I spent this past weekend (OK, Friday and Saturday, so Fraturday) at the Hopkinton Fairgrounds watching and participating in the inaugural Hopkinton Cross Country Festival and I have to say what a great way to spend my time. I probably should have brought my camper as it was a quick turnaround from when I left Friday afternoon and was back before 8 in the morning. However it would have been some brisk camping as the thermometer read 32 as I pulled into official parking.
On Friday I went over to scout out locations along the course for commentating for the next day’s high school races, or at least used that excuse to come watch some collegiate racing while I didn’t have anyone running to specifically watch. And the place was busting. With upwards of 30 teams and somewhere north of 700 runners, the vibe was that of a very relaxing sunny Friday afternoon, with some chilled, laid back racing. With music blasting from the speakers and teams in all variety of warm up and shake out runs, the feel was more “weekend at the lake” over “business casual” if that makes sense. These references will make a bit more sense when I get to Saturday.
I got to hang out with some of my coaching friends, something that doesn’t happen as often now that I’ve retired from coaching, as our paths don’t cross as often. Rather than run willy nilly all over the place we could talk and walk at a relaxed pace, neither of us too wrapped up in the details going on around us.
And some of those details around us were fantastic. Not only was there some great racing, the course was in great shape and perfect for hosting a meet like this. With its open long starting straightaway and wide paths with no pavement, the course could handle a large field as still provide spectating opportunities probably more than any other course in NH. The organization was great and you could tell the crew which put this together was well versed at hosting big meets. As I was weaving my way around the athletes cooling down on my drive home, I was excited to see what the next day, with both HS and MS meets would feel like. Would it have the same feel or would it be different?
Well certainly the temperature was different upon arrival. I was there early to help set up tents for Marathon Sports/NH Cross Country and the freezing temperatures caught me off guard. Not sure if my thermometer was off or I just happen to live in a warmer zone, my thermometer said 45 at the house but certainly did not at the course. I had gloves but had left my work sweatshirt at home. And by the time I got there, the music was already blasting and the course had been altered to include a run through the historic barn that serves as race HQ on days like this.
The flavor of the meet days changed as well. While Friday was like a day at the lake, Saturday had the energy of a high school dance or homecoming or something. I don’t want to say ‘Much-To-Do-About-Nothing, but certainly the energy was amped up as the kids got off the bus and started assembling to set up team tents in tent city. Athletes were mobbing Marathon Sports, looking to get the latest Chick’n Legs shorts or Good’r glasses. I had been contemplating one of their winter hats earlier in the day; however by 9:30 the chill was out of the air and the sun was warming. Maybe it was the presence of a thousand teenage bodies all amped up on competing, but it was nice to shed the outer layers and take in the warmth of the day, some of that served up by the sun but also the ambiance of the day.
There was something else I was feeling but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it during the day. It was on my way home I realized part of the day’s vibe was the same as when I had been in town eight weeks before for Anna’s Run. I wrote about that feeling then, the feeling of support centered around the entire running community in general. The community really welcomes the concept of running means community and even if you are a rival school coming to do battle, you are welcome here and your efforts in persistence are appreciated regardless. Not every venue and facility feel that way to outside competitors, but this one certainly does.
As I was there to commentate, I was thrilled to have two fantastic races to be on the mic for. We got to call a great duel on the girls side, with hometown hero Maddy Lane able to hold off hard charging challenger Alexis Paterna on what will become her home course. On the boys side we got to see PEA’s Bocelli Vlahakis Howland take on everyone, with a fight up front from the gun by Fall Mountain’s Elijah Bodanza and having to hold off a hard charging Ethan Fischer (Bishop Guertin) in the final chute.
I stuck around for the rest of the day, having friends who were coaching middle school teams I was interested in watching. I got to talk to a lot of people, many of my high school coaching friends, and overwhelmingly they all were saying the same thing, we have to hold more races at the fairgrounds. They loved the course, with great footing and plenty of space to run, along with the visibility of the race for coaches and spectators alike.
Zach and his crew are planning to do so. In a conversation with him, he was happy to get this one in the books, now allowing after a successful day of high school racing for him to plan for a bigger event next year. He’s got ideas of bringing in food trucks and the potential of a community race to really turn the day into a true festival of running. I certainly like the sound of that. So not only is the meet likely to be bigger, it will be better as well.
That’s not going to be an easy thing in my mind, as it already was a pretty great weekend of racing.
I’ll see you out there.
