NXR 2024

Early this afternoon in Cary, North Carolina, the fell on MBA's varsity cross country season as the team finished in a 10th place tie on their return to NXR.  For Jack, Charlie, Jack, Brady, JP, Gabe, and Will, it was their last race together and, honestly, that hits me kind of hard. 

It's such a great group of boys.  Great things ahead, I know, for all of them.  Over the course of the season and particularly here, in Cary, NC, I've gotten to know each of them a little better, particularly the older boys.  Because I rented a Jeep Grand Wagoneer, I was the official team driver.  As such, I drove the boys to and from dinner last night and to the race this morning.  Just listening to them talk to each other made me smile.  

Topics?  Vanderbilt basketball.  Vanderbilt football.  NXR.  College cross country team.  Running, lots of running.  The proper pronunciation of Nevada (my personal favorite).  

JP flew into Raleigh, NC, on Thursday afternoon.  I couldn't make it until Friday, as I was stuck in mediation on Thursday.  Truth be told, I think JP liked having the hotel room to himself, at least for one night, anyway.  

Yesterday, not too long after I arrived, we drove over to WakeMed Soccer Park, so the boys could run the course.  I ran it, too, with John Hyatt accompanying me along the way.  The course is hilly.  It's a real cross course, for sure.  It's beautiful, though, as a large part of the course is on a wide gravel path in the woods.  It was more than a little humbling, though, to be passed by runner after runner, male and female.  I took the tiniest amount of pride in the fact that at 58, there is a good chance I was the oldest runner on the course.  

The entire group had dinner last night at Vic's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria in Raleigh, NC.  Vic's is a small place - a joint - but the food was excellent.  It was tremendously enjoyable to talk to the boys' parents and really get to know some of them better, although it's a bit sad that the weekend is a bit of a one off, as these type of weekends are.  Four of the seven boys are graduating and, as a result, their parents won't be around next year.  

I think that's part of what makes these type of weekends so memorable.  NXN in Portland, OR, last year and NXR in Cary, NC, this year are singular events.  They won't be repeated because the team changes, the families change, and you know that going in.  For me, anyway, the nostalgia creeps in during the weekend, not just afterwards.  

After dinner, several of the parents had a drink downstairs in a sitting area near the bar.  Good conversation among good people, all of us excited for the race the next day.  All of proud of our sons. 

I was stymied in my search of a good coffee shop this morning by road closures for the Raleigh, NC Christmas Parade.  I ended up at the Farmer's Market at a coffee booth - 321 - which actually was pretty nice.  As I sipped my coffee, I listened to four older gentleman broadcast a radio show about gardening at a table nearby.  It was peaceful, at least until a bird flying in the rafters decided to drop a dolly of shit on my sweatshirt.  I had to laugh.  

The boys' championship race was the finale today after several other races for boys and girls from smaller schools.  Traffic wasn't bad, in large part due to the fact that Coach Bassett went to law school at N.C. State and was able to take us to WakeMed Soccer Park on the back roads.  Fortunately, I was able to talk my way past a security guard and into the parking lot, which was closed, since I had our entire team in the Grand Wagoneer.  In the end, I lucked into a parking place within waling distance of the entry to the course.  

In the girls' race, Brentwood High School - my alma mater - finished in second place by 1 second over Webb School of Knoxville and punched their ticket to NXN in the girls' championship race, which was phenomenally close.  

The boys' field was fast, really fast.  I can't imagine another region had a field this fast across the board.  Keegan Smith set the course and state (Tennessee) record with a blistering 14.23:3.  I saw him finish and I was astonished at how fast he was running up the hill to the finish line.  I've never seen anything like it in person.  

Jack Wallace finished in 22nd at 15:17:9, an impressive time for him.  JP finished 52nd at 15:38:40.  He was a bit disappointed, I think, because he would have liked to have run 15:30.  Still, it was around 15 seconds faster than her ran at NXR last year.  Jack, JP, and other boys were battling the sniffles and coughing all weekend, so to run the time they ran was impressive.  

Most of the boys and their families left for the airport after the race.  Some went to look at UNC's campus in Chapel Hill, NC, like we did, then left tonight on the 9 p.m. flight.  I took JP to Al's Burger Shack after he toured the campus.  Great cheeseburger.  Then, we drove back to the hotel, which is where I am, now, ha ing a bourbon downstairs and unwinding.

It's been a memorable weekend.  I'm blessed.