WHO FLIES? WE DO!
Weekly schedules, updates, and wisdom
from Coach Phil and Coach Eric.
 It was another great showing by the Delta Hawks! In Modesto this weekend, we had nine Hawks representing the team at the USATF Region 16 National Qualifying Meet with 2,600 other athletes from Central and Northern California as well as Nevada. It was hot, but our intrepid athletes did their best to compete with the best in the West. And we ended up with FOUR National Qualifiers in SIX races! This is the first year we have ever qualified a Hawk for Nationals - way to go!
We had a number of amazing performances this weekend, including:
For those of you Hawks who are in town the weekend of July 30th and 31st, you might consider coming over to Sac State and cheering on your teammates as they compete in the Junior Olympics against the best in the country! You can find out more information here, or reach out to me and I'm happy to tell you the details. Once again, congratulations Delta Hawks on a great season and let's get ready for more success as we roll into XC beginning August 22nd. Geaux Hawks! Coach Eric
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 Sorry Hawks, for the late blog post. I got home late on Sunday, and of course we had our team party tonight, but in the afterglow of that time together I wanted to say one last time how proud I am of every Hawk this season. We came together and worked as one team and achieved some great things!
This past weekend, the Hawks who participated in the PAC Championships represented the Delta Hawks with pride and honor. So many great performances, including Mackenna's big PR, Adeleine and Natalie rocking the 3k, and Elias' triple crown (winning the 3k, 1500m, and 800m). The coaches are proud of every single one of our athletes! Going forward, we will have practice at the Boathouse this Thursday, River City HS next Monday, followed by our final team practice Thursday June 23rd at the Boathouse again. Everyone is welcome to join these workouts, even if you've already run your last race of the season, but you're not obligated to attend. If your Hawk wants to move into the off-season, that is totally ok. If you're interested in an off-season practice schedule please let me know and I am happy to build something that works for you. The next two weeks of practice are as follows: Tuesday: On your own 10 min warm up, 20 min tempo, 10 min cool down Wednesday: Gray and Black - 4 mile run on your own Thursday: 5:30pm at the Boathouse 10 min warm up, drills Fartlek 2x5:30mins with 2 min rest 6-8x200m, 200m jog 10 min cool down, strength Friday: rest and stretch Saturday or Sunday: Long run on your own Black: 6-7 miles Gray: 4-5 miles Yellow/White: 3-4 miles Monday: 5:30pm at River City High School Track 10 min warm up, drills 6-8x400m, 400m jog 10 min cool down, strength Tuesday: rest and stretch Wednesday: Gray and Black - 4 mile run on your own Thursday: 5:30pm at the Boathouse 10 min warm up, drills 8x200m, 200m jog 10 min cool down, strength Friday: rest and stretch As always, if you have any questions please let me know. Run with Heart, Coach Eric  The Co-Coach Duo When Dusty Robinson and I started the Delta Hawks in January of 2019, we had a clear mission that remains today – Develop the next generation of confident and competitive distance runners in the Sacramento region. This year we have seen that mission fulfilled more completely than any season we’ve had since our beginning. One of our unique advantages has been our focus on community – not just PRs.
