Frequently Asked Questions

We meet outside the HS/MS locker room.  Please be there as soon as you can after class. 

Running shoes are a must.  If you wear regular street shoes you will develop an injury. Some good brands of running shoes are Hokas, Brookes, Asics, Saucony, and Nike.  

Spikes are not mandatory but can help a runner shave time off their race. If you do not have spikes you can wear your regular training shoes.  We will be starting a spike bin.  MS and HS athletes feet grow FAST! HS & MS athletes feet grow fast! With only a few races a season those spikes have a lot of life left in them. We will have a bin availible of used spikes.  Feel free to add or take from the bin!

High School athletes will run a 5K which is 3.1 miles. Middle school athletes will run anywhere from 1.5 miles to 2 miles. The CCCA strongly recommends MS races be 2 miles. 

Athletes must wear their uniform to meets.  This is the running top and bottom along with the warm up jacket and pants.  IF your warm ups are too big you may wear black joggers instead of pants.  The jacket must be worn.  We want to present as a team and represent our school with pride. 

We strongly discourage riding separately from the team to meets.  It will only be approved if it's unique circumstances.  It will need to be approved by coaches ahead of time. 

You can ride home with a guardian or parent as long as we have a written note from the parent or guardian.  It must be signed, dated, and handed to a coach.  You may not ride home with a friend, non-relative or guardian. 

We stop after every meet. It is very important for a distance runner to refuel after a race. We have multiple races (HS girls, boys, and MS) and long bus rides so we need to stop and let athletes refuel. 

 Night meets are late at night.  We quickly go to a gas station and grab some snacks or food. We are aware these meets can run late and do not want to delay pick up times anymore than we have to. 

Stopping after a meet is a great way to build team morale.  It also allows teammates to bond and discuss their races. 

Bus times will be provided before every meet.  Remind messages will be sent with the time of dismissal and the times of the races. The website will also be updated with bus times. 

Our Night Meets are the highlight of the regular season. They start when it gets dark (between 7-8pm) and we get home after MIDNIGHT! Coaches did not get home until after 1am last year after packing up our gear and waiting for the last athlete to be picked up. So be prepared for a FUN late night.  What makes these meets so special is the atmosphere.  The course is traced in string lights and black lights. Below are some highlights-

-Tents are decorated with string lights, glow sticks, and athletes can play music.

-Everywhere you go outside of the course has lights, music, fun black lights to make everyone glow!! 

- Athletes can where fun socks, glitter face paint, glow sticks, hair glitter, LED shoe laces, LED hair ties, and glow in the dark face paint.  You can wear glow in the dark or LED hats and gloves. 

-Teams socialize with other teams which we normally don't get a lot of time to do. 

 There is no concern about medals we are just there to have FUN!   

Please reference the peanut free safe snack list posted on the school website.  Please reference the Athletes with Allergies tab.  We avoid all nut products.  Instead of bringing a peanut butter granola bar bring a chocolate chip one instead.  If your unsure please ask Coach Amanda.  If you bring snacks for the whole team please avoid gluten and peanuts/tree nuts.  Good choices are apples, bananas, cuties, fruit snacks, rice krispie treats noted as GF, apple sauce pouches, pickles, or watermelon. 

We run rain or shine.  The only time we do not practice is if school is canceled.  If it's lightning out we practice inside.  If it's raining we enjoy a fun puddle run!

Coaches may move practice inside if the air quality puts any of our team at risk. 

YES! If you are constantly under fueling or over fueling you will run into problems.  Athletes need more calories than a regular student.  It's recommended that a male distance runner consumes at least 2500 calories a day if not more. Underfueling will deplete essential nutrient stores and will lead to the runner burning out.  Remember it's a lot easier to maintain nutrient stores then it is to rebuild them during competition season.  Please see the Nutrition section on this site and read all the available tabs. 

YES! Sleep helps our bodies heal from our daily runs.  If you're not sleeping your muscles are not healing.  We recommend 8-10 hours of sleep each night. Sleep helps keep your body in balance. 

Some athletes struggle to fall asleep after a busy day or a meet.  Some strategies to help you sleep are avoiding blue lights, listening to calming music, and meditation. 

Athletes should drink at least 60 oz of water each day.  Many athletes need electrolytes to replenish what is lost while running.  Please check out the Hydration tab under Nutrition on this website for more information on what you can do to replenish electrolytes. 

If we are at a meet and you realize your missing something we will do our best to help, but it may mean missing out on running the race. If you can't find your uniform top or bottom the day of a race please reach out to a coach and we will find a temporary replacement.  If you continually come to practice unprepared it may impact your running eligibility for the next race.