The Hawks turned out in force at the second SRA Youth XC Meet in Folsom on Friday!  We had a number of impressive and gutsy performances, but I will highlight a few here.

First, a number of Hawks ran significantly FASTER this meet than they did at SRA #1, despite the harder course!  The Millers both posted impressive improvements with Mackenna running 52 seconds faster and Mason improving 46 seconds.  Stella also had a breakout performance, improving by 32 seconds, and Sonia ran 14 seconds faster than her previous race.  Great job Hawks!

Second, we had a number of debut races from strong new runners, including Paloma, Bagels, Isaac, and Xol.  Jai also ran his first race of the season, and finished as the second boy age 8 and under!  I can only hope the heat, dust, and hills didn't scare anyone away.

This week we have a meet on Sunday in Cottonwood (outside of Redding).  Everyone competing in the meet still need to get their long runs in on Saturday.  Please see the events page on the Team App for more details on the meet, and RSVP yes or no either way.  

For practice this week, it is getting too dark to run at Lock Hills so we will meet at the Boathouse each day.  Please see the schedule below:

Monday:  5:30pm at the Boathouse
10 min warm up, drills
4-6 x 1000m intervals at Marshall Hills
5 Hill Repeats
10 min cool down, strength

Tuesday: rest and stretch

Wednesday: Gray and Black Group
3-4 mile easy run on your own

Thursday: 5:30pm at the Boathouse
10 min warm up, drills
20-25 min tempo at the swamp
Swamp Monster
10 min cool down, strength

Friday: rest and stretch

Saturday: Long Run
White/Yellow 3-5 miles
Gray/Black 5-7 miles

Sunday: NorCal Striders Youth XC Meet
West Valley High School
Cottonwood, CA
Please arrive by 9am

As always, if you have any questions, please let us know!

Coach Eric

We have so many Hawks running this year!  What a great turn out for a fun meet on Friday - the first SRA Youth XC Meet of the season (of three).  And we placed well as a team again, with the boy’s 7th/8th grade team placing 2nd overall and the girl’s 6th grade and under team placing 3rd!

We had a ton of fabulous individual performances, with three medal winners (Elias placing 1st, Matthew placing 5th, and Harper finishing in 8th place) not to mention Annie placing one spot out of the medals in 11th.  First, I want to point out how much some of our returning runners have improved from this meet last year.  Here’s a list of the best improvements:
 
                              Last Year   This Year
Mackenna             16:38         11:52
Harper                  11:18            8:54
Sophie                  12:53          11:20
Josie                     10:36            9:32
Charlie                   8:17            7:48
Matthew                7:29            7:01

Second, comparing mile pace from last week’s race to this week’s, we can measure improvement this season.  Of course, nearly everyone ran a faster pace this week on a shorter, easier course, most everyone improving 20-30 seconds/mile.  However, we had some significant pace improvements, such as these:
 
                            Josh Ruff Invite   SRA Youth Meet #1
Reagan W.             8:42                     7:30
Lou                        7:14                     6:31
Carlos                    8:48                     7:35
Veya                      9:38                     8:14
Sonia                    8:27                      7:48
Cal                        9:26                      8:48
Tyler                   10:21                      9:07
 
The best news about this meet, though, is that we will return to this same course in 4 weeks to run again - we can truly measure our progress over the season!  Overall, an amazing meet for the Delta Hawks because every athlete started and finished and that’s the most important stat!

This week, we don’t have a meet so we are going to really kick up the intensity at practice. Remember, we practice in the rain so be sure and attend regardless of weather!  We are NOT running at Lock Hills this week, so please come to the Boathouse on Monday and Thursday.  The schedule is as follows:

Monday:  5:30pm at the Boathouse
10 min warm up, drills
3-5 x 1000m intervals at the swamp
10 min cool down, strength

Tuesday: rest and stretch

Wednesday: Gray and Black Group
3-4 mile easy run on your own

Thursday: 5:30pm at the Boathouse
10 min warm up, drills
20 min tempo at Marshall Hills
Ladder 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1
10 min cool down, strength

Friday: rest and stretch

Saturday or Sunday: Long Run!
White/Yellow 3-5 miles
Gray/Black 5-7 miles

As always, if you have any questions, please let us know!

