About the schedule:
Follow Me Invitational: This is an intra squad team bonding activity that is a fun way to introduce kids to the sport. I, or an alum, go 10 minutes before the kids to mark the trail and the runners follow. The runners will be following a trial of flour that is left behind, but they will have to make frequent stops to find the proper way to go (we leave false trails as well). Food and drinks await them at the end.
Races (during the week): We will only invite a couple of school to our races at the beginning of the season. Montgomery Hill Park (near Evergreen Valley College) is our home course and we will try to get a large number of schools to join us for those races. If we get invited to a race by another school, such as Bret Harte, procedures and times will probably be different. Athletes will need to be released from their 6th period classes for most races.
Pool Workouts: These are cross training workouts where the kids will actually run in the deep pool. It is a good way to recover between races and still get a good workout in. We use aquatic flotation belts on all of the runners to keep their head above the water, so they do not need to know how to swim. My 9-year-old son (not a strong swimmer) has done this workout.
Invitationals (weekends): Invitationals are races that tend to draw the best competition. It is a great opportunity for us to experience something quite different from the races we host. Valuable experience can be gained here. We have to travel a bit farther than usual for these, but it is worth the time and effort.
Beach Workout: This is usually done at Nisene Marks Start Park in Aptos. It is a forest with some beautiful running trails. We will do a workout here, then go to the beach and play. We usually BBQ hot dogs or burgers, and the kids have fun.
Mud Factor Run: This is new team bonding event. It is a run through a course filled with mud and obstacles. You must pay for this yourself, and it can be a bit pricey, but the experience should be great. See the team website for more details.
Haunted House: Another team bonding event. This is another one you must pay for. There is a link to the haunted house (Pirates of Emerson) on the team website with information and prices. Family (in small numbers) is welcome to join us and, we may have some alumni there too. Most of the kids have been okay with the event, but there have been a small number who were too scared to go into certain haunts. There is a range from (almost) non-scary to wow, that was scary!
Division Finals: This is the typically the only meet that we have to limit the numbers of runners. We are only allowed 7 per team. We usually take the most dedicated and fastest runners, but have often substituted slower runners who earned the spot over a faster runner. Only the top runners may qualify from Division to the Section Finals.
Section Finals: Only those runners or teams who placed in a top spots qualify for this race. We will go against the top runners from the other divisions to see who is the best.
County Meet: WGMS runners are encouraged to participate in this. We will race against some of the best runners in the Bay Area and, occasionally, the nation.
Last Practice: This will be our last “workout” as a team. We will play in the pool and have some food. This is when I would like to collect uniforms as well.
Banquet: This is a potluck awards banquet held here at WGMS. Team and individual accomplishments will be recognized here. Food assignments will be done later.