Week of Aug 31

 Here are the basics for this upcoming week.  We will be switching to just an afternoon practice , minus Friday so if people want to head out for the weekend, starting this week. Expect practices from start to finish to be around an hour and a half long.  Also, Coach Lauren and I will be out of town for the week, but Coach K and Coach Jerlie will be at the practices.  If you need something or have any questions, you can still text or email me and I will get to it as soon as I can.  

Monday: Girls - 3:15, Boys - 3:30 at CRHS
Tuesday: Girls - 3:15, Boys - 3:30 at CR Dam
Wednesday: Girls - 3:15, Boys - 3:30 at Bunker Golf Course Lot 1
Thursday: Girls - 3:15, Boys - 3:30 at CRHS
Friday: Girls - 8:00am, Boys - 9:00am at CRHS

Any questions, please let me know,
Thanks
Denny

No Practice Today, Friday, Aug 28

 Due to the possibilities of rain and/or storms this morning, we will be cancelling our practices for today, Friday, Aug 28.  Once things clear, please get out and do a 20-40 min Level 2 run on your own as well as 2 sets of calf exercises and 2 sets of band work. When completed, do 3 sets of push ups (both regular and wide push-ups), and 3 sets of a core/ab exercise of your choice.

As for Saturday, for those that are able to make it, we will be meeting at 8:30am at Salk Middle School in Elk River (directions posted in a previous post), where we will be doing a hill workout to work on our leg strength.  The workout will be challenging, but we will modify for where every one is currently at in their development.

We will be starting afternoon practices starting on Monday, Aug 31, with the Girls going at 3:15 and the Boys at 3:30.  We will send out more details on next week by Sunday.

Thank and any questions, please let me know,
Denny

Anoka Dual Results

Our individual result are now posted on the right side of the blog.  Once I get Anoka's times I will post the overall results as well.

Congratulations to Andre for winning his first race and starting the season on a high note.  Also congrats to Ilsa for placing 2nd in the girls race, on what was a warmer race than hoped for, and tough knowing that we were in our first race a week earlier than usual.  

It was a good start, with what I was looking for was how they did the first mile as well as the first lap, and how they finished.  We knew as coaches that we wouldn't be at our best and we are also a ways off from where we would like to be, but the first step is out of the way, they got the first race in, and we were at a solid position in both races through the mile and half way through the race.  We will have some work to do to build to the next step, but with more work all the runners will be improving and getting more comfortable racing and know more of what they are capable of doing this season.

Our next meet will not be until Sep 11, back at Anoka, so we have two weeks to get ready and it will be fun to see how much the runners could improve by that meet, as well as if we can move up on Anoka, whose depth was able to beat both the Girls and the Boys teams today.

Thanks for those that came out today.  It was a little different and I'm sure things will be tweaked by the next meet to make things run smoother.

Denny

Spectators Are Allowed

I know there has been confusion on spectators for the races, but all spectators are welcome to come, you just need to stay out of the team camp, start, and finish areas, and when out on the course, you need to stay back from the race area as well.

Thanks, Denny

Tuesday Evening Practices Cancelled

Due to the heat and the high dew point, we are going to cancel practices for tonight, Tuesday, August 25th.  
Any questions, please let me know,

Thanks
Denny

Uniforms

We will be handing out uniforms today (Tuesday) during practices.  If by chance someone is unable to be at practice, I will have the uniforms with me and I can get a uniform to them at any of the practices before the meet on Thursday.

The one thing I ask that everyone does after they get their uniform is to wash them.  They have been in storage since the end of last year, and it is better to be safe and clean them before they are used.  Please do not put the uniforms in the drier.  Also, I am asking that the uniforms be washed after every meet. We won't be using the locker rooms this year, so all uniforms will be brought home after their races, so please make sure they are being washed.  

Thanks,
Denny

Week of August 24

Here are the basics for the upcoming week.  Please remember to be checking with your athlete on how they are feeling and that if there is anyone that is not feeling well to keep them at home until they are feeling better.  Also, with Thursday being our first race, at Anoka High School on the south side of the school, I have put the basic guidelines put forth by the MSHSL at the bottom of this post, but please continue to go through the guidelines given to us that I posted last week. These will be extremely different than what has been allowed at meets in the past, but please help us make sure we have a full season and follow these guidelines.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

Under General COVID Safety:
11. When spectators are allowed at outside events, they should not have access to student athletes during the competition. Social distancing should be practiced throughout the entire event and spectators may connect with participants following the completion of the event.  