When Coach Dusty moved to Redding in Spring of 2020, it was my turn to take the lead. The first thing I did was build a team of coaches to help manage the team. I focused on the practices and we had a team of coaches all pitching in to ensure the success of the team and of our community. In 2021, Eric Thronson reached out to me about having Elias join our team. One of the specific things Eric shared with me for the reason they were so attracted to the Hawks was our spirit of community. I am so proud of that! Eric and Tara with Elias and Josie have seamlessly entered into our Delta Hawks community. Our Parent Community received Eric and Tara with open arms. This Delta Hawks Parent Community is one of the greatest strengths of this team. When I see parents attending and even participating in practice, and developing those new friendships, it makes me so proud. Learning more of Eric’s journey, his experience as a top tier Division 1 distance runner, and his sharp mind, I quickly saw a future partner in coaching. His skill set compliments mine so well – as in, he’s got the goods I don’t have! We spent the first track season learning more about each other. Then in Cross Country we hit our “Co-Coach” stride and things got really fun! And, Eric was our fearless leader flying our Hawks into the wet and stormy USATF Junior Olympics Cross Country National Championships in Kentucky. This season, with my son Matthew needing a break, Eric stepped up to even more of a leadership role, giving me the confidence to miss a few practices and meets for other family obligations. I’ve said it before, this is the best coached season we’ve had yet. The Personal Records and improvements we are seeing in each athlete is a direct result of Eric's leadership and training expertise. Eric is a true coach who understands both the art and science of training distance runners. With Eric’s experience, his success in delivering results for our athletes, and with a new generation of parents in our Delta Hawks community, I believe this is the best time for me to step down as a coach for the Delta Hawks. As hard as this will be, I am excited to join and engage more with our Parent Community that has been one of our greatest strengths. I am so confident in our community, our coaching staff, and our future. I will not disappear! I will be attending practice as a dad excited to watch my son practice and race. I will be cheering on the sidelines with the rest of our Parent Community. And, most importantly, I will be lifting up coach Eric and the rest of the coaching team as they lead our young Athletes. I will also be working on developing the future leadership of our team by building out a Delta Hawks Team Board. Our mission will remain: To develop the next generation of confident and competitive distance runners in the Sacramento region. Because of the success of Eric and our coaching team, my participation in that mission will change, but my dedication to that mission remains as strong as ever. Fear not, the public will still hear me cheering for our Delta Hawks a mile away. #WhoFlysWeDo Coach Phil  Another great day for the Delta Hawks! Of the 26 Hawks who participated in the Golden West Invitational, 20 ran a personal best for the season! That is just crazy, and continues to support our 3-Ts: Talent (everyone has it), Training (everyone is getting it) and Toughness (everyone is showing it)!
Too many Hawks ran awesome races to highlight them all, but the biggest gains were as follows:
It was particularly great to see so many Hawks finish strong, as this was the last meet for many teammates. But remember, anyone can still come to practice the rest of June as our Comp team hones their speed and prepares for Championship season. Speaking of Championship season, next weekend is the USATF Pacific Association Championships in Rancho Cordova. Refer to the previous post for more information and reach out to me if you want to participate. REMINDER: Next Monday, June 13th, is the Team Party! We won't meet for team practice that day (there will be a workout to do on your own); we will instead celebrate our successful season at Jack Rabbit Brewing from 6-8pm. Please let us know if you have any questions. This week, we begin ramping down at practice. This means a little less quantity and increased quality. Hawks need to come to practice rested, hydrated, and ready to work hard. This is what we've all been working toward. See below for the schedule: Monday: 5:30pm at River City High School Track 10 min warm up, drills 600m, 400m jog/2x400m, 400m jog/4x200m, 200m jog 10 min cool down, strength Tuesday: rest and stretch Wednesday: Gray and Black - 4 mile run on your own Thursday: 5:30pm at the Boathouse 10 min warm up, drills 4x200m, 200m jog/4x400m, 400m jog 10 min cool down, strength Friday: rest and stretch Saturday and Sunday: USATF Pacific Association Championship Meet Cordova High School, Rancho Cordova CA Again, if you have any questions, please let us know. Hawks Fly! Coach Eric Just a quick update before we roll into the Golden West Invitational tomorrow.
Next weekend (June 11-12) the USATF Pacific Association is hosting our Championship Meet at Cordova High School. I have to register athletes by Monday evening, and they are charging by the event. Please let me know as soon as you are able what events your Hawk is planning to participate in at that meet. The 3k is first up Saturday morning (the 11th) at 8:30am. The 800m will be sometime later that day, I am guessing around noon. The 1500m will be on Sunday (June 12th), my guess is around noon as well. More information can be found here. Again, please contact me with any questions and with your athlete's availability so I can be sure and register everyone for the events they can make. Thanks! Coach Eric  Just returned from a windy but otherwise beautiful Modesto, and I have to tell everyone how proud I am of our Hawks! It was cool for the races each day, but the 20 mph headwind down the back stretch created more of a challenge. Good thing we practice in the wind so often - that's why we ran a bunch of PRs!