Coach Eric

Despite the challenges of the past week, the heat and the smoke and the uncertainty of Saturday, the Delta Hawks showed up in force and ran super tough at the Josh Ruff Memorial Invite in Folsom! We are especially impressed with our newest Hawks - for some of these athletes this was their first race ever - way to go!
​
Our boys’ team placed 3rd overall, with Elias taking the overall win and Matthew running strong to finish 5th overall.  New Hawk Oliver Charkiewicz finished 20th to earn himself a medal and place third on the team, while Charlie and Lou rounded out the scoring Hawks.

Our girls’ team placed 5th even without Adeleine, who was out with an injury, led by newcomer Annie Villavicencio finishing 11th overall and Natalie’s 15th place finish. Both leaders earned themselves medals.  Harper, Audrey, and Sonia rounded out the scoring for the girl Hawks.

Everyone agreed that the Willow Hill course is a tough one for the team’s first meet – it is one of the most challenging courses we ever face – but the Hawks made us all proud by fighting up those hills and giving it their best! 

Mackenna deserves a huge shout out, as she epitomizes the heart of a Delta Hawk.  At last year’s Josh Ruff Invite, Mackenna was new to running and still learning to push herself in workouts and races.  She struggled to finish the difficult course and had to walk at times, but she didn’t give up.  Mackenna has been a Hawk for over a year now, and runs with confidence even in the face of massive hills and huge fields of runners.  Mackenna's perseverance was demonstrated yesterday by her six-minute PR over her time last year, and she’s only getting stronger!  That type of growth is one of our key goals as a team, and she continues to make us all proud.
​
This coming week we have some hard workouts, a super-fun meet, and then our team outing at Jenkinson Lake! We will cover details at practice this week; meanwhile, here is this week’s schedule:

Monday:  5:30pm at Stonegate Elementary
Jog to Lock Hills, drills
3-6 x 800m intervals, full rest
10 min cool down, strength

Tuesday: rest and stretch

Wednesday: Gray and Black Group
3-4 mile easy run on your own

Thursday: 5:30pm at the Boathouse
10 min warm up, drills
20 min tempo at Marshall Hills
Rock/Paper/Scissors
10 min cool down, strength

Friday: SRA Youth XC Meet #1
William B. Pond Park, Carmichael
Please arrive no later than 3:30

Saturday: Team Hang Out at Jenkinson Lake!
More details on the team app under “Events”
Arrive before 10am to join us for a long run

Sunday: 
If you don’t get your long run in on Saturday, do it
Sunday morning!
3-6 miles, depending on fitness

As always, if you have any questions, please let us know!

Coach Eric

Well Hawks, this is going to be a strange week.  It is just too dang hot to meet in the evening for practice, so we are going to give everyone their workouts to do on their own – hopefully in the morning before it gets too hot outside, or on a treadmill in air conditioning.

On Monday (Labor Day), Coach Eric and the Thronson kids will be at Locks Hills at 8:30am to do Monday’s workout.  Any Hawk who can is welcome to join!  If you can’t be there, please be sure to get your workout in on your own.

On Thursday, everyone will be on their own to do their tempo run.  To explain tempo: if you imagine your running effort on a scale of 1-100 (with 1 being a shuffle and 100 being an all out sprint), then your tempo pace is roughly 75-80 on that scale.

Please reference the schedule below and let me know if you have any questions.
​
Josh Ruff Memorial Invitational
Another casualty of this heat wave is meeting together before our first meet so we can discuss it for those who are new to cross country.  I will do my best to relay important information here, and on the Team App as the date approaches.  Also, see the meet webpage for additional information.

We need to be at the team tent by the Willow Hill course, ready to warm up at 8am on Saturday.  I will be leaving with the kids to warm up and go over the course, so please don’t be late.  Parking at the school lots will cost $5/car.  Do not park in the parking lot of the businesses located near Folsom High School on Iron Point Road.

​The boys run first at 9am, followed by the girl’s race scheduled for 9:20am.  Both groups are running a 1.5 mile course, starting and finishing at the same general location. We will go over starts and hills and what to do in between.  It’s going to be fun!

Here’s the schedule for the week:
Monday:  8:30am at Locks Hills or On Your Own
10 min warm up, drills
3-6 x 600m intervals, full rest
Or 2 minutes hard/2 easy for 20 minutes
10 min cool down, strength

Tuesday: rest and stretch

Wednesday: Only if you've been running
3-4 mile easy run on your own

Thursday: On Your Own
10 min warm up, drills
20-25 min tempo, running around 80% of your hardest pace
10 min cool down, strength

Friday: rest and stretch

Saturday: Josh Ruff Memorial Invite
Willow Hill Reservoir
Folsom High School

Sunday: 
Long run - try to find someone to run with
3-6 miles, depending on fitness

As always, if you have any questions, please let us know!

