Both boys are running cross country for our local high school, and honest to goodness, we couldn’t be more pleased.
Jackson came to us last spring and said he wanted to try cross country. It was an easy yes, particularly after hearing so many positive things from another homeschooling family’s experience with the local high school team. Jackson had already started running independently, so all I had to do was contact the coach and get the process going.
When Jeremy found out he wasn’t going to have a fall soccer season, he asked about running cross country too. After considering all the ways it could go wrong, we opted to take a chance and see what could go right.
Boy oh boy. It’s totally been worth it.
The following photos were taken at different meets – a JV meet in Loudoun and a varsity meet in Chattanooga (hosted by McCallie). Both boys did well and we couldn’t be prouder!
Jeremy and Jackson are not the same type of athlete, but fortunately cross country rewards both the competitive and non-competitive. Both make individual goals and run accordingly.
Jackson is a “slow and steady” runner whose primary goal is to finish every race. (He gets this from his mother!) Despite taking more time to finish each 5K, the team always supports him near the finish line by running alongside him and encouraging him to finish strong.
If you want to see me cry fat tears of joy, meet me at the finish line while Jeremy screams encouraging words for his little brother. BIG MOM TEARS.
(That’s Jeremy in the pink shirt on the right.)
Meanwhile, Jeremy is a “full throttle” runner (he gets this from his father!), constantly pushing, challenging himself, and shaving seconds off of his 5K time.
He was *so close* to running a sub-20-minute 5K at the meet in Chattanooga, but he was *so hard* on himself when he saw his time was 20:06. We were crazy proud of him, but Jeremy is competitive to his core. He is pushing harder to reach his goal.
The primary reason he wanted to run cross country was to stay in shape for spring soccer, but he’s fallen in love with the sport and has thoroughly enjoyed being part of this team.
This team photo was taken at the McCallie meet, which Jackson wasn’t a part of since it was for the varsity team. (He was actually camping with our neighbors this weekend, so he wasn’t even there as a spectator.)
Gotta say – I loved seeing the McCallie signs and banners while we there. Dad, who worked at McCallie for a decade, would’ve thought that was so cool.
We only have a few more weeks of cross country until the season ends, and I’ll truly be sad when it’s over. It’s been one of the highlights of the year so far.