualified for provincials. Keaton, Jack NG, Callum BC and Will M (Sr Boys) also qualified as a team and competed at provincials.

Held in Abbotsford, the provincials were hosted on a crisp sunny day. It seemed like a dream, but a gruelling hill in the middle of the course made the race a real challenge. All of our runners did well, and Keaton finished 2nd in the Sr Boys race. He has since signed a letter of intent to attend and run for UCLA where he will study aerospace engineering.

Of course, the competitive season offers more than races and challenging events. We also have many traditions. From punishing core workouts, to Mr Skardal’s attempts to disappear before our eyes, to beautiful and scenic destination runs, it is not surprising that the runners remain so cheerful, regardless of the weather.

One of our proudest traditions is the Runner of the Month, which awards one distinguished runner a highly coveted and specially customized bottle of Gatorade. Another of our traditions is performed at the end of each term: in gratitude, we give back to the trails that carried us by going out to pick up litter. Fine results and good company mean that we had much to be grateful for.

Kalem S, Rogers ‘21, Captain

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