8/29 update

 Redhawks,

Sorry I am so late in getting this out. It has been a very chaotic first week of school.

The meet this week is on FRIDAY (see our schedule at the top of this page) at the Weber County Fairgrounds. The bus will leave at 1:15, which means you will be excused from all of 4th period.

3:45 Varsity Boys

4:00 Varsity Girls

4:30 JV Girls

4:45 JV Boys

5:15 Awards

If you cannot attend the meet please let me know ASAP so I don't erroneously enter you and pay for your entry.

I wanted to highlight the practice last Thursday when we did 400s. That was one of the best effort and attitude practices of the year and it was a lot of fun to be a part of. Let's keep building off of that.

Some parents have expressed interest in hosting team dinners on the days before meets. Basically the host would provide an entree and each attendee would bring a side to share or $2 to help offset costs. The tune of the dinner would be up to the host. If you are interested in hosting one of the following days please let me know and I'll add you to the calendar. First come first serve on the dates. We have ~50 kids on the team, which is kind of a lot, so don't feel pressured to volunteer. Some have hosted at their homes, a park near their home, or even church buildings. Here are the dates:

Thursday 9/2

Thursday 9/9

Wednesday 9/15

Thursday 9/23

Tuesday 9/28

Tuesday 10/6

Tuesday 10/12

Tuesday 10/27

If you would like to order any redhawks gear, please view this order form, print it off, pay in the office, and then return it to me by Monday. All orders are optional. Order Form

Let me know if you have questions.

Coach Jacobson

8/22 update

Redhawks,

We had an excellent day at the meet on Friday. Well done to all of you. The results can be found here.

I was really proud of the effort on display, and as I said after the meet, I really enjoy watching you run. I love running, of course, but it is more about knowing how hard you have worked and watching that training pay off and seeing you push yourselves to the limit. If you've seen the film "Moneyball" with Brad Pitt, you'll recall Billy Bean, portrayed by Pitt, saying, "how can you not be romantic about baseball?" (if you don't know the scene, google it and you can find the clip on youtube). When I see the effort - when you reach the point where you feel have given everything you have and then somehow you reach down and give a little bit more, the sportsmanship, and the hard work required to improve I often find myself thinking the same, "how can you not be romantic about running?"

The team ran very well, and you all are doing quite well at ushering in the Redhawks-era, and there is more to do. The girls won the meet in a decisive manner, but they walked away more ready than ever to improve on their individual and team performance. The boys finished in a close second, not much ahead of 4th if WX had their whole team present, meaning there are 4 teams very close together on the boys' side who could reasonably win region in October. 

Bountiful XC has never won a region trophy for the girls and boys in the same year - can it be done this year? Absolutely it can, but whether it will or not will depend on how hard we work over the next month and a half. And I don't mean just the 7 runners in the varsity race, I mean every single one of us. Our team is better together. When our number 13 runner, for instance, works harder, it is an example and creates a culture and energy that inspires every other person to work harder. We are better together. When we work hard together we all get better. Redhawks fly together! (Not the bird, mind you, but the runners do.)

Moving forward, we will not be racing this week, which will allow us to get a quality week of training in. School starts on Monday by the way. I realize some of you are just learning that (@ you know who you are), but Monday morning 7:30 AM the high school begins. Those of you who are in the class will meet at the track at 1 PM. Those of you not in the class will come on up and be ready to roll at 2:40. JH kids will come as soon as they can after school concludes and warm up together. 

If we are going to reach our full potential we must be more consistent in training. I don't care if you finished first or last, each of you ask yourself how you can be more consistent in your training. Find a way to do it better, and then do it starting on Monday. A bit of self-reflection will go a long way in helping you as an individual and us as a team reach our potential. 

Lastly, if you are looking for a film to watch this weekend, might I suggest the film Secretariat (not seabiscuit, terrible film, but amazing book, so if you are looking for a good read, I absolutely recommend Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand (the same author of the well-known book "Unbroken", the story of the incredible life of Louis Zamperini - who raced in the 1936 Olympic 5000m in Berlin, (the same Olympics chronicled in "the Boys in the Boat"), and then went on to serve in the US Air Force during World War II as a bombardier in the B-24 Liberators,  another good read, but I digress...)). Secretariat can be found on Disney + and is rated PG. The story of hard work and triumph against all odds is remarkable and a fascinating piece of history (as are all 3 of the books mentioned).

If you have any questions please let me know.

