Yesterday was the Wickham Park Invitational. Due to various circumstances, I am actually coaching the middle school cross country team this year, which has been an experience. About half of the team was able to run this weekend (we lost several kids because of the holiday weekend) and almost all of them were new to the team, so it was their first race. And the course at Wickham Park is very difficult, so I was a bit worried about how the team would do. I wrote each runner a personal note and gave it to them at practice on Thursday - apparently, all of them read it because they couldn't wait to tell me that they beat the goal that I set for them. I gave each runner a goal - keep up the strong running, try to run the whole way (no walking), etc. - and a time that I wanted them to strive for. I was particularly demanding of Elizabeth and a couple of other runners that I know can do well. I took 30 seconds off of Elizabeth's time from last year and set that as her goal - and she crushed it! She ended up running 1:02 faster than last year, which was so great. All of the kids did so well and I am so proud of them for showing up, overcoming their nerves, running a good race and finishing strong!!!
The girls at the start line.
Elizabeth working hard.
At the finish - she was trying so hard to catch this girl.
Most of the team (a couple of boys had already left).
One of the other moms was able to get this video of Elizabeth as she ran up the hill to the finish line. She was so mad that a few people passed her, but she had nothing left, which is exactly what I wanted. So proud of her.
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