And what a day it was for St. Joseph Cross Country

When the training is all done and you place your toe on the line for your last race of the season, all you can ask is that you have the opportunity to give it your all.  It was a beautiful day at Overbook Sunday and no question, the kids gave it all!  We had 57 young runners line up Sunday for our Championship meet and of those 57 running we had 40 come home with personal best times.  This is truly an amazing accomplishment and you should all be very proud.  Of these great finishes, there were 18 finishers in the top 25th of their races.

Kindergarten Girls - Lucia 7th , Abigail 10th, Abby B 20th, Mallory 23rd
Kindergarten Boys - Braden 17th
1st & 2nd Grade Girls - Alaina Claire 19th
1st & 2nd Grade Boys - John Michael 19th
3rd & 4th Grade Girls - Remmington 4th,  Jacie 22nd
3rd & 4th Grade Boys -  Finnigan 17th, Will 24th
5th & 6th Grade Girls - Kinslei 16th,  Abby 17th
5th & 6th Grade Boys - Mathew 8th, Jack 13th
7th & 8th Grade Girls - Annabelle 19th
7th & 8th Grade Boys - Ethan 12th, Luke 14th

                   The girls varsity team was 3rd place overall and the boys captured 4th as a team!

All 6 Varsity Runners had season best performances!! (2 not pictured)

            

We had a blast this season and thank you to all the parents who helped to make this all possible.

Go Bulldogs!  Run for Fun and Personal Bests!

**** TEAM PICTURES THURSDAY 10/2 AFTER SCHOOL****

Please send your runner or runners to school with their uniforms Thursday and shoes.  We will have the team pictures following school and then a brief season review and ICE CREAM PARTY!!  The pictures will be outside and then we will return to the gym for our party.

And then there was one.... The last meet of the season

The time is now Bulldog harriers!  Our last meet is upon us.  There are a few changes for the meet tomorrow, having to do with the schedule of races.  The main change is that the 7th and 8th grade races will be first, beginning at 1 pm. Varsity runners please arrive no later than 12 noon so you can get a proper team warm up done before the race.  The full race schedule is as follows for tomorrow.

Race 1) 7th and 8th Girls
Race 2) 7th and 8th Boys
Race 3) Kindergarten Girls
Race 4) Kindergarten Boys
*** Break for 7th and 8th Awards - Top Individual Trophies and Top Teams
Race 5) 1st & 2nd Girls
Race 6) 1st & 2nd Boys
Race 7) 3rd & 4th Girls
Race 8) 3rd & 4th Boys
Race 9) 5th & 6th Girls
Race 10) 5th & 6th Boys

For those grades K through 6 please arrive at 12:30 so that we can gather at the tent, check in and then get out on the course to cheer on the 7th and 8th graders!

Remember all of the work has all been done.  You should all be very proud of how far you have come so far.  Now it's time to enjoy the fruits of your labor.  Visualize your race and make it happen!

RUN FOR FUN AND PERSONAL BESTS!


*** Picture Day and Ice Cream social Thursday October 2nd immediately after school.  The kids need to bring their uniforms to school and after school they will change into their uniforms for our team picture.  After the team picture we will have a very brief award ceremony and Ice Cream for all!

Race Three Recap & Championship Week!

Sunday was another great day for Bull Dog Cross Country!  We had 14 Personal Bests set on a surprisingly hot day.  One more experience to learn from.  We must prepare for the variable weather. 

Congrats to those cracking the top 25 ----  Braden 8th,  Remmington 11th,  Ellie 22nd,  Jacie 23rd, Anne Marie 25th, Finnigan 10th, Joseph 18th, Will 23rd,  Aaron 24th,  Abby 21st, Julia 27th (so close great job buddy), Mathew 12th, Annabelle 17th,  Ethan 10th, and Luke 18th - WELL DONE!

So what's next?  Well, were are not done yet, we still have work to do for 2014.  Hill work tomorrow with Coach Allman and speed work Thursday.  Get strong and get fast Bull Dogs.

GET UP AND RUN!!!

Run For Fun and Personal Bests!

Meet number three!

Meet day again already!  There are no time line changes this week so we look forward to seeing everyone at 12:00.  Another check point to see how you are doing with your training.  Where have your experiences taken you for today's race?  Are you ready for a new personal best?

Have fun, RUN FOR FUN AND PERSONAL BESTS!



