Running at 1 p.m. was different, to be sure. As I mentioned, it was quite hot for a cross country race. It was a large field, mostly with school from Kentucky, I think, and a perhaps a few from Ohio. There were a ton of college kids there when we arrived just ahead of the MBA bus, and it was pretty cool to see them milling about E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park. The college kids ran in the coveted morning slots, which left the hotter afternoon for the high school runners.
The setup of the course was nice, similar to the Southern Showcase course in Huntsville. The court was tight with a few switchbacks, as a result of which I was able to watch the runners at multiple vantage points and still get to the finish line. It's a bucolic park, too, which was a plus. The course itself was fairly flat - again, like Huntsville - which means it's reasonably fast.
It was cool before the race started to hear the announcer talking about the teams and runners over the loudspeaker. He mentioned that MBA, from Nashville, was racing and should do well. He also identified JP and Gabe, from MBA, as two runners who likely be running up front.
And that's exactly what happened, as JP took the lead early and held it for the first two miles or so. There was a lead pack of five or six runners, and Gabe was in it, as well. He settled in right behind JP, in fact. It was cool, to be honest, to see JP and Gabe running so close together for the first two-thirds of the race.
At about the 2 1/2 mile mark, a kid from St. X in the lead pack had pulled away from JP just a bit, maybe 10 yards. I could see that JP was staying with him, though, and I thought there might be an interesting are to the finish line the last 400 or 500 yards. As it turned out, JP did pull even with the St. X kid on the home stretch, which is downhill. JP couldn't quite match his finishing kick, though, and finished in 2nd place by two or three seconds, at 15:30.90.
Gabe finished in 3rd place, about five seconds behind JP. It was a good race for both of them, although I know JP would have liked to have won the race. The MBA team got a Louisville Slugger bat for finishing second overall, probably the best and most interesting trophy they have received since JP's been on the Hill. After the race, there already was talk about whether the bat would be displayed in the school's trophy case or in the cross country/track and field's trophy case in the locker room.
It was a quick trip but a good one. I'm glad I was there to see JP run on one of his favorite courses.
JP and Gabe ran into former teammate, Mitchell Chaffin, who raced for Centre College earlier in the day. It was good to see him.
JP, pre-race.
Tarah and Gabe checking out the map of the course I found.
Co-Captain, Jack McDaniel (a.k.a. "McDavid")
I think this is my favorite photo of JP running I've ever taken.
Post-race.
Gabe, JP, and Wynn. Strong junior class. MBA's top three finishers.
JP and Oliver, from Science Hill High School. I met his parents before the race.
Co-Captains, Jack and JP. Friends since they were three years old at Children's House.
Second place trophy. Pretty cool.
Gabe and JP with the second place trophy.
The Seven.
Wynn, Gabe, and JP.
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