The boys and girls cross country teams competed in the Area Championship meet on Tuesday at Georgia Highlands College. Varsity and JV teams raced, combined with 13 boys and 9 girls hitting the course. The boys’ team swept through the course with 6 boys in the top ten, claiming the area title in a dominant win. Top ten finishes for the boys team included senior Hayes Parsa, area champion; senior Lee Donahue, runner-up; and senior Zach Kimani, junior Murray Ellington, sophomore Gray Smith, and eighth grader Max Burnett in subsequent places. The girls’ team showed out as well, finishing third out of six as a team, with junior Cora Fannin placing third overall for girls. The caliber and characteristics of a cross-country course play a significant role in the runner’s success, but so do the outdoor conditions. The weather and conditions before and during race time were less than desirable for a high-stakes race with heavy rain falling across the area.
“It was raining for the first mile, so I had to run with my eyes somewhat closed to keep the rain out of my eyes, so that was a little frustrating, but besides that, it was a pretty good course,” Donahue said.
Similar to the course and conditions, the preparation process is a deciding factor in your race and season. Long-term training and discipline ahead of and during the season are crucial for manifesting and working towards a successful season.
“I have been training since May for cross country, so this is sort of the peak of what we want to see as we go into Championship season,” Donahue said.
Preparation before races is often cumulative, so short term preparation days to hours before a race is paramount.
“Short term, I hydrated, I got my mind ready for it, and I talked to the team about strategy for the course,” Ellington said.
Like Ellington mentioned, strategy is an important part of the race and is often utilized by the team as a whole, but can also look like a personal goal or plan for an individual runner.
“The strategy was pretty much to run with Gray [Smith], and stick with him for the first couple miles, and then the last mile, kind of pace myself, and it worked well, because I PR’d by 45 seconds, so it was a great race,” Ellington said.
Encouragement by teammates and spectators helps runners stay motivated especially as fatigue grows towards the final mile.
“I am really bad at running really fast and then just getting slow at the end,” sophomore Annie Watterson said. “Cris [Cristina Martin Izquierdo] was around me which helps me push myself and keep with people.”