Coach Eric

Welcome to week two of our 2022 XC season, practices are beginning to get more serious.  As we say over and over again, it is critical that our Hawks get their long runs in over the weekend in order to handle the increasingly challenging practices during the week.

We are also introducing a new location for practice – those of you who were with us in 2021 know what’s coming – its LOCKS HILLS!!!!  On Monday, we will not be meeting at the Boathouse, we will be meeting at Stonegate Elementary (2500 La Jolla St, West Sacramento, CA 95691) at 5:30 and then jogging over to the sandy hills at the corner of Locks Dr and S River Rd to do drills and run some intervals.  We will then jog back to Stonegate to stretch and do our strength routine.  Parents who don’t want to jog with us may want to drive and park on Locks Dr. 

We will meet at the Boathouse as usual on Thursday.

Later this week is going to be hot, and our athletes are going to be working hard, so please hydrate and bring water with them to practice.  Let us know if you have any questions about proper preparation for running.

This week's schedule is as follows:

Monday:  5:30pm at Locks Hills
MEET AT STONEGATE ELEMENTARY
10 min warm up, drills
4-8 x 500m intervals, good rest
10 min cool down, strength

Tuesday: rest and stretch

Wednesday: Only if you've been running
3-4 mile easy run on your own

Thursday: 5:30pm at the Boathouse
10 min warm up, drills
20-25 min fartlek, 2 min on/1 min easy
10 min cool down, strength

Friday: rest and stretch

Saturday or Sunday: 
Long run - try to find someone to run with
3-6 miles, depending on fitness

As always, if you have any questions, please let us know!

Coach Eric

It's the first day of XC season, and we are so excited to get started!  The grass is green(ish), the birds are chirping, the weather is hot and we are ready to roll!

We have less than three weeks before our first meet of the season, and so it is time to whip ourselves into shape!  We cannot wait to see you all again, and see where we are at with teams and fitness - I know a lot of you have been putting in the work this summer and I can't wait to see what you can do!

As always, our goal for the season is to help every Hawk improve, find that fire, and push themselves to the limit.  We hope to take a large contingent to Nationals this year in December, but that will require having enough quality runners in an age group to make a competitive team.  Each of our Hawks is going to have to support each other and compete well in order to help his or her team make it all the way!

For the first week, we will give kids a chance to demonstrate their fitness level in order to determine how to move forward with each of them into the season.  This week's schedule is as follows:

Monday:  5:30pm at the Boathouse
10 min warm up, drills
20 min fartlek, 1 min on/1 min off
10 min cool down, strength

Tuesday: rest and stretch

Wednesday: Only if you've been running
3-4 mile easy run on your own

Thursday: 5:30pm at the Boathouse
15 min warm up, drills
3-5 Hill repeats at Marshall Hills
10 min cool down, strength

Friday: rest and stretch

Saturday or Sunday: 
Long run - try to find someone to run with
3-6 miles, depending on fitness

As always, if you have any questions, please let us know!

Coach Eric

Hi everyone,
I’m excited to join Coach Eric this year as a co-coach and wanted to write my first blog post about something that you’re going to hear me harping about a lot this year—the importance of getting those weekly long runs and midweek runs in!  Below I’ve tried to explain briefly why these runs are important—and why they are a staple for every successful distance runner.  I've also listed a number of places in the area that I think are good places to run.  This year, we’re going to have some optional, informal group meetups as well for those who would like to do their long runs in a group.  Stay tuned for that. 
The long run is a huge difference maker for distance runners—I can’t emphasize enough how much difference (in a good way) it will make if you get these runs in on a regular basis.  These runs don’t need to be fast and please don’t go longer than prescribed.  For most kids the long run will be 3-6 miles depending on age and experience.  But the key is to do these runs consistently, week after week.  When done consistently, the benefit is huge.  Running will feel easier, you will be able to run and race faster, and you will be less likely to get injured when you do run fast (i.e., at practice or at a race).  This all adds up to significant improvement over time and it simply makes running and racing more fun.  Without delving too much into the science, long runs (and easy runs) build your cardiovascular system and strengthen the connective tissue in your legs and feet, both very good things for distance runners.  
While I see on Strava that some people like to do these runs on a treadmill (which is totally fine and works great) I think it can be more enjoyable to get out and run outside, especially in a group.  So below are a few places that I think would work well for that.  This list is by no means exhaustive.  Running on a soft surface like dirt or compacted gravel is preferable to running on the road or sidewalk, as it is easier on the legs.  Most of the suggested routes have non-pavement options.  Also, for most of the suggestions I’ve linked a Strava segment nearby, which will show the area on the map when you click on it (and in most cases, will have at least part of the recommended run route highlighted).  Also, sign up for Strava if you haven’t!  More on this later :).

