For our athletes who are in 7th or 8th grade and are running cross-country for their middle school’s team, you may be wondering whether or not you should continue practicing with 620 Running in the evenings during this time.  I want to give my perspective and inform you of the options available.  A primary focus is to keep our athletes, especially newer runners, from over-training during this time and potentially experiencing injuries associated with doing too much too soon. However, not all of our athletes attend the same school, or participate in the same classes and activities, and therefore, do not receive the same training load.    

For example, a female athlete might run with her cross country team before school, then attend the athletic period during school where she does additional physical training, while also swimming multiple days a week after school with her swim club.  In most cases, this athlete would be best served by not attending our afternoon practices until her school’s XC season is finished.  On the other hand, a male athlete may attend cross country practice in the mornings, but may not be involved in any other sports activities or physical education class.  This athlete may have sufficient running experience and fitness level to continue practicing with 620 Running in addition to participation with his middle school team.

For those athletes who choose to continue to train with us during their school XC season, our focus will be to provide supplemental training that they may not have time to cover during the limited time with their school team. Usually, the athlete will get plenty of  “quality” work or higher intensity training through the school team’s practices and weekly meets.  Therefore, our supplemental training will include an appropriate volume of easy-paced running, technique training, strength training, core, and stretching.

A few additional points:

• We have altered our practice schedule from mid-September through mid-October to avoid conflicts with the school XC meets. E-mail with details coming shortly.

• 620 Running is attending 3 meets scheduled during Sept / Oct and whether your athlete is actively training with us or not, we want them to compete in these meets if they are interested and available.  Cross Country is a team sport requiring at least 5 finishers for team scoring. In some age groups we need every athlete available to meet this requirement.

• There are two school holidays during this period, Sept. 5 and Oct 10.  We will have practice on those days.

• The training fee for the month of September will be reduced to $35 for any 7th and 8th Grade athletes who are training with their school’s Cross Country Team and would like to participate in this supplemental training with 620 Running.