Copyright © 2007 United Track Club, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
All Rights Reserved.
THE UNITED CROSS COUNTRY PROGRAM - 2008
United Cross Country is part of the United Track Club. In Cross Country we will be competing with teams from Santa Clarita, Simi Valley and several teams from the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles.
Cross Country running offers athletes of varying ability many opportunities to be successful. The concentration and discipline required to train for distance running will benefit the athletes long after the season is over, and the fun memories of the competition and camaraderie will last forever. However, it is important to recognize that Cross Country is most suited for the long-distance runner (of any skill level) who will enjoy the long, fairly difficult practice runs and races.
Cross country running is, basically, an individual sport, but the runners are part of a team, and all ages run together. Running together as a team helps the runners push themselves to run a pace they may not usually run. As this is a team, it is important for runners to encourage their teammates and help each other complete their workouts. There will be fast runners, slow runners and in-between runners, but all runners should always feel successful if they are doing their best, and striving for improvement. The coaches will encourage all runners to do their own best and set goals that are realistic and attainable for each athlete.
AGE CATEGORIES (birth year):
Gremlin - 2000 & 2001, Bantam - 1998 & 1999, Midget - 1996 & 1997, Youth - 1994 & 1995,
Intermediate - 1992 to 1993
PRACTICES
Workouts are held from 5:30 to 7:00 PM on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings. We will also practice on Saturday mornings until the meets begin in September. Towards the end of the season as the available daylight gets shorter, the starting time for practice may be moved up. Each month we will issue a calendar with the times and locations of practices for that month, as practices are held at several different locations in the area.
A typical workout might include a warm-up run of 800-1000 meters, 10-15 minutes of stretching and drills, a main distance run of 3-6 miles, and a cool down. In addition, certain practices will feature time on a track doing “speed” work. Cross country running is an endurance sport and missed training will affect performance, so it is important to attend as many workouts as possible. The season is quite short (first practice is August 1st and the final "regular" meet is October 25th.)
THE MEETS
Although the Conference is still finalizing the 2008 meet schedule at this time, we anticipate that the first meet will be on September 20th, and the final meet will be on October 27th. All meets (except one) are on Saturday mornings. The one meet that is not on Saturday is the USA Track and Field sanctioned meet at Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) and it is on a Sunday in October. Meets start with a course walk-through at 8:30 a.m. The first race is the Gremlin Girls, followed by Gremlin Boys. Next are Bantam Girls/Bantam Boys/Midget Girls/Midget Boys/Youth Girls/Youth Boys/Intermediate Girls and Boys. It is not uncommon for there to be 50 competitors on the starting line for any given race. Most Gremlin race courses are about 2000 meters, Bantam and Midget courses are about 3000 meters, and Youth and Intermediate courses are about 4000 meters. Some courses are fairly hilly and some are relatively flat…..that’s one of the fun things about the sport. While you always want to try to run your fastest, in Cross Country it is not “time” that is the most important factor---it is more important where you “place” in the race. At the end of the season your average “place” will determine your ranking in the Conference. The rankings are used to make up the Conference All-Star team called the Valley Striders, and the Valley Striders then compete in a national meet (more on this as the season goes on)5
United Cross Country is part of the United Track Club. In Cross Country we will be competing with teams from Santa Clarita, Simi Valley and several teams from the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles.
Cross Country running offers athletes of varying ability many opportunities to be successful. The concentration and discipline required to train for distance running will benefit the athletes long after the season is over, and the fun memories of the competition and camaraderie will last forever. However, it is important to recognize that Cross Country is most suited for the long-distance runner (of any skill level) who will enjoy the long, fairly difficult practice runs and races.
Cross country running is, basically, an individual sport, but the runners are part of a team, and all ages run together. Running together as a team helps the runners push themselves to run a pace they may not usually run. As this is a team, it is important for runners to encourage their teammates and help each other complete their workouts. There will be fast runners, slow runners and in-between runners, but all runners should always feel successful if they are doing their best, and striving for improvement. The coaches will encourage all runners to do their own best and set goals that are realistic and attainable for each athlete.
AGE CATEGORIES (birth year):
Gremlin - 2000 & 2001, Bantam - 1998 & 1999, Midget - 1996 & 1997, Youth - 1994 & 1995,
Intermediate - 1992 to 1993
PRACTICES
Workouts are held from 5:30 to 7:00 PM on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings. We will also practice on Saturday mornings until the meets begin in September. Towards the end of the season as the available daylight gets shorter, the starting time for practice may be moved up. Each month we will issue a calendar with the times and locations of practices for that month, as practices are held at several different locations in the area.
A typical workout might include a warm-up run of 800-1000 meters, 10-15 minutes of stretching and drills, a main distance run of 3-6 miles, and a cool down. In addition, certain practices will feature time on a track doing “speed” work. Cross country running is an endurance sport and missed training will affect performance, so it is important to attend as many workouts as possible. The season is quite short (first practice is August 1st and the final "regular" meet is October 25th.)
THE MEETS
Although the Conference is still finalizing the 2008 meet schedule at this time, we anticipate that the first meet will be on September 20th, and the final meet will be on October 27th. All meets (except one) are on Saturday mornings. The one meet that is not on Saturday is the USA Track and Field sanctioned meet at Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) and it is on a Sunday in October. Meets start with a course walk-through at 8:30 a.m. The first race is the Gremlin Girls, followed by Gremlin Boys. Next are Bantam Girls/Bantam Boys/Midget Girls/Midget Boys/Youth Girls/Youth Boys/Intermediate Girls and Boys. It is not uncommon for there to be 50 competitors on the starting line for any given race. Most Gremlin race courses are about 2000 meters, Bantam and Midget courses are about 3000 meters, and Youth and Intermediate courses are about 4000 meters. Some courses are fairly hilly and some are relatively flat…..that’s one of the fun things about the sport. While you always want to try to run your fastest, in Cross Country it is not “time” that is the most important factor---it is more important where you “place” in the race. At the end of the season your average “place” will determine your ranking in the Conference. The rankings are used to make up the Conference All-Star team called the Valley Striders, and the Valley Striders then compete in a national meet (more on this as the season goes on)5
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