Nationals Wrap Up

The conditions have varied over the six years the Delta Hawks have competed at USATF Junior Olympics Cross Country National Championships. In 2019 in Wisconsin, the Hawks faced bitter cold with temperatures in the teens, but with clear skies. In 2021 in Paris, Kentucky, the Hawks found themselves dealing with tornadoes the night before the meet, cold rain, slippery mud (John Barreiro lost his shoe during his race), and temperatures in the 30s. But the conditions for this year's Nationals were the most challenging yet.

The day prior to the meet, when all the teams did their walkthroughs, it snowed a few inches and then warmed up enough to soften the turf on the course and leave it bumpy and rough before the temperature dropped and froze the ground hard. When we left the hotel on race day, it was 29 degrees and snowing heavily. We drove carefully to the meet, watching the snow pile up around us. By the time we dropped Pier off at the clerking tent before his race, the temp was 22 but felt like 14 with a frigid wind from the north, there were several inches of snow on the ground, and it was still snowing heavily. Visibility was low, it was tough to see from one side of the start line to the other. It was terrible and glorious and true cross country.

We had prepared Pier with a warm stocking cap, long sleeved shirt under his singlet, gloves with heat packs in them, and ½ inch spikes on his feet. He had everything he needed to face the course and his competition, and Pier bravely stood on the line and stared into that bitter wind and snow. There were over 360 runners in the boy's 11-12 age group race, the biggest field of the day.

When the gun went off, the melee didn't last long as many runners slipped and fell in the first few steps and the race was called back (as was the case many times all day). The competitors were dusted off and set back on the line to once again prepare to race. The second start was clean enough to let it go, and the runners were off. It didn't take long to lose the blur of colorful uniforms in the snowy wind as they headed out to the course.

While Pier did his best to get toward the front in that start, the boys were all aggressively pushing and shoving and our Hawk found himself further back in the pack than he wanted. By the 1k mark, Pier was around 100th place, but when I yelled at him he shook his head and seemed to wake up. Over the next 1.5k I watched Pier grit his teeth and battle with all the heart he had, for it wasn't just other boys that seemed to want to beat him but the very air around him tore at his clothes and tried to slow him down. Despite all that, Pier ran tough and made the Hawks proud.

Unfortunately Pier was all but spent by the time he hit the long final stretch, and on this day, he couldn't fight off a number of boys that passed him at the end. Nevertheless, Pier still beat all but one of the qualifiers from our Association that he beat in our last race - finishing around where he would have been predicted to finish. 

Sometimes we chase dreams and circumstances align such that we are unable to accomplish them as we had hoped. Thankfully, that is not why we pursue our distance running seasons; the community, the fitness, the strength we develop in our pursuit is the reward we ultimately achieve. And by braving those miserably cold conditions, standing with his head up on that starting line, and fighting with honor to the finish, Pier accomplished it all this weekend.

Now we rest up and prepare for the next season, and so goes every season of our lives. Happy holidays to all the Hawks out there, and as always, please let me know if you have any questions!

Coach Eric