Nick’s last meet of the JV XC season was yesterday. Same location as the meet I posted about earlier, but a different course. Sue & I arrive early enough for me to scout a good photo spot. It is right at the “3 Mile” sign, as the course arrives at the stadium for the finish. However the race passes this location 3 times during the course of the event, so hopefully I will be able to get photos without running around as much as the contestants!
I stand near the start line and am amazed at the size of the field. A huge number of kids, which stretches beyond either end of this photo right as the starter gun went off:
Nick is at the point of that big red arrow. It is very handy to be able to spot him. 😉
There they go! There’s Nick, right in the middle of the pack.
From the start I scurry to my “3 mile sign” spot and wait for Nick to come by. The first time the pack arrivesthey were still bunched up in a thundering herd of humanity. I am inches away from the course and proximity defeats my ability to spot Nick in the group. He runs RIGHT by me and I never see him. Thankfully by the second time the field is thinned out and I am able to pick him out long before he arrives at my spot. I shout some encouraging words and grab some photos as he goes by:
He comes around for the last lap, and kicks it up a notch for the finish. When he passes me there was only a tenth of a mile to go, and I am impressed to see him pass a couple of kids on the home stretch.
After the rest of the field goes by I cross the course, met Sue and wait for Nick to arrive. There he is, looking tired:
Getting the post race hug from his mom.
Post race photo.
The competition in his class is very tough. He ran the 3.1 miles in about 21 minutes and finished in the middle of the pack.