Coach Jacobson

8/15 update

Redhawks,

We had an amazing first meet! I can't explain how much fun it is to watch each of you run. From our first runner to the last it is a pleasure to watch you put it all out there. I love watching you work through the nerves of the race, including pre-race, and then throw it down on the course and emerge exhausted but better for it, mentally and physically. This sport isn't for the mentally or physically weak - I mean by the time the JV girls raced the temperatures were in the "scorching" zone - and relatively few people choose to participate in a sport that challenges them in such a grueling way. Unfortunately, they will never know what it's like to be part of this team, to feel themselves improve after weeks of struggle and fatigue. You know what it's like to pound the pavement or the grass all summer long, to force yourself out of bed even though you're still fatigued from the accumulation of the weeks before. You know the pain of 2 mile repeats or the thrill of mile repeats in the rain. You know what it's like to look down at your watch or hear the time and be surprised, for better or worse. You know the feeling of the starting line after "on your mark" and the seemingly endless space before the gun/whistle. You're at the point, or getting to it, where you hear "40 minute run" and you think "easy day" whereas your average person would burst into tears at such a prospect. Be proud of yourself, because you're choosing to excel at something that most would consider torture.

I was extremely pleased with the effort and performance from all of you who ran. There was no doubt that each of you put everything you had into your race. Many of you participated in your first Cross Country race at Bountiful: Jennie, Ashley, Ellie A, Ellie R, Marjie, Hayden, Amanda, Lily, Sarah, Justin, and Simon (if I missed any names it's because you weren't in the photo at the end of the meet; my apologies). Ellie A and Philip both managed to finish in the top 30 (of over 200 girls and 400 boys) and earned medals in the JV races - Ellie's time would have put her in the top half of the 5A varsity race. Andrew and Adam earned top finisher awards in the boys' race along with Stewie, Ellie R, and Izzy in the girls' race. The girls earned a 2nd place 5A finish of the 16 schools, and the boys were 4th. That is our best combined finish ever at a meet this size.

Meet Results

You may have noticed by now, but apparently the JV boys race had an issue with timing, so the times were lost between places 1 and 230. Which was all of our runners... So we don't have official times, or even places for that matter. However, if you know your time you can go on and enter it (allegedly, but I don't know how). What I would like is for you to email me your time so I can enter it into our season pace breakdown. If you strava'd your race and your in our club then I just pulled your time from there and put it into the breakdown.

The season pace breakdown can be found on the right side of this website, and shows the times and paces of each race throughout the season, and over the years, so you can see how you've progressed. I'm still in the process of updating that.

There have been a few updates to the schedule, so go take a look, including a change for the meet on 8/20 which is now 9/3, official pre-state on 9/16, and the border wars on 9/24 at Sugarhouse park.

This is our last week of Summer, but us coaches return to school tomorrow, so it makes the schedule this week a bit odd. We are going to have 2 options on Monday - you can choose either option.

AM option: I will meet with a group at 6 AM up at Elephant rock trail (mueller park trailhead on 1800 S) at 6 AM. We'll go for a run up the trail - some of the less experienced runners won't make it all the way to the rock, as I want the run for new runners to be 40 minutes max, and 60 max for experienced runners. Because I have to get to work, I will be concluding practice at 7 AM, so be there on time and be back before 7. We will head up the trail promptly at 6 AM.

PM option: me, or another coach will be at the track at 2:30 and will head out for a 30-40 minute easy run in the heat.

Tuesday will be our "hard workout" day, so it's best we avoid the heat to keep the quality up, so we will be meeting at 6 AM at the track. 

Wednesday will be an easy pre race run, so we will go in the afternoon at 2:30.

Thursday is the race.

Friday is TBD.

Our meet this week is on the 19th, Thursday, at Layton City Park. The bus will leave at 7 AM, with the girls racing at 8:30 and the boys at 9:15. There is no JV/Varsity this week, they will be combined. As of  now the weather is supposed to be much cooler that day with a chance of rain.

Monday	August 16	6 AM at Elephant Rock OR 2:30 at the track	6:00 AM
Tuesday	August 17	Track	6:00 AM
Wednesday	August 18	Track	2:30 PM
Thursday	August 19	Track	TBD
Friday	August 20	Race - bus at 7 AM

8/9 update

Redhawks,

Our first race is upon us! Honestly I cannot wait. It will be great to get out and race and take the first step down the path of competition season. Although we still will have a ton of work to do, no matter the outcome, it will be fun to see where we are now. Top finishers will medal, other top finishers will receive a t shirt, and several top teams will get a trophy. Check out the schedule link at the top for the schedule and meet location - athletes need to ride the bus there, and can only drive home with a parent, which needs to be cleared with me at least 1 day in advance, per district policy.

For this meet, I have to have everyone registered on 8/11, any errors will result in individuals not being entered into the meet. Several of you have told me that you cannot go, now I’m asking that you reply to this email (or if you're using "remind" just email me at bjacobson@dsdmail.net) and tell me whether you are planning on going or not going (simply reply either way - unless you did so already). That way I can be sure that the entire roster is entered on the website. I would hate to overlook someone, which would be very easy this early in the season with so many names to keep track of. If you do not reply, and you don't get entered, you will unfortunately be out of luck. 

