9/19 update

Redhawks,

The info at the end will be a repeat of what I sent out at the end of last week. If you haven't replied to me yet about going to the meet, I need you to do so today - I'm going to be done with entries on Monday night so don't delay otherwise you will not be going.

As many of you know we had a scare at practice on Friday. During their run on Friday, a driver, who wasn't looking in the direction the car was going, hit in to Bennett, knocking him to the ground, resulting in two broken vertebrae. He is able to walk but won't be able to run for a while. I am tremendously grateful that it wasn't more serious, it could have been much more damaging or even life threatening. And yet, I feel terribly for Bennett as he has worked as hard and consistently as anyone to both overcome injury and put himself in a position to run at his best through the final weeks of the season. The day before he was in the middle of a tempo run at the meet and with less than a mile to go you should have seen the smile on his face when he asked me if he could pick up the pace a little bit and I said yes. He tightened the screws a bit, showcasing his fitness and what was to come.  

Fortunately, this isn't the end of his story or his running career. The best is yet to come and I look forward to seeing what he'll make of it. I'm already excited to share his story with future runners who find themselves in the midst of an unexpected setback. 

All that being said, to all of you, I implore you to do all you can to not have something like this happen again. If something like this should happen in the future, call 911 so you can be checked out before continuing to run.

As anyone who has been injured knows, being injured is very emotionally challenging for a variety of reasons. Between Eden and Bennett we now have two people who've had their season cut short due to apparently random events. Eden has been a great support at practices and at races and Bennett will do the same. They continue to support the team, so my question for the rest of the team is, what can you do to support them (Eden, Bennett, and anyone else who has experienced injury, like Sarah Wilkinson with her ACL, Lily Guzman with her foot, to name a few more) through their injury? Ponder on that and then act on your ideas. We are all in this together and we need each other. How can you help your teammates?

We are two and a half weeks out from region, meaning the season is wrapping up. We have no time to waste, so I'm looking forward to a great week of practices and then the race on Friday. 

Our meet next week will be on Friday at Sugarhouse park. The course map and schedule can be found at www.borderwarsxc.com and I’ve included the schedule below.

Our varsity teams will be racing in the varsity races, not the championship sections.

The bus will be leaving during lunch time.

The price for this meet is per athlete, and it is quite expensive. Therefore, I’m asking you to please respond to this email if you would like to go. And actually, will you do me a favor and reply to tell me if you can’t go so I don’t take time trying to track you down? I’m only going to enter those who reply in the affirmative, because, well, yesterday I had about 20 unused bibs (luckily, we paid by team not by individual for that race). Next week, however, I’d like to avoid wasting $200. I need to know by Monday so I can meet the registration deadline. The sooner you reply, the more appreciative I will be.

Let me know if you have any questions.

2:00pm – Senior Girls

2:20pm – Senior Boys

2:40pm – Junior Girls

3:00pm – Junior Boys

3:20pm – Varsity Girls

3:40pm – Varsity Boys

4:00pm – Championship Girls

4:20pm – Championship Boys

4:40pm – Varsity & Championship Awards 

           (Presented by Olympian Jared Ward & REP)

5:00pm – Sophomore Girls

5:20pm – Sophomore Boys

5:40pm – Freshman Girls

6:00pm – Freshman Boys