Under MSHSL Cross Country Guidance and Information:
Competition:
When spectators are allowed, they must NOT have access to athletes and must be restricted to areas outside of the course width.
Team camps areas, if permitted, should be isolated from spectators or other non-essential personnel. Team camps must be only available to members of that specific team, and not a shared/common space. Social distancing requirements of 6 feet must be maintained in these areas.
There must be a restricted area at the finish that keeps spectators away, so they do not interfere with the "quick exit" of each athlete. 

If you would like to talk with your athlete after a race, please set up a time to meet them at your vehicle so that it is away from everyone else.

Thanks
Denny

Monday, Aug 24
Girls - 8:00am at Bunker Golf Course Parking Lot 1
Boys - 9:00am at Bunker Golf Course Parking Lot 1
Girls - 6:00pm at CRHS
Boys - 7:00pm at CRHS

Tuesday, Aug 25
Girls - 8:00am at Bunker Golf Course Parking Lot 1
Boys - 9:00am at Bunker Golf Course Parking Lot 1
Girls - 6:00pm at CRHS
Boys - 7:00pm at CRHS

Wednesday, Aug 26
Girls - 8:00am at CRHS
Boys - 9:00am at CRHS

Thursday, Aug 27
Race at Anoka High School
Girls, Bus leaves at 8:00am, race at 9:00am
Boys, Bus leaves at 9:00am, race at 10:00am

Friday, Aug 28
Girls - 8:00am at CRHS
Boys - 9:00am at CRHS

Saturday, Aug 29
Meet at Salk Middle School in Elk River at 8:30am
This is not a mandatory practice, but one that we are using to help replace the loss of our annual Running Camp, so we would like to have as many as possible show up to this, but are not going to force everyone to be there. We are not allowed to ask anyone to car pool, so if transportation is an issue, we understand. 

Directions: 11970 Highland Rd NW, Elk River, MN 55330 US Hwy 10 to Elk River and take a right on Jackson Ave in downtown ER.  Continue north on Jackson to Highland Rd (just past Cub) and take a left and follow until the entrance for Salk Middle School on the left.

First Week of Practice

Here are the times and locations for the first week of practice.  I will be giving out a more detailed schedule as well as other information to the runners after the first practice tomorrow.  One thing to note, which will be for more than just this week, is that other than Monday morning we will be staggering the start times for the Girls and Boys. We are doing this to keep the group sizes down and allowing more space. Once school starts and we go to just afternoon practices, start times will be 3:15 and 3:30. 

These are some of the changes we will be needing to do as we move through the changing times. The link below is from the State High School League and has all of guidelines for all of us to follow. Please make sure read through them all: https://www.mshsl.org/sites/default/files/2020-08/mshsl-cross-country-guidance-and-information.pdf

Face masks will need to be worn at the beginning and the end of practices for warm ups, stretches, drills, and our strength training. Once we start the workouts, masks can be taken off. We are working on having some disposable masks in case someone forgets theirs.

If there is anyone that is not feeling well, we ask that you stay home, let us know, and we will be contact with you.

We will have exercise bands that we will assign to everyone for our strength training. We ask that these are not shared and that they are cleaned with dish soap and hot water once a week. 

We will be receiving hand sanitizer from the school district this week that we will have at practice every day. We ask that this be used often.

As much as possible, we want everyone to keep social distancing a priority. We want to try the best that we can to have a full season, and following these guidelines as well as those in the link will be helpful to give us this opportunity.

If you have any questions, please let me know,

Thanks
Denny

Monday, Aug 17

All - 8:00am, CR Dam Visitor Center

Girls - 6:00pm, CRHS

Boys - 7:00pm, CRHS

Tuesday, Aug 18

Girls - 8:00am, Bunker Golf Course, Parking Lot 1

Boys - 9:00am, Bunker Golf Course, Parking Lot 1

Girls - 6:00pm, CRHS

Boys - 7:00pm, CRHS

Wednesday, Aug 19

Girls - 8:00am, CR Dam Visitor Center

Boys - 9:00am, CR Dam Visitor Center

Girls - 6:00pm, CRHS

Boys - 7:00pm, CRHS

Thursday, Aug 20

Girls - 8:00am, Moor Park (10921  Magnolia St) (best way would be to go off of Northdale Blvd to Olive St, go south to 112th Ave and go east and it will enter the park lot.

Boys - 9:00am, Moor Park

Girls - 6:00pm, CRHS

Boys - 7:00pm, CRHS

Friday, Aug 21

Girls - 8:00am, CR Dam Visitor Center

Boys - 9:00am, CR Dam Visitor Center

Sign Ups

 Just a reminder that we do start the season on Monday, August 17th at 8am, meeting at the Visitor Center of the CR Dam. I will post the rest of the schedule for next week on Sunday along with the regulations that the State High School League has just given us for the season (get ready for some changes, some big, some really different!).

