Cross country families, I wanted to post some info before dead period for your reference … once we reconvene in July, things will move FAST.

SAVE THE DATES
Sat Jul 27 = post-run social @ 50 West
Thu Aug 8 = Alumni Run
Sat Aug 10 = final summer run + brunch @ Miami Whitewater
Wed Aug 14 = Meet the Team dinner @ CCH (tent.)
Sat Aug 31 = select athletes overnight meet to WV
Mon Sept 2 = mandatory PM practice @ Flagship Park

EQUIPMENT ORDERS
Below you’ll find a link to order equipment your athlete will need this season.

https://covington-catholic-spirit-shop.myshopify.com/collections/2024-fall-cross-country-uniforms

Returning athletes do not need to re-order items they still have. (FYI, I collected the water bottles from last year’s “1994” group … if you can’t find yours, good chance it’s with me.)

The shop will close the first Friday after dead period ends, July 12 … but please do not wait to take care of this! If we collect everyone’s order sooner than the deadline, we can make the order with our vendor earlier and the chances go up that we’ll receive everything well before the season starts. (Also, please note that final designs may differ slightly from images shown.)

If any athletes would prefer to borrow the team-issued jerseys we’ve used in previous seasons — rather than purchase one to keep — I have a limited number I can make available for this season. We’ll prioritize requests in the following order: freshman, seniors, juniors, sophomores.

TRAINING
Consistency is the most important aspect of the summer. By mid-July we will be training 5 days/week … the risk of injury goes way WAY up when someone tries to jump into that after doing very sporadic activity.

Athletes should try to supplement their longer running with core and other strength work 2x a week + faster “stride-outs” 1-2x a week.

Finally, several activities this season are made available to select groups of athletes, as a reward for demonstrated commitment to training hard (and consistently) over the summer. Details below:

OVERNIGHT TRAINING CAMP 7/21-7/24 … max of 20 athletes
> athletes MUST have logged 3 weeks >20 miles this summer on a GPS app to be eligible
> 1st invites: runners under 12:00 in our 3200 time trial
> 2nd invites: seniors >70% participation in scheduled summer training sessions
> final invites: discretionary… athletes <14:00 in the 3200 time trial will be considered based on summer mileage + participation

FLEET FEET RELAYS 8/17 + MOELLER PRIMETIME 8/23… no max
Athletes who, from 6/1 – 7/13, have met EITHER…
> greater than 70% participation in scheduled conditioning, OR
> mileage mins on info sheet … frosh/soph rookies = 100 … returning sophs/upperclassmen = 150

MIDLAND FESTIVAL OVERNIGHT 8/31 – 9/2 … 14 athletes
Ranking will weight performance at Moeller (50%), Alumni Race (30%), intrasquad time trials (20%)

I’ve re-attached our preseason info sheet for your reference. Please remember that once mandatory practice begins, unexcused absences will result in penalties that could include missing one or more meets. In order for absences to be excused, they must be communicated 24 hours prior to the missed practice via this form.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1zqwpftuRluiMNfhJ_zCts4He57gx0YiGpkyWHqJzQ9Q/edit?usp=drive_web

Reasons for absences that will be excused by default are family events, illness, and faith-based activities. (Employment, doctor’s appointments, driving lessons, and homework are not automatically excused.)

Finally, if you click the following link and add it to (sometimes called “subscribe”) your Google Calendar, iCal or Outlook calendar, you should automatically get synced updates to our schedule of major activities all fall.

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=MWttb2ltYzVmMzI1bjdmMGpvcDdsOTJjZmtAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ

Thanks for your support… let’s have a great season!