One runner signed up for middle school cross country to increase his speed, admittedly a low bar. “At first I stunk,” said the young 6th grader. “I couldn’t even beat a chicken!”
“Be careful what you say,” teased a teammate. “Chickens are pretty fast.”
The banter with fellow runners and coaches is all a part of the camaraderie and culture of long distance running. But it’s all new and on full display at Northshire Cross Country, where students from The Dorset School (TDS) and Manchester Elementary Middle School (MEMS) combine to compete in the first year as a team for sixth, seventh and eighth grade girls and boys.
Gary Dennis has been a coach for the new middle school spring track and field team for the past three years. “It’s been a great experience for me,” he said. “When I heard that a fall cross country team was in the works, I quickly raised my hand.”
Rolling out a long distance running sport in the fall is a natural extension of the track and field program for the TDS and MEMS middle schools. Increased participation in track each spring sent a clear signal that the kids were finding something special about running. There was also a helpful nudge from local high schools.
“Our middle school and town youth sports programs in football, soccer, basketball, field hockey, ice hockey and lacrosse have always been a pipeline for our high school teams, like Burr & Burton,” says Taconic & Green School District Athletic Director Pat Whalen. “When they saw the benefits of our new track and field teams, it’s not surprising that BBA let us know they would love to have some experienced cross country runners coming to their school from eighth grade.”
Dennis and assistant coach Jarad Golitko have put together a comprehensive training regimen for their new squad. Due to obligations with other sports and afterschool activities, the kids meet formally just three times a week. The workouts include sprints on the Dana Thompson running track, long distance runs for endurance, and a special running session on Fridays at Cardiac Hill on the Manchester Rail Trail, because as Dennis points out, “The hill gets the heart pumping.”
The young runners have a variety of reasons for picking up the sport:
"My mother made me do it,” offered one boy.
“I’m pretty sure my parents signed me up without asking,” reported another.
“I thought it would help me deal with my asthma and improve my training for other sports,” said a third.
Some of the kids come from families that run. A few have older siblings on high school cross country teams. Others go even farther back in time. One girl remembered her family running and walking a five kilometer race when she was in kindergarten. “It took us an hour and a half, but we all finished together,” she said. Another boy remembered participating in an annual Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day when he lived near Boston.
The variety of reasons aside, the kids all seemed to enjoy running with their friends. So far, Northshire Cross Country has participated in five meets. One was run near home on the BBA Course, just south of Manchester on Route 7A. The others were held in Bennington, Poultney, Fair Haven and Brattleboro.
The team is now preparing for the Southern Vermont League A-Division Cross-Country Championship. The race will be run at Northwood Park in Rutland Town on Friday, October 20th. The boys start at 3:30 pm and the girls at 3:45 pm. The Middle School long distance runners will wrap up their season at the State Championship Meet in St. Albans on Sunday, October 29th at the Hard’ack Recreation Area. The boys run first at 11 am followed by the girls start at 11:40 am.
Coach Dennis believes his runners are ready, “It’s been great watching their progress over the season,” he said. “It’s tough to rein them in, they want to go fast, but the most important thing is they are having fun."
To a person, the kids all feel strongly that cross county has made them faster runners with more endurance. They have gained confidence, are counting the days to their final competitions, and aiming to post their fastest times of the season.
Chickens … Beware!
Northshire Cross-Country runners relax after running up Cardiac Hill