Here’s What to Look For
“The Dowling Project”
From the Other side of the Ropes
Schedule of races: (times are aprox.) th th 5:00p 9 /10 Grade Girls th th 5:30p 9 /10 Grade Boys th th 5:55p 11 /12 Grade Girls th th 6:20p 11 /12 Grade Boys
Addie Schumacher
XC 101: “The Curious Sport of Cross Country Some of you may be new to the sometimes mystifying world of cross-‐country. It is sometimes a seemingly chaotic and weird event resembling more of a civil war reenactment than a high school running event. Fear not! Becoming the wise and savvy cross-‐country fan can be yours by simply mastering the simple guidelines of the “Master XC Fan.” Scoring: The numeric value of the 5 top places for each team is added together and the team th with the lowest score wins. In case of a tie the 6 runner’s place is included and if there is still th a tie the 7 runner’s place is included. Low team score wins. Example: DCHS Individual Results: Anna Marie Vaughan 1st Kathy Schweizer 3rd th Kathy Halliwell 6 th Teresa Thomas 8 th Marcie Coleman 10 1+3+6+8+10=28 points Team Score DCHS 28 (winner) Stanford 35 Oregon 40 Colorado 51 In short, the team who gets their 5 runners across the finish line first generally wins. So we like to see the long Maroon line coming into the finish line area ahead of the competition. Spectating: It is way to easy to only watch the start of the race and then go camp at the finish line. This is minimal and your daughters would much rather see your smiling and encouraging face out on the course where they probably need you more. The savvy xc fan plans their race ahead of time, determining how they can see their runner as many times out on the course as possible. Failing to leave the start and or finish line areas will possibly subject you to the mockery and scorn of other more season xc fans. Cheering: It is generally a good rule of thumb never to include pet names such as “honey,” “darling,” lovey,” “snuggle bunny” or “sweetheart” in any of your cheers. This will likely have a negative effect on your daughter. Also, telling your runner to sprint is never advised until perhaps the last 200m of a race. As a rule, be positive and supportive to your young runner while never saying derogatory things about any of the other competing runners. Dowling athletes and fans are always supportive and encouraging to all runners regardless of their team. 2
As I enter my fourth and final season as a Dowling Cross Country parent, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about what the sport has meant to our daughter and how it has shaped her and the other seniors since the time they were scrawny freshman nerds. Being a member of this team has taught our daughter how to be focused, disciplined, patient and humble among other things. More than once, I’ve heard these words used by teachers and other parents to describe the girls on this team.
I remember the first cross country meeting I attended and Fr. Kirby telling the girls there’s no Easter Sunday without Good Friday. Whether or not they understood it at the time, I’m sure the girls soon realized Good Friday meant 6:30 a.m. runs during summer vacation, 10 mile runs on Saturdays and the pressure of competing against teams from across the country. The focus and discipline these girls have used to get through these Good Friday moments have certainly transferred to the classroom as numerous teachers have made comments to that effect during conferences when talking about “those cross country girls.” While achieving their Easter Sunday moments in winning state championships in 2010 and 2011, these girls maintained that discipline and remained humble after standing atop the world of Iowa high school cross country. There have also been disappointments and tears. Watching our daughter go through two stress fractures was hard to watch. Fortunately, she handled these injuries better than I did. I know I’m not alone in this. Most of the senior girls have endured some sort of injury or illness during their Dowling careers. In talking to the other parents on the team during those times of injury, it’s clear I wasn’t the only one more concerned about having a healthy kid and not what her mile split time was. All the while, these girls were chomping at the bit to get running again. While this cross country season is just getting started, it will be over before we know it. As a parent, it’s reassuring to know that our daughter and her senior classmates have picked up life-‐long skills and habits through cross country that will serve them well as they go on their own next year. While the focus and determination may have been there without the Dowling cross country experience, I think it’s safe to say their time in this program enhanced these traits and showed these girls what hard work and sacrifice can bring them in the future. –John Schumacher
Urbandale 4K Cross Country Route
FINISH
START START
Girls 4K Course Please Note that these arrows only demonstrate the direction runners are going. The courses for the boys and girls races are different. This map may be helpful in choosing where you watch the race 6