The sun swelters in the sky, radiating the atmosphere in Union County, Ohio with unimaginable heat. Birds stay in the limbs of the trees, desperately trying to stay in the shade that offers a pittance of relief. Everywhere, the cornfields are full and tall, the stalks unmoving in the tepid air. Soon, you hear a single footstep. Then, several more. A rhythm is developed. A song. From around the bend appears Fairbanks senior Zeke Gingerich. He is running, and appears to be in a hurry. Follow him with your mind. He sees the trail laid out before him. 3.2 miles. Over hill, over dale, on road, grass, or gravel. His figure slices through the humid air like a shadow. Listen more closely. Do you hear the steady breathing? Only one mile to go, he begins to accelerate. Yes, he is in pain, but for what? Some distant, ardent glory? A new personal record? A medal to be slung around his neck? No. He suffers because it is what they do. Distance runners. Truly a remarkable breed. As he runs, he hears the voice of his coach, Michael Van Winkle, echoing and re-echoing in his brain, like some sort of intense auditory hallucination. “When the pain begins, you must defeat it. Run faster.” Gingerich winces, and pushes ahead. “You are not on the trail; you are the trail.” Gingerich glances at his watch and sees that his heartrate is accelerating. Good. “The past, present, and future are illusions; the only truth is the abyss.” Gingerich begins to sense that his arms and legs are working in cohort with his heart and lungs. Like the gears designed by a master watchmaker, he is a unified whole. He senses it on a quantum level as his physical presence dissipates and he becomes no more than subatomic particles, speeding towards some intangible inevitability. Behind him march the soles of dozens of more feet. Some in Nike, some in New Balance, some in Brooks. For them, there is no heat. The sun has been temporarily usurped. For them, there is only the finish, and the rejuvenating respite of cold chocolate milk. In the distance, a lone dairy cow moos as a sweating farmer leads it to the stall. It is August. The season has started. The Fairbanks Panther Cross Country teams are back, and with them, come high expectations.
TO BE CONTINUE……..
By: Jeff Powell
“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you.”
―Friedrich W. Nietzsche
Lists
Vivi’s Check list:
Drive a Monster Truck
Emily, Vivi and I are back from the Rust n Dust Steam & Gas Show. The show is an annual event that Emily’s family puts on every year at their dairy farm in Michigan. The list for running a Tractor Show is immense and getting back from the show is a slow process of remembering what we need to get done for the CC teams. So the list for this week looks like this:
Sell Some Popcorn!
We only have a few days left and this fundraiser is to cover the cost of the uniform shorts (2 pair) that athletes will keep post season.
Elect our Team Captains
Captains will be announced on Wednesday at Practice
Paperwork
Final Forms
Sports Fees
Physicals
Remind & Practice Schedule
Check your Remind app and make sure you are getting all of the current information, especially practice schedule so you know when and where we are practicing, for the team.
Training Log updates & Mileage Club Progress
Establishing training groups this week.
Next week we will be back to school & we have our first meet.