Tent Organization:  Help with race day check in to include numbering, and with post race water and popsicles
21st - Anthony Canon
28th - Julia Smith

Transit Coaches:  Assist with movement of runners from team tent area to the warm up area
21st - Steve Bohannon
28th - Cara Smalley

Start Line Coaches:  Assist with last minute stretching and strides to keep loose before start time
21st - Kelly Evans
28th - Tammy/Patrick Wallace

Finish Line Coaches:  Coaches will be timing each SJS Bulldog and counting places
21st - Ruth Castiello, Lane Shaver, Jen Mayo
28th - Ruth Castiello, Lane Shaver

Course Coaches:  Everybody Else!!!  J  m

And then there were two....

** NUTS AND BOLTS ** Your child needs a water bottle at every practice - Only three more to go.

And then there were two....  Half way through the racing season and we had another outstanding race day Sunday.  Two races down and two to go.  We had 58 runners hit the course Sunday and 32 came home with NEW Personal Bests!  This truly is an amazing result as the weather proved to be much hotter than expected for the day.  Look back to the last post on "Experience" and think about what new lessons you have learned for upcoming week three.  See the updated race results on the link to the right as well.

  TOP 25 Finishers Week 2!!

1 Alaina Claire  11th,  4 Remington  9th, 4 Ellie  15th 

4 Joseph 10th,   5 Kinslie 16th,  6 Abby  25th,  6 Jack 11th

6 Mathew 16th,  7 Luke  18th,  7 Ethan  10th,  8 Annabelle 21st 

*** Sportsman Of The Meet ***  Joshua


 It was just about half way through the race when a fellow competitor from a different school fell in front of Joshua.  The runner went down hard and Joshua with a heart of gold stopped in the middle of his race to help the runner up and make sure everything was ok.  Then he was back off and running.  This surly kept Joshua from the personal best for the day but well worth it.  Great stuff Joshua, you are a true St. Joseph Bull Dog Sportsman!



 It was a solid hill work out this evening and the taper begins.  We will continue to reduce the running work load over the next week and a half as we work to increase the speed in preparation for the Championship Meet.


"Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." 
-Hebrews 12:1 

"Run for Fun and Personal Best"

Experience

With many weeks of practice and the first race of the season under our belts we have begun the process of gathering many different kinds of running experiences.  So, as our second race day is upon us, the question is....what do we do with this new found experience.  I have a couple quick ideas I would like to share.

1) Pre-race preparation - Were you ready to run or is there something you can do better this next time around?  Did you get a good night sleep for the last two nights?  Did you hydrate properly?  Did you get a good breakfast and a snack?  Did you warm up enough or too much?  Did you get stretched out after warm up and get strides in before the start?  Were your shoes ready to go?  Take a moment and a plan your day before your race.

2) Trust your training -  You know the hard work you have put in during practice.  When you stand on the start line know that you can do no more.  Time to run and give it your all.  The pay off = RACE DAY!   Do your best!

3) Now that you know what the race feels like  - visualize your perfect race.  Take time to close your eyes and run your race without taking a step.  Where are you when you get to the track? How are you feeling? What is your next check point on the course or have you found another runner that you want run with or pass? Are you where you want to be? Are you controlling your breathing? See yourself all the way through the finish and a new PERSONAL BEST!

Cant wait to see you all soon.  No changes in the time lines from last week.  Let's GO BULLDOGS!

From one sun set to the next horizon

It is hard to believe that one race is already behind us, and another just days away.  Coach Allman and I had a blast this past weekend with the kids and are so proud of the efforts given.  It was great to see our returning kids hitting the course hard again, as well as those having their first cross country experience.
                   

We had great success with numerous personal bests, and we also had 13 runners placing in the top 25 in their races. (K) Braden 16th, (1) Alaina Claire  12th, (1) Wade 25th, (2) John Michael  20th, (4) Remmington 13th, (4) Joseph 19th, (4) Aaron 24th, (5) Kinslei  18th, (6) Abby 24th, (6) Mathew 19th, (6)  24th, (8) Annabelle 18th, (7) Ethan 12th and (7) Luke  17th

      
Thanks to our team photographer Anna Donnelly for some great meet pictures.

See all the results from the meet on the right hand side of the blog ...
" Race Results" - Click here for Personal Bests

 Run for Fun and Personal Bests!

It's time to race! Run for Fun and Personal Bests!

