Saturday, September 20th was the Brush Invitational in Brush, CO. This is a course that UH Cross Country has run many times over the years, but not many times in the past 5 years. It was fun being back in Brush for this one.
The day was sunny (too sunny for the old photographer's liking!), but still cool and great running weather. We had a few 'Dogs having to work thru injuries, so not everyone got to run......or run at full speed. Still, our inexperienced runners gained even more confidence and learned more about the running game.
First up - the entire Girl's team. This is one of those races that doesn't separate the varsity & jv runners, so we get to have more fun running as a big group.
The day was sunny (too sunny for the old photographer's liking!), but still cool and great running weather. We had a few 'Dogs having to work thru injuries, so not everyone got to run......or run at full speed. Still, our inexperienced runners gained even more confidence and learned more about the running game.
First up - the entire Girl's team. This is one of those races that doesn't separate the varsity & jv runners, so we get to have more fun running as a big group.
We know how to focus, we know how the get ready for a race, and we know how to stay relaxed before we start. As you can see above, to stay relaxed you must learn how to: 1. Put your right hand in 2. Put your right hand out 3. Put your right leg in............you do the Hokey Pokey and THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT!
The Girls finish strong - including some highlight reel sprintouts at the finish. University CC's reputation is rising - you don't want to be close to us at the end 'cause we're going to blow you away with our sprints!
Next up - the Boys team all running together.
Next up - the Boys team all running together.
The guys run strong, pack well and finish strong. Again it's a highlight reel of sprint close-outs to the finish line, and almost everyone passed a couple of competitors on the way. It's a great way to finish your 5k....it's also a way that takes a lot of guts and intensity to finish each race like this. But we can't let our teammates down - everyone's doing it!
Well, the weather held up and we all ran hard today. After the race we find out that the course was not measured correctly, so everyone ran a few hundred meters more than 5,000. But that's ok. We're up to it and we know the times out here aren't what's important. It's gaining more experience on how to run, how to run as a team and how to compete against key opponents or teams. All in all, it was a fun day and we took another step towards our goals. The guys worked their way to a 2nd place team finish, while the girls - decimated by nagging injuries - came in a hard-fought 5th.
Next up: Thornton on Friday, September 26th. We'll have another tough week of practice, a good race and then we'll relax with Homecoming fun. See you next week!
Next up: Thornton on Friday, September 26th. We'll have another tough week of practice, a good race and then we'll relax with Homecoming fun. See you next week!