But, please make sure you are signed up before the season starts. More than ever, athletes will not be allowed to practice until they are officially signed up. I know that there has been some issues getting signed up, but be patient and keep trying. If there are any questions, please call the Activities Secretary at the High School and she can guide you. If there are any that are trying to signed up a middle schooler and having issues with the physical, contact the middle school office and they can make sure it gets sent over. 

Thanks, and there will be more information coming on Sunday, but you do have any questions, please let me know.

Denny

Schedule

 I just posted what our schedule currently looks like, which I am sorry to say is not much.  However, it will give us an idea of what the time table of our season will look like.  Any meets that we do have will be either against one or two teams, however we do not know how many total athletes we will be able to have competing at those meets.  The hope that is within the next day or two more information will be available for us as coaches and a final schedule can be put together.  It is going to be a lot different than in years past, but we are going to adjust and do the best that we can to have a successful season,

Thanks,

Denny

Registration Issues

Below is a message from the Activities Directors Secretary in regards to any middle school athletes trying to sign up. Also, if there are any other issues, please contact the AD Sec and she can guide you a little better: 763-506-7307. There is a new system and they are having some issues: "FYI, our system is currently not working for middle schoolers. They can still go in and do the first part of filling out the two MSHSL forms but they can't sign up for the sport. They are working on fixing it now. Thank you!" Thanks, Denny

Friday's Practice Location

For Friday's practice, we will be meeting at the High School Track. Thanks, Denny

1.5 Mile Time Trial Results

Here are the results from the 1 1/2 mile Time Trial at Riverview today, which was more challenging then the previous two we have done. Also, the runners did more of a workout before, as well as after, so they really worked and I felt that they had a solid overall day! Thanks, Denny 

 Lap 1 Lap 2 Lap 3 Total

 Andre 2:39 2:53 2:49 8:21

 Peyton 2:43 2:57 2:57 8:37

 Joey 3:04 3:16 3:18 9:38

 Cole 3:16 3:20 3:13 9:49

 Collin 3:34 3:43 3:43 11:01

 Ilsa 3:38 3:52 3:56 11:26

 Lilah 3:45 4:00 3:51 11:36

 Caleb 3:39 4:03 4:05 11:47

 Zoe 3:49 4:05 4:04 11:48

 Nico 3:55 4:06 4:15 12:15

 Ash 4:00 4:24 4:15 12:39

 Sydney 4:10 4:24 4:26 13:00

 Megan 4:16 4:38 4:20 13:15

 Kendall 4:23 4:48 4:45 13:56

 Grace 4:43 4:58 4:45 14:26

 Liz 5:35 6:21 ---- 11:56 1 Mile 

Landon 6:11 6:34 ---- 12:45 1 Mile 

Nate 7:09 6:44 ---- 13:53 1 Mile

The Season is Good to Go!

As many of you may have heard already, we were ok'd today for the upcoming Cross Country Season! Which means, you can start to register starting tomorrow, August 5th (instruction on how to below), and then we will start on Monday, August 17th at 8:00am, meeting at the CR Dam. There are still many things that will need to be discussed and figured out, but we do know that our meets are to be Dual or Triangular meets, thus changes are going to happen with our schedule and I have no idea how the end of the season meets will take place. Once that information comes out, I will let everyone know and I will also be working on a new schedule. If there are any questions though, please let me know, Thanks Denny HOW TO REGISTER (for parents) Login into AHConnect Click the My Student Info Icon/ParentVue Click the Fees Tab on the left hand side Click Pay Fees Add the MSHSL Bulletin to your cart Fill out information Checkout Add the MSHSL Checklist to your cart Fill out information Checkout Add specific sport to cart Fill out information Checkout/Pay (Free/Reduced pricing will be adjusted once you click checkout)

Week of August 3rd

We are in the final week of our summer training in which we as coaches can work with the runners, which means we are two weeks from the start of the season, hopefully!  The State High School League is meeting on Monday and Tuesday this week to determine Fall sports, so I am hoping that we will have a decision Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday on what our season will look like.  If we are able to have a season, registration will be online ONLY and will be available starting Aug 10. Please make sure that all Physicals are up to date that you are able to be signed up before the first day of practice, which will be on August 17th.

We will continue to ask everyone to wear their masks to practice for when we are in close proximity to each other.  Everyone did great with this last week and it may become the norm as we move forward.

Here is the schedule for practices this week.  Any questions, please let me know,

Monday - CR Dam, This will be a long run day
Tuesday - CRHS Track
Wednesday - Riverview Park, across the street from the National Little League fields at 2420 105th Avenue
Thursday - Bunker Golf Course Parking Lot 1
Friday - TBD

Thanks,
Denny