Battle of the 509 Invite

The boys team had a choice this year to either run Big Cross Invite on Friday night or the 509 Invite on Saturday. A few JV boys chose to run Big Cross but most of the team went to 509. 

Nathan ran in the JV race at 509 Invite. He almost had a PR! He missed it by 1 second. He said he got boxed in the first mile and then didn't know how to pace himself the last few miles. He didn't want to run too fast and burn himself out. He still had a really great race. He was the first falcon home in the JV race. His time was fast enough this week that next week, he will run on varsity. 

Heading over to the start line. 

They are off! 

Finally not boxed in and trying to figure out his pace. 

Heading into the chute which is like 400 meters long. 

Fans of the week were Papa, Gram and Auntie Laura. Papa had surgery and they tore a muscle in his arm during surgery. He's been in a lot of pain due to that so they haven't been able to come to any meets. He was feeling good enough today to come so we were all very happy. 

 

Big Cross Invite

Elizabeth ran the Big Cross Invite in Pasco on Friday night. The top 12 girls went to Spokane that night for an overnight trip to run at the Battle of the 509 Invite.  Elizabeth was technically #11 or #12 but she opted out and decided to run Big Cross instead. 

It turned out to be a great choice! She loved running in the dark and said since she couldn't see the upcoming hills, it wasn't as intimidating. You just went with what came up in front of you in the dark. Jeremy took her to Walmart and bought the girls team glow in the dark bracelets. 

It was really hard to see who was who on the course. You didn't know if she was coming until she was about right in front of your face. They had the course lit up decently with lights but it was still pretty dark. Luckily, it wasn't cold either. She said it was great running temperature. 

For some reason, neither the top Pasco or Chiawana runners were there (they didn't go to 509 either). So Elizabeth got 3rd place in the race!  She got a 3rd place ribbon and was very excited about it! 

She was also the first falcon home. The next day, Nathan would run the 509 Invite and also was the first falcon home in the race. It was fun that happened the same weekend even though it was at 2 different invites. 

The girls walking the course before sundown. 

Team huddle before the race. You can see all their bracelets. 

Elizabeth and a teammate running by. I didn't know it was her until right about then. 

I couldn't get many good pictures obviously. But it was very fun for her! She didn't get a PR but it was pretty close. 

 

Bellevue Invite videos

 

Bellevue Invite

The top 12 runners on the cross country boy's team went to the Bellevue Invite. The girls team got the weekend off.  The meet was less than 48 hours after the Walla Walla meet. The team got home at 10 pm on Thursday from Walla Walla and then had to get up for school Friday and then leave on the bus for Bellevue at 1:30 on Friday.  That was too tight of a turnaround to get all Nathan's food in order so Jeremy and I drove him to the meet Saturday morning. Jeremy took the day off to do so. 

It wasn't Nathan's fastest race. He said his legs were still dead from his amazing Walla Walla race less than 48 hours before. Plus, as you can see below, the start of the race and the middle part, you had to run across a sandy beach. He didn't know how to run fast on sand and said it was really challenging. 

The race was divided into interesting categories. The #1 and #2 runners of both genders ran together in a race. Then, the #3 and #4 runners and then so on through the top 8 runners. The JV races were bigger as they weren't split precisely. Nathan had been slotted to run the JV race with 4 of his teammates. But then, one of the varsity runners got injured so Nathan ran in the #3 and #4 varsity race so it was a challenge. 

The facilities were amazing! The parking was great. They had real bathrooms that didn't have huge lines too!  It was held at Lake Sammamish State Park on a free parking day so we didn't need a Discover Pass to park. It was a long day over and back but the weather was gorgeous and the course was fun to run around watching the athletes run! 

The state of Nathan's race! 

He's in the middle trying to figure out how to run across the sand. 

That morning had been the Prosser hot air balloon festival. We had seen balloons floating in the sky on our way to Bellevue early that morning. I looked online and it said they had a "night glow" so on our way home, we decided to swing through. Unfortunately, it was 8:00 and it was just ending so we didn't see much except the few balloons left standing and we got stuck in a bunch of traffic trying to get out. 

 

Walla Walla Meet Videos

 

Here are the short videos I took of the kids running in Walla Walla. The last one of Nathan's legs failing him at the finish line is the highlight. He made it though! 

Walla Walla Meet MCC #1

The cross country team had their first of two league meets in Walla Walla. Both had great races! Nathan was the first falcon home in the JV race. He was excited that he almost caught up with the huge Kamiakin pack in front of him. 

Purple swarm warming up

Pre race pep talk

They are off!

Elizabeth running alongside 2 of her best friends who run for the rival school. 

I like watching in this pretty area in the park on the other side of the creek. 

Some pictures taken by the yearbook photographer. 

Nathan's JV team warmup. 

Pre race pep talk. 

More warmups

And they are off! 

The cheer team. Auntie Laura was there too but I didn't get any pictures of her! 

Nathan and this Walla Walla guy went back and forth for a long time. 

Finally on the last hill, Nathan passed him and never looked back. 

Finish line sprint. His legs nearly gave out at the end! 

Yearbook picture