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.