Hey parents–never watched a cross country meet before? What do you do? Where do you sit? What’s the score?
Okay, first of all, it’s not like a football game. If you sit in one spot you’ll miss almost everything. Your runners will be running 3000 meters (1.8 miles), so you might want to come prepared to move around a little. Most–but not all–races will start and finish in the same general area. In between, runners are on trails, roads, beaches, etc. So here’s my first tip on where to go to catch glimpses of your runners: Follow the crowd. After the race starts coaches, teammates, parents who have been through this before, will usually head off in a noticeable direction. Follow them–they are likely going to an area where runners can be seen.
Next, you won’t be able to see the whole race. It’s not like a track meet. You’ll see the start, you’ll see the finish, and you’ll catch glimpses of your runners in between. What do you watch for when you catch those glimpses? Of course, you notice where your child is. But beyond that, look for jersey colors. Lots of purple and gold toward the front? Then the Pirates are in good shape. Not so much purple and gold up front? Hmmm…not so good.
The next thing to remember? It might be hard for you to tell which team won the meet. Remember, each team’s first five runners across the finish line score for the team. It’s best if the team’s runners can be bunched closely together, but that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes it takes a while to sort out the winning team. Your child brought home a cross country book earlier this season that gives you the whole scoop on how a cross country meet is scored. This might be a good time to take a look at that, before you go to watch your child run.
The next tip: Bring warm clothes. Cross country meets are almost never cancelled because of weather. Rain, wind, whatever–it’s all part of the competition. The weather can be a huge factor at times–if it’s warm and humid, it will slow some runners down, and others who might not have normally been up toward the front of the pack can shoot into the top pack. Rain, wind, etc. can have the same effect. We try to prepare our runners for all the conditions they might encounter, including weather, steep hills, narrow trails, strategies for passing other runners (not as easy as you might think!)
My final tip: Don’t worry about where your child is in the race and at the finish, especially early in the season. Everyone is still getting into running shape, we’re working hard in practice, and they will all improve by the end of the season. Our goal as coaches is to hopefully have the kids peaking at the District meet.
So have fun supporting your kids and the Sunset team–Thanks for letting Barb and I work with such a great bunch of kids!
Tim