Three Course Challenge

By Gabriel Keough

The Regis cross-country team had the run of a lifetime on Saturday, September 23rd. The Three Course Challenge is an annual race hosted by the National Guard at Seaside. Everyone got up early to be at the school by 6:30 A.M. It was a surreal experience, driving towards the school in pitch-blackness. The whole team was feeling somewhat subdued, it being the time that it was. We all piled onto the bus and went about our business. Some of us texted each other, others slept, and some contemplated the hard race in front of us.

After a long drive, we arrived at the place that was going to test our resolve. It was already pouring rain when we got there, and it was not the most hospitable temperature, considering all of the teams huddled together for warmth like penguins. Nevertheless, everybody piled out of the van and walked down to the course. 

Soon it was time for the middle schoolers to run their race. Everyone watched them hurry off at the start and then bustled over to the finish line to see them complete the race. As the middle schoolers started rounding the final turn, I could see all of them covered in mud. I also wondered why so many were running without their shoes. Little did I know, the mud and the absence of shoes were very directly connected.  

There were three courses at the meet, and we ran the shortest at 3.4 kilometers. After a brief interlude filled with stretching and warm-ups,(which left us still freezing and wet,) it was time to run. As soon as the air horn blasted across the field, everybody surged forward. Once the initial sprint was over, there was a good amount of shouting at other runners with words of encouragement. The first turn finished, everyone ran with the need to catch runners in front of them, and the fear of being overtaken. The course was hard, starting with a climb in the sand for the first part of the race, followed by some downhill, and then the Mud Pit. The Mud Pit is a part of the course that the National Guard prepares for the meet by churning up the dirt, adding high amounts of water, and repeating the process many times. The result is not fun to run through in the middle of a race. Stepping in, it felt like a very muddy hand grabbed my shoe and pulled it down. Thankfully I had tightened my shoes before the race, so it stayed on. Other runners weren’t so lucky, like one Regis runner Harper Stoops. After losing his shoe, Harper kept running and still placed well. Harper Stoops said, “It made the race harder than it already was.” 

After the mud pit, it was a hard job to keep your feet moving, because of the weight of the water and mud. This was the part of the race where people started really feeling the pain. More and more people started walking, and it was hard to keep breathing in rhythm. As if that wasn’t hard enough, we came to a tall hill. The hill was packed sand, and the ascent didn’t feel effortless as would have been preferential. After a hard climb that left everyone’s legs feeling a little shaky, it was a slippery downhill that caused many runners to fall. Thankfully the Regis team kept their footing and pushed on. 

The team all saw the finish line in the distance, and the pain in the chest and legs almost disappeared as everyone felt the race coming to an end. The pace increased dramatically, and so did the burning pain. Everyone wanted to pass one more person before the end of the race, and no one wanted to be passed. As everyone came through in their respective times, everyone felt the great sense of accomplishment that comes with running hard. 

In terms of statistics, Calista Anglin ran a 37:54 for the girls. For the boys, Stuart McLaughlin (19:28) and Caleb Mayer (21:21) both won medals in the intermediate course. Also having medal-winning performances on the easy course (which wasn’t so easy) were Kingston Whitmire with a 22:12, and Harper Stoops clocking in with a 22:36. Following them closely was Gabriel Keough(23:31), and William Mitoke(26:56). 

Two runners finished with a slower time but for a good reason. Hank Foltz (31:16), and Liam McSorley(31:20), saw a runner hurt themselves near the beginning of the race. Instead of deciding to keep running and ignore him, they decided to sacrifice precious minutes off their times to help the injured runner off of the course. This is the moral steadfastness that Regis teaches. Both Hank and Liam knew that they needed to help that other runner, so they did.