Fresh Meat

Camp started Wednesday with an AE run to prepare the varsity hopefuls and incoming freshman for the first tempo run of the season on Thursday. I had an inside look at the football team getting big while I was on the elliptical.


After the run, the freshman, and returning runners were split into two teams for a team building activity. The object was simple, get the volleyball to the back, bring it to the front, and so on. The freshman teams were very evenly matched. The varsity hopefuls, not so much. The teams were sophomores + Scherps (see below) and myself, against the seniors and juniors. It was just ugly. Bob Eberling and JC Madey didn't have the best aim for the upper class man, but the more experienced runners were able to overcome a small obstacle, with the help of the sophomores.

"I had to just throw it. It was the only way the team would have a chance if it
worked out." Pat Callahan

As it would turn out, this would only put the sophomore team farther behind. The upperclassman cruised to an easy victory.

Thursday began with a meeting in room 210. We watched a summary of a legend of a cross country coach give a speech to a group of high school guys. Highlights, as given by Little O'c, Jack Husmann, and myself.

• Be smart. You can greatly effect the teams by decisions you make when no one is watching.



• Everyone can contribute. We just graduated some great runners, if you work, you will have a chance to run in big races.



• Do the little things.
  

Next we were off to Conway for tempos. Everyone did great. Some standouts however were Glen McGann, Collin Sullivan, Josh Pribe, Nick Martini, and Brian Scherping. Great work everybody.

The day of camp just kept getting better, with weights and core after the run back to De Smet.

Joke of the Day/Year: My back

The much anticipated last day of camp was here, when the fresh meet would run their first timed mile. The morning started with the varsity hopefuls running either a Grassier or Mosley, and Coach Traughber and Garwitz giving the freshman the little things talk along with passing out their very own personalized summer training schedule. My inside access continued, since I can't run.

Quote of the Day: After Coach Traughber instructed the freshman to jog down the 100 stretch and back as their strides before the big mile, one brave, freshman soul questioned,

"Are you kidding me?"

The gun went off. Blake Waters took lane 8 for the first 200 and took a big lead. My pick, Steven Placht, kept his composure, and ran his race. Steven took the lead after 800, and finished first with a time of 5:43, with Waters second. Great race by all.

What is the best way ever to end camp? Throw the B, and that's what we did. Once again, the freshman were split from the returning runners. After 10 minutes of scoreless, appalling B, the skins finally came through with a score. Shortly after, I tagged Coach Garwitz in, in what proved to be the turning point of the match. Coach and DUC member Michael Ahlheim led the shirts to a convincing, 5-1 come from behind victory. The B game was followed by Bread Co bagels, and bottom less, possibly expired Chocolate Milk. It was a great week of camp from all.

Good to hear from you Kevin. Must be great to be in a country other then America when the World Cup is going on.

"Dude, who is that guy?"

Brian Scherping

Everyone knows Brian, but he's new, so he gets a spacial mention. This three year track standout and winner of the Rookie of the Year and Most Improved Award is hanging up the soccer cleats for metall spikes. Brian looks to build off of the fitness level of track season for a great first/last cross country season.

In his spare time, Brian enjoys White Castles and Thanksgiving flag football games.

What to watch for: Moving from the 800 to 5k, and can Scherping be on time for morning practice?
-Potterman

Correr

¡Hola!
Yes, I am writing from Spain. I’m in Burgos now, but this post is about the run I went on in Madrid. After a very busy, first couple of days, I finally had some free time and I didn’t know what to do. So of course I decided to go for a run. I went to El parque del Buen Retiro (Park of the Pleasant Retreat). It’s the Forest Park of Madrid but not as big. You may recognize the park from the picture. It shows the lake and the statue of Alfonso III.


I was planning on a nice easy 20 minutes. I had been to the park earlier in the day and thought I knew my way around the park. The run ended up being just over 25 minutes, so yes I did get a little lost. But, it was a totally awesome run. I had a blast running for the first time in another country.

It was a really nice park. Shady with wide paths and tons of options. The one problem is that it doesn’t hold water well because Madrid does not get a lot of rain. This little problem was magnified because one, we it had rained the pervious two days and two, it started pouring during my run. I got soaked! I ran by this awesome turf soccer field, the lake, a handful of statues, and some playgrounds. One statue in particular stood out; it was a statue of the Fallen Angel, Satan. There are only three statues of him in the world.

Madrid had an impressive running community. There were a lot of people running in the park when I was there, and I saw a bunch of others as we were touring. And tights are all the rage here. The Spaniards love to wear half-tights and the even more popular capree-tights.

It has been an incredible trip and experience so far and we still have some more cities to go. I hope to get a beach run in while in Barcelona. And I got some awesome new gear that you will all definitely see when I get back.

Title: For those of you who are unfamilar with Spanish, correr means to run.

Let's go camping

With the opening of camp, brings what many people have been waiting for: The official beginning to cross country season. Camp started Monday with meeting in the bleachers. There was a great turn out of varsity hopefuls and incoming freshman.

Monday's top group of Little O'c, Jack Husmann, Nick Martini, JC Madey, the Morgenthaler boys, and Bob Eberling completed the near impossible task of running their 141 out and back in a once in a life time time of exactly 1:00.00. Not only is that a great pace, but Husmann stopped his watch at the astonishing time. Following the run, every group had a flash back of track and did a 4x200 at 5k pace.