Of note, Adeleine ran 26 seconds faster in the 3k, while in the 800m Reagan improved by 9 seconds and both Josie and John ran 8 second PRs. Elias ran a PR in both the 800m and the 1500m (setting the meet record in the latter event). Ryko completed an impressive triple, improving his time in the 3k and then running strong in the 800m and the 1500m! As we've discussed, next up, the Hawks are competing in the Golden West Invitational at Cordova High School next Saturday June 4th. Get your RSVP in on the Team App by tomorrow in order to be included; also let me know if you are NOT going to compete in both the 800m and 1500m so I can register each Hawk accurately. REMINDER: We are not meeting at the Boathouse Monday night for practice; everyone (not racing in the No Excuses 5k) has a workout to do on Monday, but can do it on your own. Find someone to workout with and get it done! The schedule this week is as follows: Monday: On Your Own 10 min warm up, drills Fartlek - 4x4mins hard with 3mins jog rest in between 10 min cool down, strength Tuesday: rest and stretch Wednesday: Gray and Black - 4 mile run on your own Thursday: 5:30pm at the Boathouse 10 min warm up, drills LD runners: Fartlek 3x5:30mins with 2 min rest Speedsters: 4-6x400m, 200m jog Everyone: 4x200m, 200m jog 10 min cool down, strength Friday: rest and stretch Saturday: Golden West Invitational Cordova High School, Rancho Cordova CA Sunday: Long run on your own Black: 6-7 miles Gray: 4-5 miles Yellow/White: 3-4 miles Again, if you have any questions, please let us know. Hawks Fly! Coach Eric Hey Hawks, I hope that you're feeling as good about your progress as I am! Every single athlete on this team has done great work this season and improved immensely - we are all so proud of you!
First Reminder: If you are not racing both days this weekend then you need to do your long run on the off day. Second Reminder: If you are planning to participate in the Golden West Invitational in Rancho Cordova next weekend, I have to hear from you before the end of Monday. Registrations are due before 9pm that day, so respond to the Team App ASAP. Next week, we are not having a team practice on Monday - so we are not meeting at either River City Track or the Boathouse. WE WILL, HOWEVER, HAVE A WORKOUT FOR EVERYONE NOT RUNNING IN THE NO EXCUSES 5K. It would be best if everyone found a teammate and ran Monday's workout together on your own time. Post to the Team App and see if you can find someone to coordinate with, that's what the App is for! Next week's schedule will be posted on this blog on Sunday, along with results from the meet. If you have any questions, please let me know, thanks! Coach Eric First, we need to acknowledge how incredible our Hawks have worked this season - we have a group of savage runners!
Second, I want to remind everyone that we are once again meeting on Monday at River City High School to practice on the track. The advantage of practicing on a track is that we have better feedback on the level of effort kids are committing because we know the times they are actually running for the distance. This is critical information to inform the workouts and structure the practices moving forward. Please be sure that our Hawks are getting the sleep they need, are hydrating during the day, and eating the right amount prior to practice to help them perform their best. Third, I NEED TO HEAR FROM EVERY FAMILY ABOUT UPCOMING MEETS. Please go on the team app and RSVP for both the Memorial Weekend meet and the following weekend at the Golden West Invitational as I need that information to accurately register our athletes. For some of our Hawks, these next two weeks are the summation of their season. Please contact me if you have any questions. Fourth, if you are not running in the meet in Modesto, or if you are only running 1 day, you need to do your long run. Also, if you are not doing both days in Modesto I hope that you consider signing up for the No Excuses 5k Monday morning. Finally, here is the schedule for this week's practices: Monday: 5:30pm at River City High School 10 min warm up, drills 3-4x600m/400m jog, 4x200m/200m jog 10 min cool down, strength Tuesday: rest and stretch Wednesday: Gray and Black - 4 mile run on your own Thursday: 5:30pm at the Boathouse 10 min warm up, drills 3-4x2:30min w/ 3min jog, then 4-5 strides 10 min cool down, strength Friday: rest and stretch Saturday and Sunday: Tom Moore Youth Classic Riverbank High School, Riverbank CA and/or Long run on your own Black: 6-7 miles Gray: 4-5 miles Yellow/White: 3-4 miles Again, if you have any questions, please let us know. Hawks Fly! Coach Eric  Hey Hawks,