WEST SACRAMENTO 

In West Sacramento, there are a number of good spots to run.  The levee near the boathouse where we do intervals is great and stretches for miles in either direction.  You can also loop the lake or the swamp where we often do intervals.  For newer runners not familiar with the area, here’s a Strava link:  https://www.strava.com/segments/3963783. 

You could also start your run over near Lock Hills (near the intersection of Locks Dr and Village Pkwy) and combine some loops through the Lock hills to get some hilly running in (a good thing on long runs) and then add mileage on the Clarksburg branch line trail, which is adjacent.  Here’s a link to the segment.  https://www.strava.com/segments/7205003
Another area that I personally run a lot in West Sacramento is the loop around the Barn over near the I Street bridge into Sacramento.  It’s about 2km around the loop if you make a loop out of the riverfront trail and riverfront st.  You can also add on to the loop and go around the baseball stadium too if you’d like.  Here’s a map of one of the strava segments in the area: https://www.strava.com/segments/14277025

DAVIS

In Davis, there is an awesome green belt in North Davis that loops around Covell Park and Northstar park.  Here is the Strava segment:  https://www.strava.com/segments/5421434.  There is also an overpass that goes south from the path into Community park where you can extend the loop if you’d like.  Other safe, car-free options include running around the Cannery development (1.3 miles around) and you can easily link that with the Covell greenbelt loop to make it a 3.3 mile run.   https://www.strava.com/segments/14489883.  Another good option is Mace Ranch Park and there is easy parking in the Explorit Center lot nearby.  https://www.strava.com/segments/10975675. 
In Mace Ranch Park, there is a small loop in the park, but you can also run on the Greenbelt to the north, which will take you into the Wildhorse golf course development and you can easily make a 3-4 mile run entirely on the greenbelt without any interference from cars.  The UC Davis Arboretum is also nice:  https://www.strava.com/segments/10489218

SACRAMENTO

There are many good places to run in Sacramento.  
First are loops around the bigger city parks—Land park, Curtis Park, and Mckinley Park.  For Land Park, if you do a loop on the decomposed granite path that goes around the golf course it is almost exactly two miles.  There is easy free parking on the street or at fairy tale town.   Here’s the Strava segment: https://www.strava.com/segments/2366909
You can also make the loop a full three miles by going all the way around the park.  Much of that is still on the nice DG path.  Here’s that Strava segment:  https://www.strava.com/segments/8223408
Curtis park is just over one mile around also on a nice DG path, with good shade.  Here’s the Strava segment: https://www.strava.com/segments/1534242
Mckinley Park is almost exactly one mile all the way around, again on a shaded DG path.  https://www.strava.com/segments/1110674
And second is the American River Parkway.  This is great place to run and an amazing outdoor recreation resource for the area, but it is better if you are in groups with an adult present.  Also, if you run on the Parkway, everyone needs to take care to stay to the left side of the bike path while running and be careful to avoid bikes, especially on weekend mornings when it is crowded.  In some areas there is a levee area above the bike path that has less bike traffic.  There are also horse trails adjacent to the bike path that are good for running.  I would also strongly recommend the area of the bike path east of Sacramento State, as opposed to west of it.  It is safer and nicer.  Easy parking and parkway access can be found at many places, but a couple favorites of mine are Oak Meadow Park, the Guy West Bridge, or Rio Americano High School.  These are all off of American River Drive in the area of hwy 50 and Watt.  Here’s a Strava segment in that area:  https://www.strava.com/segments/1110674
The levee path in River Park (just downstream from the Guy West Bridge and Sac State) is also great, but unfortunately much of it is under construction at the moment. 

