In junior school at MBA, the athletic seasons pass by so quickly. Cross country is almost over, then it's on to soccer. I've really, really enjoyed watching Joe and his teammates race, although the weather has been horrendously hot.
I don't want Joe's cross country season, and how much it's meant to me to watch him run, to get lost in the excitement of JP's quest for a 5k under 15:00 and a state title. Joe has had an outstanding season, which is a result of all the work he put in this summer and has continued to put in since school started a few weeks ago.
Every race, Joe has consistently finished 7th or 8th overall and been in MBA's top 5, scoring runners. As I've learned over the years with JP's group, almost every cross country team has a runner or two who can challenge for the top spot. What makes a successful cross country team, though, is depth. When MBA qualified for NXN in Portland, OR, during JP's freshman year, it was because they were so deep. As freshmen, JP and Gabe Guillamondegui were already high level runners who gave the team an opportunity to compete an a level unseen for several years.
In Thursday's race, for example, Cullen Weaver battled the leaders early, and finished third overall. Joe ran with a group of MBA runners who finished 6 - 10. Having that many boys running that close together effectively ended any chance USN had at finishing first overall, even though they had three very good runners in the top 10. That's depth.
Joe finished Thursday's race in 11:56, another PR for him. Two miles in under 12:00 is a strong run.
To see Joe's growth as a runner this summer and fall has been a tremendous and unexpected blessing for me. As I've written before, I was a little skeptical when Joe approached me at the end of the school year last spring and suggested he wanted to run cross country this fall. I wasn't sure what his motivations were but I knew - I mean, I really knew - that if he wanted to do it, he would need to train his ass off all summer. I just wasn't sure if he had the desire and the discipline to do it.
I also wanted Joe to want to run cross country for the right reasons. Not because his brother was such an accomplished cross country runner. I wanted Joe to want to run for Joe, and for no one else. Not for JP and certainly not for me. At one point, JP intervened on Joe's behalf and initiated a conversation with me to convince me that Joe was serious about wanting to run cross country in the fall.
I agreed, bought Joe a pair or two of running shoes, and off he went. Joe ran all summer long in the mornings. His dedication impressed me because I hadn't seen him commit to something with his whole heart and mind in the past. Over the course of the summer, Joe turned himself in to a runner. His body changed and, I think, he gained confidence in his ability to run. This fall, I think he's gained confidence in his ability to run well, even in extreme heat.
Joe has really, really enjoyed being part of the cross country team. As I learned with JP, there is a bond that the members of a cross country team share that is different than with other teams. The boys spend so much time together, running. Training and racing is a shared experience at all levels of skill. With Joe's team, too, Elijah Reynolds does such an amazing job with the boys, too. He instills in them a love of running, I think.
What does the future hold for Joe as a runner? Honestly, I don't know. My hope is that he will run cross country in high school, but he's going to have to love running to do it. The time commitment and the training will increase, of course. However, his confidence will grow if he dedicates himself to running. Most of all, though, I want Joe to sustain a lifelong love of running, like I have. My fervent hope, for Joe and JP, is that they will run throughout their lives.
It's not about the running. It's what you learn from the running.
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