Cross Country course maps used to look like the one above...yawn! (NCS course at Hayward HS). But now, xc maps have a few more bells and whistles as you can see by the map below courtesy of Walt Lange of Jesuit HS in Carmichael. (State meet course at Woodward Park). You can view the rest of his collection of California Cross Country course maps at the following link: http://www.jesuittrack.org/mapscentral.html Also, if you have some free time, you should also check out the front page of... Read Full Story
Sports research shows that setting goals is the most effective way to improve athletic performance. Cross country running competition lends itself perfectly to goal setting because the outcome measure is an available number and not as dependent on the performance of competitors or teammates as other sports. Beyond improving performance, setting specific performance goals benefits coaches and runners of all skill levels in many ways. Of course, we want all cross country runners to strive to... Read Full Story
The season of '08 offers a few changes for the North Coast Section as several teams join the section (Fremont Christian, Redwood Christian and Valley Christian-Dublin) and one team (Crystal Springs Uplands) leaves to join the Central Coast Section. So what do those changes mean for the section? Time will tell but at this point the new teams (most notably Redwood Christian) will inject a new challenger in the boy's race. The defending boys' team champions, Red Devils of San Francisco... Read Full Story
High School •2008 cross country outlook (Modesto Bee) •M-A boys seek title in cross country (Daily News) •Runners go underwater (Half Moon Bay Review) •Braves ranked second in section (Napa Valley Register) Cross Country Express and Matt Duffy get a little plug. College •HSU Men roll again, women get quicker (Times-Standard) • Men's Cross Country Sixth At USF Invitational (San Jose State Spartans) • Women's Cross Country Finishes Fifth At USF Invitational (San Jose State Spartans) •Riley... Read Full Story
2008 Earlybird Invitational Preview by Coach Gustavo Ibarra With the Beijing Olympics in the rear-view mirror, we are anxious to get the “real games” going, cross country! North Monterey County High School is proud to present the 14th Annual Earlybird Invitational! We’re set for a 3rd year at Toro Park (2008 CCS Championships Site) in Salinas during delays on a new course at NMC. It will be bigger and better than ever with more than 70 teams and around 2,500 athletes expected to... Read Full Story
School will be off and running on Wednesday and I will not be posting for a couple of days. I will post the Division V pre-season rankings for NCS and CCS when I return. Until then enjoy the following link which is the 2nd part of a clinic review: •2nd Annual Maine Coach & Athlete Cross Country Clinic (Part II: Nutrition Basics & Fueling for Performance) Read Full Story
Clinic notes from the 2nd Annual Maine Coach & Athlete Cross Country Clinic. The author will post more information throughout the week. Here is his first entry. http://news.runtowin.com/2008/08/25/xc-clinic-injury-prevention.html Read Full Story
If you are hoping to watch the 1500 Final on TV and not know the result, then read no further. I'm not kidding...you've been warned.... Well, it wasn't the race we were all dreaming would happen. But life and especially athletics are not a fairy tale stories that you get to script. Shannon gave it a good run and ended up 7th. Crazy how that is a bit of a letdown?! I got an e-mail from Ruth Wysocki (1984 Olympian in the 1500) that said Shannon's 7th is the highest finish by an... Read Full Story
Hi Everyone, We had computer troubles last night after Shannon's 1500 and were unable to send out anything. By now I assume it is pretty old news that she qualified for the 1500 Final. She was in the 3rd heat and her heat was by far the fastest. She came in 4th and qualified on time. What's most interesting is that of the 10 so-called medal contenders that I publicized on my chart, only 3 are still standing (guess I am not so expert). The 3 Russians were DQ'ed for doping a month ago, 2... Read Full Story
Hi Everyone, I just borrowed Shannon's latest SFGate blog title. It is quite appropriate. Her first Olympic race is in less than 24 hours. Malinda and I had lunch at the Noodle Loft with her, her friend, and parents on Tue. Tonight (Wed), we talked on the phone....I have called her many times in my life but never to wish her luck the night before an Olympic race so I wanted to do that tonight. I told her about my planned call to the SHC faculty and staff meeting on Thur and the possible... Read Full Story