FURTHER OUT--HILLS!

Here are a couple great options that are a little further out that have some good hills. 
Willow Hills/Folsom High School.  We have several races here and it makes for a good safe contained place to get a long run if you’re willing to drive to Folsom.   There are many loops within the park of varying distances and lots of hills, and all of the running is on dirt paths or grass.  Here’s a strava segment that shows the area: https://www.strava.com/segments/30390293
Johnson-Springview Park Rocklin:  This is another place with lots of great areas to run, and I personally run here a lot.  There are flat sections, rolling sections, grass, dirt, and steep hills for repeats.  It has it all.  Here’s a strava segment:  https://www.strava.com/segments/6017533  I’ll make sure to post on the chat if we have an optional meet up here.
Sunrise river parkway access in Gold River.  This is a great place to access the parkway and get some good hilly running in.  Again, groups and an adult present would be preferable here.  There is easy parking at the Starbucks at 2095 Golden Centre Ln in Gold River and the bike path is next to the parking lot.  The Nimbus Fish hatchery just upriver is also a great place to park and run from.  Feel free to reach out if you’d like specific suggestions on where to run in these areas, as there are many different routes.
Sly Park/Jenkinson Lake.  This is going to be the site of a meetup in September and there are lots of different run options, including a really cool trail over to a nice waterfall. 
For the older, more experienced runners doing 6 mile long runs, the Johnny Cash loop in Folsom is tough but a great run.  It’s a 6 mile loop with a big hill all on bike path/decomposed granite.  https://www.strava.com/segments/16319924
 
I hope this helps and I’m looking forward to cross country practice starting up in a few weeks!  Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. 
Coach Galen

​​Well, our Hawks flew fast this past weekend at the USATF Junior Olympic Nationals, posting 4 PRs and bringing home 2 medals and, oh yeah, breaking a national record.
 
To kick off Saturday, Natalie ran a PR in the 11-12 Girl’s 3k, finishing seventh in her heat with a time of 12:17.  Adeleine competed tough in the 13-14 Girl’s 3k as well, sprinting to a 4th place finish in her heat and 16th overall with a big PR time of 11:18.
 
Elias had the race of the day, however.  Entering the race with the number 1 seed, he knew that another runner, Michael Studer of the Greater Lowell Road Runners (Maryland), had run a faster time this year.  Elias was ready to execute his race strategy: hang on to the leader and with three laps to go press the pace.  Lap after lap, Elias ran on Studer’s heels, ticking off laps right at or under national record pace.  On the home stretch before the bell lap, Elias took the lead and powered into the turn.  Running on fumes, Elias burned his way toward his dream of being a national champion. 

​​Unfortunately, Quenton Lanese of Barron Park Striders in Washington had other plans.  Methodically stalking the leaders through the race, Lanese was able to catch and pass Elias over the last 150 meters to capture the win.  Looking up at the clock, Elias realized he had run a 21 second PR and finished in 9:35, three seconds faster than the national record (last set in 1998).  He did what he set out to do: the only thing that kept him from being a national champion was Lanese, who not only broke the national record but also set the world age group record for 11-year-olds by running 9:31.
​ 

Hope everyone is getting their runs done, XC starts soon!

We are ten days out from our Hawks competing at the USATF Junior Olympics National Championships here at Sac State, and I wanted to make sure everyone has the details you need if you are able to come out and support your teammates.

Saturday morning, July 30th, three Hawks are competing in the 3000m.  Natalie will start us off at 8am, with Elias running around 8:30.  Adeleine will round out the day around 9am.

Sunday morning, Hadley will be starting us off right around 9:30am, and Elias will be finishing out our team effort around 11:30, both in the 1500m.

Event Logistics:

• The daily admission prices are $16 for adults, $10 for children 7-12yrs old. (6 and under are free). Tickets are purchased on site.
• Parking – East side of Hornet Stadium in Lot 8, Lot 7 and Parking Structure III. Parking is $8/day or $15 weekly rate.

Links to additional information:

• Full Schedule - https://www.flipsnack.com/USATF/2022-usatf-national-jotf-championships-schedule/full-view.html
• General event information - https://www.flipsnack.com/USATF/2022-usatf-national-jotf-passport/full-view.html

If you're going to make either day, send a message to Tara or I or post on the team app and we can coordinate a cheering crowd.

Let's Represent!

Coach Eric