This weekend was supposed to be the New England Championships held in beautiful Thetford, Vermont at Woods Trail, a course designed for championship cross country racing. As this post is being generated, the weather outside represents a perfect November day quite conducive for fast racing. However, all of us are home enduring what seems to be the predicted actual second wave of the pandemic. An opportunity lost. One of many which we have all felt and will feel.
Oddly, we are feeling incredibly thankful. This is a GLOBAL PANDEMIC. And yet, because NH did so well with initially following protocols we, as a state, were able to afford high school cross country runners an entire season of meets in NH including Division State Championships and Meet of Champions. We crowned team champions, individual champions, saw a couple records broken, had rankings, pulled off livestreams, conducted interviews, took thousands of action pics! We had a season! We had a memorable season. Not just because of COVID, but because of how incredible the harriers of New Hampshire Cross Country are!!! Further, because we were able to hold the championship meets in NH, we will still be naming the All-Division and All-State teams, Runners of the Year, Teams of the Year and Coaches of the Year! While we can’t have the banquet, we CAN still record history with these awards. More on this next week!
Livestreams. That was a challenge we took on to help with the no-spectator thing. Sponsors are usually our way of raising funds for these purchases, but most businesses are struggling. Thanks to those who could sponsor, Tim’s Truck Capital, Beeze Tees, DeMeritt Hill Farms and Haunted Overload. And the obvious humongous thank you to Runner’s Alley which has continued to power us in spite of the challenging economy!! Without them we would not have come close to our goal. Please show your appreciation towards these businesses!
At the same time, we needed additional help. We will never have a paywall blocking people from free access to livestreams or any other features we offer. So, we asked you all for support if you were willing and able. You all delivered to support us with acquiring the equipment necessary to bring the championship meets live. So, THANK YOU! And if you missed the opportunity and are able, feel free to use the button below. This is only temporary, as we have never done this before, and hopefully never have to again. Be safe and stay healthy NH!