Logan's 1st PHS XC Race

After training with his high school's cross country team since the beginning of June, Logan had his first unofficial XC meet this afternoon.  His high school hosts a meet at the beginning of each season in September at Wildwood Park for runners from just their high school.  His coach does this so that everyone has a chance to run in one race before official meets begin the next week and to give them a baseline time.  Since the Wildwood Park course is very difficult, full of many hills and trails in the woods, I didn't know what to expect from Logan.  However, he rose to the occasion and stayed in the first pack of boys during this 2.7 mile race.  I was able to see him four times during the run and watched him slowly pass a few boys each time.  By the end, he was in ninth place as he ran past me which meant he was two places away from a varsity spot on the team.  Although I didn't make it to the finish line before he completed the race, I learned from another mom that he finished at 7th place after passing two boys on the last hill and finished it in 17:37.  I was so blown away by this as it is so difficult to be in the top seven runners as a freshman, especially on the boys team which is typically so much larger than the girls team.  I was so proud of Logan and this huge accomplishment, especially during the first meet of the season.  Well done, Logan!

Logan running past meet me as he ran up one of the many hills on this course.

Another unique aspect of this meet is that the coach hosts a second race for any friends and family of the XC runner who want to participate.  After learning about this the night before, Emmett said that he wanted to run in this second race, but I knew that he would need a "chaperone runner" to go with him through this 2.7 mile course in the woods.  Luckily, his good friend, Kenzo, from school and his running club, has a mom who enjoys long-distance running.  So after giving her a call last night, we learned that Emmett could do this race with Kenzo and his mom.  It was so fun to cheer the three of them on as they ran around this lengthy course, especially since Emmett has never ran more than one mile at a time.  He is so athletic and in shape that it was no big deal for him to finish this difficult course.  He was all smiles when I found him at the finish line.  Well done, Emmett!