As the season starts approaching its close, we start to look ahead to what might still be out there for each of our athletes. We began the season dreaming of USATF Junior Olympics because Sacramento is hosting the national championship meet at the end of July. As the season has progressed, we keep seeing growth in our kids and that is a great thing. But qualifying for Nationals is a pretty high standard, and I thought it might help everyone if I did some analysis to define just what it might take for athletes to make it. Before we go further, I want to clarify that qualifying for Nationals should in no way be the measure of success for a season. It is a great accomplishment and one that we can all aspire to achieve, but a season that ends without a golden ticket can still be a successful, impressive season for every athlete who works his or her tail off and learns more about competing and himself or herself in the process. Ultimately, we are racing our own shadow every time we step on the track - and that is the measuring stick upon which I hope we can focus. That being said, it is good to have dreams. Remember that there are hundreds of kids in our region vying for those 5 spots in each age group. But I went back over the five most recent years of qualifying meets (2015-2019) and compiled the 5th place times for each age in each event. I then averaged them, to give us some idea of what it might take in any given year to qualify. Conditions can obviously play a major role, so don't set these times in stone - I only hope that they can help inspire our Hawks to dream of what they could do, and where they might go, if they set their sights on the stars. So without further ado, here you go: Boys 800m: 8 and under – 3:04 9-10 – 2:38 11-12 – 2:36 13-14 – 2:10 1500m: 8 and under – 6:20 9-10 – 5:22 11-12 – 5:09 13-14 – 4:30 3000m: 11-12 – 11:25 13-14 – 10:12 Girls 800m: 8 and under – 3:08 9-10 – 2:50 11-12 – 2:35 13-14 – 2:24 1500m: 8 and under – 6:31 9-10 – 5:50 11-12 – 5:19 13-14 – 5:00 3000m: 11-12 – 11:52 13-14 – 11:18 If you have any questions, let me know. Hawks Fly! Coach Eric  Before we get into the regular post, BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: We will be doing Monday practices at the River City High School Track for the rest of the season! Be sure to arrive at the Track by 5:30 Monday - NOT the Boathouse. We will have Thursday practices at the usual location.
Chico Recap What a fun day in the Sun in Chico! As usual, Hawks families were great while our athletes represented well on the track. We had a bunch of PRs in the 800, and nearly every Hawk was able to participate in the 4x800 relays! Here is a list of athletes who improved their fastest time this year and by how much:
Next Meet - Tom Moore Classic in Riverbank Our next meet is a two-day event in Riverbank, CA (near Modesto) over Memorial Day Weekend (in two weeks). The 3k will be Saturday morning starting at 9am (so athletes in that event need to be at the track by 8am). The 800m comes on Saturday as well, probably around noon, so athletes registered for the 800m will need to arrive by 10am. The 1500m is set for Sunday morning, probably around 9am requiring athletes to be there no later than 8am. The Thronsons will be staying in Modesto both Friday and Saturday nights so we can be sure and be at the meet in time for the early events both days. While you could drive down and back each day, it would be an early start and a lot of gas. Whatever you decide, we need to know who plans attend and on which days (similar to the Hercules meet last month). We need to complete our registration by Tuesday May 24th, so please figure out your plans and let us know as soon as possible. If your Hawk is not attending the Riverbank Meet, then we strongly recommend signing up for the No Excuses 5k on Memorial Day morning. We will be having practice on Monday the 30th, but if your Hawk raced that morning we will go easy on him or her. This Week's Schedule As announced above, we will be practicing on Monday at the track at River City High School and Thursday at the Boathouse as usual. In addition, we will be doing workouts in two different groups moving forward. Some Hawks are training for a longer season than others, and some are training for longer distances than others, so now we have to bifurcate the team to meet each athlete's needs. Coaches will explain more at practice. Here's the schedule: Monday: 5:30pm at River City High School 10 min warm up, drills Group 1: 4-6x600m/200m jog Group 2: 3-4x1000m/3 minutes jog 6 Strides 10 min cool down, strength Tuesday: rest and stretch Wednesday: Gray and Black - 3 to 4 mile run on your own Thursday: 5:30pm at the Boathouse 10 min warm up, drills 10-15 minute tempo, then 6x200m/200m jog 10 min cool down, strength Friday: rest and stretch Saturday or Sunday: Long run on your own Black: 6-7 miles Gray: 4-5 miles Yellow/White: 3-4 miles Again, if you have any questions, please let us know. Hawks Fly! Coach Eric |
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