The Woodberry Harrier 2017: Volume 4

Why?

When people find out I’m a cross country runner, they often look puzzled and ask me why, and my answer has evolved over the years.

At the beginning of my running career, I’d say I loved the feeling of breaking mental and physical barriers. I can still remember, for example, the euphoria of finishing #1 on JV.  But after numerous cases of tendonitis and two stress fractures, my answer is a lot more complicated.  I spent most of last fall on the stationary bike trying to stay in shape while my leg healed and hoping I’d be cleared for the final meets, and my teammates still made me know I was as important to the team as anyone else.  I still love the idea of breaking barriers, but now I’d say I run for my teammates.

Our team has developed standards that we all hold each other to—like supporting each other as they did me when I was injured. These standards go way beyond finishing places and PRs. We know, for example, when someone isn’t giving his all or when someone quits early, and we hold them to a higher standard. That applies to each of us now and then.  We don’t want to disappoint each other.  During early camp every year, we have a campfire ritual. After s’mores and jokes, we share our reflections about our experience at camp and our hopes and goals for the season.   And when we do this, we are giving our word to each other that we will see it through together and push and help each other.

I run cross country because it forces every single one of us to stay true to his word. This is the answer that many people can’t understand because they aren’t on the team. They haven’t cooked and cleaned for one another at camp, they haven’t puked on the side of Moormont together, they haven’t pressed the knots out of the sweaty calves of a teammate who is cramping up, and they haven’t faced both defeat and victory together.  No, they will never understand the bond we have.  But this bond, this why I run.

Trace Richard ‘18

Sorry for the delay in getting this Harrier out.  We have been beset by hangups and delays on it.  Since the last edition we have raced three times.  First against St. Christopher's in our annual dual.  We were missing Parker and Guy, and Henry had to pull up from an injury  raced three times since the last Harrier, but we still had a less-than-stellar day.   It was a good focusing experience for us.  Here are those results:

WFS vs St. Christopher’s
Woodberry Lower Course
29 Sept, 2017
2nd out of 2 teams 1-5   spread: 2:26
	Place out of 27	Time
Fletcher	1st	16:58	7-sec. season PR
Rich	4th	17:22	11-sec. season PR
Clark	9th	18:10	7-sec season PR
Daniels	16th	19:10
Lindner	17th	19:24	1:16 season PR
Richard	19th	19:51	50-sec season PR
Dearborn	22nd	20:17	39-sec season PR
McKay	23rd	20:43
Sompayrac	24th	21:02

We spent the next two weeks trying to get well.  There were trips to UVa to the Runner's Clinic and the MRI clinic and to the PTs and many ice baths and Epsom salt soaks, but we were ready to go last week.  Half the squad went to EHS for our annual dual on Tuesday, and the other half raced in the big Albemarle Invitational on Saturday.  Here are those results:

Woodberry vs. Episcopal High School
Alexandria, VA
10 October, 2017
2nd out of 2 teams 1-5   spread: 1:39
	Place out of 28	Time
Daniels	4th	19:24
Sompayrac	5th	19:25	5-sec. lifetime PR
Wall	8th	20:19	23-sec. season PR
Dearborn	10th	20:58
McKay	11th	21:03

Albemarle Invitational
Panorama Farms, Earlysville, VA
14 October, 2017
out of teams 1-5   spread: 1:29 1-7 spread: 2:33
	Place out of 229	Time
Fletcher	23rd	16:50	8-sec. season PR;  3-sec lifetime PR
Clark	50th	17:19	51-sec. season PR; 39-sec. lifetime PR
Rich	58th	17:28
Watt	82nd	17:49
Singleton	115th	18:19	22-sec. season PR
Richard	184th	19:14	37.-sec season PR; 30-sec lifetime PR
Lindner	191st	19:23	1-sec. season PR