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BRISK COUNTRY RUN
by Margaret Sloan, Photos courtesy of uchidaphotography.com
Kids bring a splash of color to the natural environment when in team regalia at a cross-country meet making it a spectator's delight. And when children are told to just get out there and do their best, participating becomes a winning situation. Lucky kids who get to be part of an XC team. -cng/KR Editor |
Everyone could benefit from substituting a brisk cross
country run for a Sunday brunch, and that's just what
Overbrook School in Nashville TN has given 1500
children the opportunity to do.
Overbrook athletic director Trey Edmondson took charge of the event 10 years ago, which has grown from 5 teams with about 100 runners at the meet's inception in 1986, to the current 18 teams bringing close to 1500 runners from K to 8.
Double that number with the cheering crowds of families enjoying the show, add tents and banners and impressive meet organization, and it's clear why this event has grown. Edmondson smiles and says," I think we've maxed out the number of teams we can let participate. There's no where else to park!" There are 4 meets in the series, and although the event is dubbed the Parochial League, Edmondson has allowed schools outside the diocesan system to compete, a welcome opportunity for anyone looking for an entry-level experience in the sport.
Close to 200 kindergarten girls toe the line at 1:00 pm for a challenging 3/4 mile figure 8. Edmondson gives careful instructions about good running etiquette, tells everyone to "run your best", and they're off. Almost everyone survives the mad dash, and the pack thins just in time to parade by the familiar faces safely cordoned off in the spectator area. Every little face pans the crowd looking for encouragement, sympathy or just plain celebration. One runner tosses her head and breaks into a spirited gallop. Strategy is thrown to the wind at this age. When Hillsboro Elementary and Middle School's 5 year old Nora Goldfarb is advised to start more slowly to avoid being tired at the end, she naively responds, "I don't care if I get tired." It's the perfect opening act.
Ten divisions then follow with Penn Relays-like
precision, and it's all over in 90 minutes. How do
they do it? At the finish line, there are no popsicle
sticks, no team scores and no awards until the final
meet which features the Parochial League Middle School
Championships. K-6 receive participation ribbons.
Races go off every 8 minutes, with a courteous "30
seconds to start" bullhorned to the timers lined up
at the finish like railbirds at a racetrack.
Although the spirit of the day is definitely inspired
by fun and self-improvement, some children are there
to race. Edmondson and Teresa Marchetti, Overbrook's
coach, tell their team to run against last week's time
and "99% improve their performance", according to
Edmondson.
Watching St. Matthews Lions' Mary Ann Russell and Michael Peters cruise to their respective victories in the girls and boys middle school races, it is clear that they take running seriously. Both have run in this league for at least 5 yrs, and also compete for Precision Track Club.
One concern that many of us have starting our children
in a sport at an early age is burnout. Marchetti
hasn't seen a high percentage of drop-out during her
10 years as Overbrook's coach. Lin Marzialo and Nancy
Margaret Wehby, Overbrook's top finishers in the
middle school race, have been running since K and 1st
grade respectively. Lin sees running as a good
competitive companion to soccer and Nancy Margaret
intends to challenge herself in running the rest of
her life.
As a former "career runner" from age 11 to age 32, with a brief stop in Seoul to run the Olympic marathon in 1988 (not a career highlight performance despite a win at the trials), this Overbrook event was the perfect entry-level experience for me as coach of my children Emma, age 9 and Paul age 7, and their friends at Hillsboro Elementary and Middle School, a rural public school in the Leiper's Fork community of Franklin, TN. Our team of 19 beginners, ranging from K to 8th grade, found the no-competition format a relief for pre-race jitters and performance anxiety. A few rose to the call of being a champion and were paired with like-minded little running souls. Assistant coach Sally Goldfarb and I laughed at our tears of appreciation of each child's personal effort, whether striving for 1st or 159th. We agree with Teresa Marchetti that this is the only sport that brings such a wide age-group together as one team with a common experience that fosters respect for one another and hopefully instills a life-long understanding of the importance of physical fitness.
AGE-APPROPRIATE BIO FOR Margaret Groos Sloan
Age 12- finished 3rd at AAU xc Natl's; cried on the starting line! Preferred track : 60 s 400m and 27.5 200m
Age 14- 58.1 400m 2:10.3 800m
Age 15- 4:20.2 1500m
Age 17- 4:18.3 1500m
CAREER PRs AND HIGHLIGHTS
800m 2:08
1500m 4:16
2 miles (i) 9:36
5,000m 15:34
10,000m 32:20
half marathon 1:11.28
marathon 2:29.50 1988 marathon Olympic trials champ
4 x USA World cross country team member; finished in the top 10 ind.
Homemade kid-sized "bib" numbers do just fine for children.
Carol Goodrow: carolgoodrow@verizon.net