First Meet This Week!

Welcome back, Hawks, to our second week of the 2025 XC season. We are sorry we had to cancel our Thursday practice last week due to the heat, but it looks like we should be able to meet this coming week (fingers crossed!). Stay tuned to the TeamSnap app for updates, but as of now the weather app is telling me we should be under 100 degrees.

NOTE: it is still going to be hot, so bring plenty of water, sunscreen, and loose clothing!

Also, remember that we are meeting at STONEGATE ELEMENTARY tomorrow, Monday the 25^th, not at Bridgeway Boathouse.

This coming Saturday is our first meet of the regular season, on August 30^th at the Lagoon Valley Classic. As mentioned earlier, this meet is only open to all returning athletes. Please RSVP on the TeamSnap app if you want to participate, the deadline to register is tomorrow. The youth race starts at 8am so we need athletes to arrive by 7am. The city of Vacaville charges $5 per car to enter the park. PLEASE ALLOW EXTRA TIME TO GET TO LAGOON VALLEY PARK. TRADITIONALLY, TRAFFIC BACKS UP ON LAGOON VALLEY RD. If you have any questions, let us know!

The second meet of the season is open to anyone and is set for FRIDAY, September 5^th. It is a SUPER fun meet hosted by the Sacramento Running Association, held at American River College in Sacramento. Dozens of local club and school teams compete at this meet in two categories – 6^th Grade and Under, and 7^th/8^th. Here is a link to the meet info. Races begin at 4:45 so we want all runners in 6^th grade or under to arrive by 3:45 – I recognize this might be difficult on a school day but we need ample time to warm up, do drills, and get bibs on jerseys. Athletes in 7^th or 8^th grade don’t need to arrive until 4:30. Also, please be aware that parking will be $10 cash per vehicle. Use the main parking entrance off of College Oak Drive. You do not need to pay at the kiosks if you are parked in the stadium parking lot that has signs for XC parking. Please RSVP on the TeamSnap app if you want to participate, the deadline to register is next Monday, Sept 1^st.

This week we run for the first time at the notorious “Lock Hills.” Be prepared on Monday to be pushed in a challenging environment with little shade. Welcome to the sport that is Cross Country! Athletes will be running on loose, sandy trails up and down uneven hills and there may even be some yellow-star thistle sticking out here and there for added challenge. But this is the crucible upon which the Delta Hawks become mean racing machines!

At the end of this week we will also be assigning Hawks into color groups. Generally, the strongest runners will be in the black group, the striving athletes will be in the gray group, and the newer runners will be in the white group. That way we can assign appropriate difficulty levels to each athlete during workouts. All groups will warm up and cool down together and will generally do the same workouts, but with varying distances or times. If you have any questions about this, please see Coach Eric.

This week the schedule is as follows:

MONDAY

STONEGATE ELEMENTARY – 5:30pm

Lock Hills

600m intervals 3-6

TUESDAY

Stretch and Recover

WEDNESDAY

Run On Your Own

3-4 miles

THURSDAY

Boathouse – 5:30pm

Marshall Hills

15-20 Fartlek (2 min on/1 min off)

FRIDAY

Stretch and Recover

SATURDAY

Lagoon Valley Classic

Lagoon Valley Park, near Vacaville

Arrive 7am

SUNDAY

Long Run - 3-6 miles

Any questions, let us know!

Coach Eric