Ok, it is race time!  Our first race is this Sunday September 7^th at Overbrook School.  The meet will start at 1pm.  Please bring some cash with you. There is a $5 cost for parking.  There is also a concession stand and shaved ice truck normally for snacks after races.  I might suggest bringing your own cooler with healthy snacks and some sunscreen.

Please have your runner at the team tent for check in at 12:00.  Keep a look out for our team tent with the St. Joseph Cross Country banner.  This will be our gathering point.  The kids will check in and get their race number for the front of their jersey and then head to the start line area for our team walk through.  We will warm up and stretch and then the kids will come back to the tent.  Parents, please help keep your child near the team tent during the meet so they do not miss their race.  After their race the are free to get out and cheer for the rest of the team races.

The races will run roughly in 15 minute intervals or as near to each other as possible based on how soon the last runner in each previous race finishes.  You can generally plan on the meet wrapping up around 3:30.  This is the order of events.

Kindergarten Girls & Boys ¾ mile – Meets 1 through 3

(for the Championship meet on the 28^th the K boys and girls will be separated)

1^st/2^nd grade Girls ¾ mile

1^st/2^nd grade Boys ¾ mile

3^rd /4^th grade Girls 1 mile

3^rd /4^th grade Boys 1 mile

5^th/6^th grade Girls 1 mile

5^th/6^th grade Boys 1 mile

7^th/8^th grade Girls 1.5 mile

7^th/8^th grade Boys 1.5 mile

Thank you to all of our race day coaches for this season.  If your name is not on this list or if you are at the meet and able to help please chip in.  These jobs are not a one person deal, and having at least two parents allows for no parent to miss their own child racing.  The more help the better for our kid’s experience and the families supporting them too!

Tent Organization:  Help with race day check in to include numbering, and with post race water and popsicles
7th - Beverly Bennett
14th - Kat Hopper
21st - Anthony Canon / Sandra Eller
28th - Julia Smith

Transit Coaches:  Assist with movement of runners from team tent area to the warm up area
7th - Melissa Patterson
14th - Stacie Baker
21st - Steve Bohannon
28th - Cara Smalley

Start Line Coaches:  Assist with last minute stretching and strides to keep loose before start time
7th - Dan Burval
14th - Nicholas & Kelly Schimmel
21st - Kelly Evans
28th - Tammy/Patrick Wallace

Finish Line Coaches:  Coaches will be timing each SJS Bulldog and counting places
7th - Ruth Castiello + 1 / Lane Shaver
14th - Ruth Castiello + 1 / Lane Shaver
21st - Ruth Castiello + 1 / Lane Shaver
28th - Ruth Castiello + 1 / Lane Shaver

Course Coaches:  Everybody Else!!!  J  We will have team rosters at the tent.  These will have the kid’s numbers so you can cheer them on by name.

RUN FOR FUN AND PERSONAL BESTS!

The Father Ryan Distance Classic and "The Shirt 2014"

Congratulations to our Becca Lydon who placed 6th and to Aaron Miller who placed 3rd tonight                  
                                           at The 6th Annual Father Ryan Distance Classic

GREAT JOB Becca and Aaron!!

"The Shirt 2014" has been delivered in full!  The kids shirts will all be delivered to them tomorrow so they will all be able to wear them to school on Friday with the bottoms of their uniforms.  Parents orders are all in as well, so bring your check books to practice and have your gear ready for the first meet!  Thanks to Doug Ebelhar (615-382-2180) with ASW Services for the great shirts this year.

GO BULLDOGS!

and then it rained

Rain, Rain, go away!  What a way to get our race week #1 started.... in the rain!  The kids did a great job today and we made it about half way through practice before the skies opened up.  Thank you all for your help today in adapting and overcoming with our weather obstacles.  The below is one of my favorite all time running posters, and I felt it fitting to be shared today.

 A few notes -

"The Shirt" update - I have been in touch with the supplier and they are doing all they can to have the shirts delivered by Thursday so I can get the kids shirts out 100% and the parents shirts too.

The Sixth Annual Father Ryan Distance Running Classic will take place on Wednesday, September 3rd at the Father Ryan track. The event is open to fourth- through eighth-grade Parochial League cross country runners.  Registration begins at 4:00 p.m.and the first race is scheduled for 5:00. There is no entry fee. For more information, contact Robert Kent at kentr@fatherryan.org.

The first annual Bull Dog Bolt is coming soon.  Time to show some school and cross country pride.  Let's get those pledges and run some laps!  The Bolt run day is September 12th.