We had an excellent week of workouts, highlighted by a hard 3 X 1 mile session on Tuesday.  This was a chance to get used to race pace and to figure out how hard to go out and how to sustain a hard pace.  At the front of the pack our big 4 of Ringwood, Friedman, Matteson and Greenwood layed down some very fast miles - close to 5 minute pace.  But the real learning was done by some of the new guys - some went a little too fast on the first one and were not able to come close to that time on the second and third mile.  We were impressed that many steadily improved on each mile - the real way to run a race "Moorestown Style".  We also loved to see the pack running with guys pushing each other and helping each other out.

 

We also had a parent meeting.  Hopefully people got a good feel for our program and our emphasis on making sure we think, act and run as a TEAM this year.  We had 30 families sign up to help with things like psych parties, banquet, food, trail work, the Turkey Trot and the Uniform Program.  It is an important transition year since there are some real core parents who have Senior sons this year and it is great to see so many new faces step up to help.  Just like the runners - the parent's are a real part of the TEAM!

 

But the highlight of the week was the trail!  Leonberg Nurseries had a person spread stone over much of the length of the trail thru the woods next to the new fields.  We then had a work day on Saturday.  Half of the crew spread mulch on part of the new trail, then did clean-up work on our existing trails.  The other half of the crew blazed the trail thru the woods around the middle school fields.  It was a lot of hard work, but will be sure make a sweet course and a great place to train!  Special thanks to the parents that showed up to help!

 

As we discussed in the meeting, we need to raise about $10,000 to pay for the trail and the Uniform Program.  Please send your donations to Catherine Friedman, 415 E Oak St., Moorestown, NJ  08057.  Make checks payable to "Moorestown Education Foundation - Cross Country" so they can be tax deductable.  See our website for a form and explanation.

 

This is our first week of racing!  We have a batch meet at Cinnaminson on Tuesday at 3:45.  We will run a Varisty 12 against the other teams, and because of our team size, the rest of our team will start 5 minutes later (so we do not overwhelm the other teams which average around 10 runners each on the 4 teams we will be running against).  That means it will be everyone's first time to get a baseline time for a full 5K course - Freshman included.  We strongly encourage parents to come to as many meets as they can.  The guys love to get encouragement, even if they do not say so at home...

 

On Saturday, we will going to the Cherokee Challenge.  This is a huge meet where there will be 4 races for the boys - each by grade.  The other different thing about this meet is that everyone runs 2 miles.  Frosh at 10AM, Sophs at 10:40, Juniors at 11:20 and Seniors at noon.  We will announce bus times later in the week at practice.  We want everyone to stay for the entire meet - it is fun, and we can cheer for our teammates! We will also have a psych party on Friday night.  The location is to be determined, but will be announced at practice and on Facebook.

 

You can always check out our plan on our website at

http://www.moorestownxc.org/2008Team/2008Team_index.htm. 

 

We are hoping to finish the trail work next Sunday.  Plan on being at the school at 8AM.  We understand that some people will have church commitments.  We encourage all runners and their parents to come out and help.  We need wheelbarrows, pitchforks and rakes.