A case of pre-race jitters, a bit of mid-race nausea, and even a nest of yellow jackets, are a few of the obstacles that our student runners have overcome to compete in cross-country races this season. On the flip side, an enormous sense of accomplishment and cheers from their community are their reward.
Fourth graders Dawes, Marsden, and Clark who are all competing this season agreed they enjoy having a challenge, getting faster, working out, and just doing it with friends. Said Clark, “I like the feeling right after you finish the race. Where you just look at the track and you’re like, ‘I ran all of that!' That’s my favorite feeling.”
Sixth graders Gwynnie, Annie, and Will, who are also running, had similar things to say about how rewarding cross country is. They described how hard and tiring a race could be, and that it’s common to sometimes feel a bit dispirited when you’re at the back of the pack. But the cheers from their friends, family, and coach help to lift them up and push them to the finish line.
Gwynnie described a recent race, “It was a big loop, and I was at the farthest point from the finish line. I heard [Coach] Joel say, ‘Go Gwynnie!’ That helped me because he had to scream really loud.”
Students Compete in Two Age Groups on Courses Throughout Marin
Turnout has been fantastic this year across the grade levels, with many first time runners competing.
This year, third through fifth graders are competing in four races of one mile each with the county’s championship on Thursday, October 24 at the San Geronimo Golf Course. Fifth grader Shae, who has won all of her races this year, is a favorite to win at county as well! Third grader Sonny is also looking very strong and could win for his age level as well.
Sixth through eighth graders are also running in four races of 1.5 to 1.75 miles each with the county’s championship on Monday, October 28 at the College of Marin Indian Valley Campus. Clayton in 7th grade (who won the first race of the season) is a contender, as are 8th grader Gracie and siblings 7th grader Charlie and 6th grader Daisy.
Says Coach Joel, “Even if our kids are not coming in at the beginning of the pack, they’re not getting discouraged by it. They recognize that it’s a tough sport, but it makes us stronger, it makes us fitter every time that we do it.” He added that team members are proud to represent our school.
Running Beyond Marin Horizon
“We’re seeing a lot of our graduates going on to run cross country in high school. We’ve been out training and we’ve run into our alumni out on the bike paths training as well!” says Coach Joel.
One recent alumnus Quinn Carr, who got his start in cross country running at Marin Horizon, is now running for the Bay School in San Francisco, and has already set two freshman course records and is leading the freshman team.
As cross country season wraps up, basketball season is on the horizon. Come out and cheer on your Wildcats!