Cross Country Takes Austin
October 2, 2015
As the Fort Worth Country Day Cross Country team continues on in the season, the team has better and better results. Many runners have experienced pace records, “PR’s”, this year and have had lots of fun bonding with teammates. One such race that resulted in great times and achievements was the trip to St. Andrews in Austin to compete in a 5k race on Friday, September 11.
On every trip that involves eating out for dinner, it is a Cross Country tradition to have a huge feast at Olive Garden. Not only is Olive Garden a great restaurant, but it is also a great source of carbohydrates, which helps a runner’s performance. After filling up at Olive Garden on salad, bread sticks, and pasta, the team got back onto the bus and after almost getting lost, arrived at La Quinta at 10:30 p.m. Friday night. Everyone went to bed as soon as possible since the wake-up call was set for 5:30 a.m. the next morning.
The buses left La Quinta at 6:00 a.m. and headed for St. Andrews, a Catholic SPC school in Austin. The 3.1-mile course was especially flat and on grass except for the final 200 meters, which were on the track. The race was a two-loop course. The first loop was just less than two miles while the second loop was just over one mile. Another bonus was the weather. The temperature was in the 80s and most of the course was shaded so the run felt much easier than more hot, humid, and hilly courses.
The varsity girl’s race started at 7:30 a.m., just 30 minutes after the team arrived. Three FWCD varsity girls ran in this race, including Hannah Barron ’19, who ran a personal best of 22:30 and finished first out of the FWCD girls. The varsity boy’s race started at 8:00 a.m., and FWCD had six runners in this varsity race. The best runner out of the team was Lucas Marlar ’19 with a time of 17:32 (Marlar has since transferred to Paschal High School). The jv boy’s race didn’t begin until 10:30 a.m. The best FWCD runner of the race was Will Foster ’17 with a time of 21:29. In between races, some of the FWCD runners threw the frisbee on the football field, where the tents were set up, because the large open grass area was perfect for the activity. As soon as all of the races were finished, the team packed up the tent and other equipment and re-loaded the bus for the ride back to FWCD.
The FWCD team got to stop at the famous Buc-ee’s in Temple on the way back as a reward for everyone’s hard work. Finally, the team got back to FWCD at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 12, and everyone headed home for some well-needed rest.
