Written by Ian Gillen
The cross country season may be coming to an end, but the spirit of the team is still going strong.
The season begins in May, as the runners work out all summer in preparation for their races, which take place during the opening months of the school year. Their workout regime is sent to them by their coach. Continuing into the school year, practices consist of a variety of activites: work outs in the pool, intense workouts on the track, or running 6-11 miles around Salem and the surrounding areas.
On average, Tim Shay, junior, runs around 45 miles a week, which does include a day of rest. Often people have asked Shay why would he do this to himself voluntarily? Tim responses with: “when I’m running, it is the most enjoyable part of my day and the time I spend running with my teammates is the most carefree part of my day.”
The fun the team has traveling to races and being around each other is one thing that keeps the team going. Nights spent in hotels before a race are some of the team’s favorite times together.
On race day, the runners all run an eight-kilometer circuit, competing against many other schools at the same time. In ODACs the team recently placed in 4th, which was an improvement from last year, and a great showing for the runners. It was at this race that Devyn Heron, freshman, finished in 13th, and earned Second Team All-ODAC honors.
According to Shay, tnew coach Kirk Nauman has done great things for not only Shay, but the future of cross country. as the team has doubled in size. Shay has personally taken over a minute off of his running time, which is an incredible feat to have this late in his career, according Shay. Shay says he believes the team can reach the top 3 at ODAC’s next season.
