Baffled

Today was the long awaited Solid Color Day. We had a solid turn out: black, gray, white, yellow, blue, red, and maroon.

It was a pretty easy-going start to the weekend. The JV and Freshmen had their long run today so there was so mixing with the Varsity. We were down a bulldog but picked up Steve and Adam M. for the Spoede + EtoE. Adam, a rookie, won GTTG. Kabes beat lil OC again in Spotter even though he had a 2-0 lead going into Olive. Practiced ended with a circuit training flashback, hurtle hill sprints.

Quote of the Day: "Scherping, during the race just pretend that the guy ahead of you has the answer to your question."- Rob after Scherping kept following him to ask him questions.

Best Dressed: Matt. No more recognition deserved. (Katie)

Title: It’s the only word that can describe everyone’s reaction to what Matt was wearing.

Lawrence Kansas

After weeks of anticipation, the bus for Rick Rock finally takes off tomorrow afternoon. For many runners, making the squad that travels to Lawrence is their goal and motivation for training in the summer.

Only 4 of the 14 runners racing Saturday made the trip last season: Seniors Kevin Abernathy, Jacob Seiler and Josh Goetz along with Junior John Waller. I asked John how the runners that have not traveled such a long distance for a meet should prepare

.“My advice is making sure you come prepared. Make sure to bring plenty of food and water and pack clothes for all weather.”

Making his first trip to Rim Rock is Sophomore Collin Sullivan. Collin will be racing with the JV squad on Saturday. Collin has had a particularly impressive season so far because he has been fighting with the infamous IT Band all season.

“The IT band has slowed me down for many of the practices. Some days, I have not been able to practice because it hurt too much. During the races, I do not believe it slowed me down though because adrenaline kicks in and I do not much feel pain in my legs.”

Junior Nick Martini will be making his first trip, and running with the Varsity. Nick was one of the most consistent runners this summer, and it has definitely showed and paid off and he has run Varsity in every race this season. I asked him what he is most looking forward to this weekend.

“I’m really looking forward to the bus ride down there; I’ve heard it’s a lot of fun from guys who ran it last year. I’m also looking forward to the race itself because it’ll be cool to see so many teams racing together. I’ve been told that its one of the hardest courses I will ever run and that the hills are insane.”

Seniors Kevin Abernathy and Jacob Seiler have continued to lead the Varsity team with the experience that they have gained in the last two seasons. They have done a great job of showing the ropes to the guys that have not been on Varsity before. As Martini and Waller say, Varsity is the place to be.

“The competition is on a whole different level. Last year at JV races I was always pushing the front of the pack along with teammates. Since being called up, I’ve learned that I need to run much smarter races because I only have six teammates running with me and the score matters.” Waller

“Well the practices for Varsity are ten times more fun than the JV practices; we joke around a lot, play games while we run, and find the strangest and funniest things on our runs (Wiggles the dog, the Halloween costume guy, etc.). Even though we have a great time practicing together, we still complete our practices well and on time.” Martini

Good luck to everyone running this weekend. The Injured Reserve squad (need nickname suggestions) of Potter and Husmann will be there to cheer the guys on. There will be some rain tonight, but looks like we will beat the rain on Saturday and it will be about 65 degrees, but bring clothes for all weather and a whole drawer of socks! Special thanks to Collin, Nick, and John for being the quickest trio in history to respond to my email.

See everyone tomorrow

From Lawrence KS
Alex Potter
MTBL