Tuesday the team warmed up with a run to Malcolm Terrace. Milkman delayed his move to the Steel City to make sure we cross the street safely. It was a great day to go to the park, as it started raining hours after practice was over. Most runners did three loops, while the incoming freshman ran one, led by Coach Garwitz (see below). The top group consisting of Little O'c, Husmann, JC, Funny Guy/O line, new comers Joe Pesek and Brian Scherping (info to come later), myself, and the surprise of the day, Jimmy Reed. Jimmy was able to keep up with the lead pack step for step, great run Jimmy. Conversation included Zach Boyle, the World Cup, and how the branches need to be trimmed. It was a very good workout on a great morning for running.

Joke Of The Day: After Coach Traughber explained to Eberling the plan for the rest of the week:

"Sounds like a good plan."

"Of course it's a good plan, I wrote it." -T Bone

Have you ever found yourself looking around the circle while stretching, and elbowing your buddy and whispering, "Dude, who is that guy?" That is probably a very common problem, since there are many faces that are new to cross country. I will try to introduce some of the new faces to you.

"Dude, who is that guy?"

Coach Garwitz

Coach Garwitz will be joining the coaching staff for this upcoming cross country season. Coach is a graduate of De Smet then went on to be a Tiger at Mizzou. Coach has been a long time friend of the program, often being seen at track meets, sometimes working the Big River Running tent. We are all very excited to have Coach Garwitz with us this season.

In his spare time, Coach enjoys the Cardinals, selling shoes, and helping Coach Traughber train for marathons.

What to watch for: Coach lining up next to Kabes in the Alumni Run. The smack talk has only just begun.

It has been a great first two days of camp, keep it up. Also, read Zach's final post, it's great.

-Potterman

OC-ya

I came to DeSmet knowing I was going to be a runner. I had run in several road races before joining the Cross Country team and knew it would be the right sport for me. Little did I know it would be the best thing that happened to me while at DeSmet. I looked forward to every practice from tempos to long runs and, yes, even speed workouts. Although I do love running, my teammates and coaches are what made this such an amazing experience.

Just like Zach, I would like to thank certain people…

First: Coach Traughber. I’m sure everyone has heard this countless times, but Coach truly has had a huge impact on my life. He helped me improve as runner, and more importantly as a person. Because of him, I gained confidence and learned anything is possible with hard work and determination. He taught me to set goals which I have also found to be helpful. Coach is also a lot of fun to be around. I love the sarcastic comebacks (especially when directed at Matt) and crazy exaggerations (diet-red-green-fiesta-spirit Mountain Dew). I would like to thank Coach Traughber for everything. Thanks, and continue the great work!

Second: Ethan Stack. My first memory of Ethan was when he beat me in our first race as freshmen. Since then, we have been doing just about everything together while on the team. We have trained together, raced together, worked out together, and even iced together. Ethan was extremely helpful after my surgery because his optimism and support, telling me that I would be back to my usual self soon. Thanks for everything Stackman and good luck a SLU.

Third: Kevin Abernathy. Kevin, as all of you know, is just a great all around person. He is a great runner, teammate and friend. He takes everything he does seriously and does it with all his heart. I notice this after every single race and even things like waffle ball with 5th graders or Wii bowling. Kevin is a amazing runner and an even better person. Thanks for everything Kabes.

Forth: Zach Boyle. Zach is as serious about running as anyone but he is also a lot of fun to be around. He came to practice every day with a smile on his face while wearing some extremely short shorts. I would like to thank Zach for co-creating the blog; it’s a lot of fun. Thanks for all the great memories Zach.

I would also like to send out special thanks to other runners that have also influenced my life: Jacob Seiler, Alex Potter, Blake Bender, and I guess, Matt. Ya’ll have made running a lot of fun and created memories that will last the rest of my life. Also thanks to all of my coaches, Coach Russo, Coach Williams, Coach Boland and Coach Leeman.

Stay classy

OC

The Unusual Case of Zach Boyle

4 years ago I came into Desmet thinking of myself as a soccer player. Now 4 years, thousands of miles, and many friends later I leave as a runner. Running has had a huge influence on my life from shorter shorts to becoming more confident as a person. The friends I have made along the way are people that I will remember for the rest of my life. I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank some of these people.

Chris France is by far the most “out-there” person to go through the Desmet running program. However, it was France that showed me how running could be fun. France always came to practice with a smile and between convincing the team that he was ranked nationally in Tony Hawk to getting dreads he always keep the atmosphere around the team relaxed.

Connor Callahan the man, the myth, the legend. Connor showed me the hard work and dedication it took to achieve success. Running with (mostly behind) Connor taught me to always give my best and to always want to better myself.

Alex Potter, Ethan Stack, & Kevin Abernathy these men made my last year as a Desmet runner a memorable one. From the creating of this blog, to the organizing of the flag shorts, and to allowing me to give them a tour of NoCo during a run. These three helped make running fun and really helped in creating a sense of team unity

Bryan Traughber by far this man has had the greatest impact on me not only as a runner but as a person while at Desmet. The attention he gave not only to me but to each one of his runners is still something that I appreciate. He could constantly be seen doing something for his runners in between classes (even during sometimes). If someone asked me to name a hero of mine I could say without any sarcasm Bryan Traughber and with a baby on the way I know that he will be a great father. (still available for babysitting btw) If my future coaches are at least half the man T-Bone is then I know I will be in good hands.


Since I am being replaced this will be my last post as a blog master. Alex Potter my replacement will do a fine job and I have no doubt that He and Abernathy will keep The Milk Table alive and well. I would like to spend my last words thanking all those that made my four years at Desmet four years that I will look back on in fond memory. To the current Desmet runners and also to the future ones I encourage you to keep running, keep training, and keep it fun. It is what you make it and you have the opportunity to make it something great.

Peace
Zach Boyle