The bus for the meet will leave Saturday morning at 6:45 AM from the fieldhouse, with the first race beginning at 8 AM. As of now we do not have uniforms, so I will have to figure something out. They are supposed to come in shortly, I ordered them in May, but, you know... Nike... when they get here though it will be worth it.

Also, remember that you need register my athlete completed in order to compete. If you need a physical quickly, there are several places that allow walk-ins. Remember that the physical had to have been done after the conclusion of last school year (June) as they are only valid for the duration of each school year. I know this is a pain, but I don't make the rules. 

Starting tomorrow practices will be M-F, but will all be in the AM. 

I know the air quality is terrible, so if a parent deems in necessary that you not run outdoors then find yourself a treadmill and get the workout in that way ("but I don't have a treadmill!" do you know someone who does?)

If your child was in junior high and you'd like to no longer be included in these emails please let me know and I can take you off.

Our cross country class will be during 4th period. It is not mandatory to be in the class, but it does allow you to miss less class for races, and get done with practice much earlier on A days. I highly recommend being in the class, as it opens up the rest of your day for homework, jobs, or other important activities. 

For 9th graders who want to participate, you can be in the class, but it isn't required. The high school kids will practice each B day at 2:40, and those not in the class will practice at 2:40 on A days as well. If you are in 9th grade your practices will begin at 3:15. Some 9th graders elect to join the class, but because of the schedule with the JHs they can only get there around 1:40 or so. That is totally fine and doable, it is just something that you need to see if it works for you. 

In other words:

A day practices will have 4 start times: 1 PM for those in the class; 1:something for 9^th graders in the class (depending on the JH); 2:40 for those not in the class; and 3:15 for 9^th graders not in the class.

B-Day practices will have 2 start times: 2:40 for high schoolers; 3:15 for 9^th graders.

On Fridays the JH have early out so they will either wait until 2:40 (b days) or come up asap to join the high schoolers who are in the class (A days)

9th graders on race days will need to arrange to get out of class at the necessary hour and get down to the high school to catch the bus on time.

Lastly, here is the schedule for the week:

All practices will begin at 7 AM

Monday	August 9	Track
Tuesday	August 10	MPJH
Wednesday	August 11	Track
Thursday	August 12	MPJH
Friday	August 13	Lewis Park

8/2-6

 Redhawks,

We are down to our final week of summer training. Starting next week, on August 9, our official season begins. That means for all of you who are going into 8th grade or below will conclude this week. We will miss you, but look forward to you rejoining us next summer, and even potentially this winter during indoor track - details on that are forthcoming. All of you 9th graders and older are welcome to run with us, and we hope all of you do, even if you only came to a few practices, or are on the fence about continuing. Once we begin racing the season gets even more fun, and the hard work begins to pay off. We have a great group of kids and a strong team, and we will be stronger with you. If you are on the fence come talk to me or one of the other coaches and see if we can work through any of your concerns to make things easier/clearer for you and reduce any potential anxiety you are having about the upcoming season.

Next week: 8/9-8/14

Starting Monday 8/9 we will meet every day, still at 7 AM (the following week will be moved to the afternoon for some or most of the days - and we will be meeting at the track). We have our first race that Saturday on 8/14 in the morning at the cottonwood complex (you can see the schedule at the top of this page). Before you compete you must complete the registration process at  https://www.registermyathlete.com/login/ This will require that you get a physical, so schedule one ASAP so that you don't miss out. 

I also need to know who is planning on going to that meet, and who cannot, so please let me know via email bjacobson@dsdmail.net. 

This week: 8/2-8/6

We will only be practicing Monday and Wednesday, with the latter being a workout day but will include some games and competitions as a farewell to summer training. It will be a lot of fun so be there.

I have the shirts for summer, so come to practice and get them. If you haven't paid for the summer, please do so this week, the office will be open during normal school hours every day.

Bring your cross country flats to practice every day starting this week, as they will help you strengthen up your legs, and get you used to going faster.

Monday	August 2	BHS Track	AT/LT	Mile Repeats @ race effort
Wednesday	August 4	Lewis Park	AT/LT	Step down 800s

Update: Given the current weather conditions practice might have to be cancelled. We will cancel if there is lightning in the area. If it is cancelled I will send out a text via remind (if you're not on there, here is the join code: @hed7kc ) However, assuming the lightning passes it looks like the footing on the hills of MPJH will be less that ideal - so we will be moving practice to the high school track. 

In summary, if practice happens tomorrow, it will be at the track. If we have to cancel due to lightning I will send out a text via remind at 6:50 AM.

Looking forward to a great final few days.

Coach Jacobson