EU Running Camp

In August of 2001, I had an idea. Why not start a cross country team at the school where Scott was teaching? The principal thought it was a fine idea, and so Scott became the coach on paper. The kids and I would come up to East Union each afternoon, and we would coach together. We joked that I was the brains behind the operation, and he had the loud voice to carry it through. We started running around the baseball fields and adjoining cotton fields, and before we knew it, we had worked out a little course around the campus. Here are the runners on the famous (or infamous) cotton field road hill...
Now, it is 2010. Scott is going back to teach at East Union, and I am coaching 3 of my former Urchins at Blue Mountain.

Quick aside... for those of you who might not know, East Union's mascot is the SEA URCHIN. No joke about the name... GO URCHINS!!! The joke is, the mascot is not actually a sea urchin; It is a sea HORSE. Very interesting choice for a completely landlocked school in the middle of rural Mississippi! Oh, yes, and did I mention that the colors are brown and gold? That's right, brown and gold, baby, brown and gold.

Breakin' it down before the group run

SO. It came about that I was asked to speak at East Union's running camp last week. It was very special to me to have the opportunity to go back there and speak to several siblings of runners I coached! Tuesday night we talked about training ...

Attitude (It really is everything... well, almost)
Guidelines (training smart and with a plan)
External Factors (nutrition, rest, etc.)

Thursday night we talked about racing strategies. Mostly how to beat Myrtle. Just kidding Coach Greer! :) Really, we discussed issues surrounding racing...

Pre-race preparation
Running Smart
Staying Focused

I think it went well, and I enjoyed the opportunity to speak. Sarah went with me on Tuesday, and did a great job. I had to tell Coach McClellan that he better not be trying to recruit my own kid out from under me... She's a Spartan, not an Urchin, no matter where her daddy works! :)

Guys doing a little hill work to finish off practice