Follow Cape Elizabeth HS distance star Liam SImpson as he blogs about his senior xc season. Simpson was one of the top xc runners in Class B last fall finishing 6th and leading his team to the state title. Liam was 33rd in the New England meet last fall, and is the 9th fastest returner in the region. Check out Liam in his quest to lead his team to another state title.
Well, we're nearly half way through the season already, and now is the time when we get to race in some really big, fun races. In consecutive weeks, the Cape team has had the great opportunity to run in the Manchester Invitational last Saturday, and we will be racing in the famed Festival of Champions this Saturday. Both huge races against incredibly talented and fast competition, they are great way to test our strength midway though the season. The day of Manchester was unseasonably warm, and having never raced the course before, we were all pretty astonished upon walking the course to see the size and steepness of the hills we would soon be climbing in spikes. The course, known for being fast, derives its speed and aggressiveness from the final mile, where you descend the literal mountain you just climbed in the first part of the race. (for those of you who haven't raced there before, you actually go over the top of the chairlift of a ski mountain.) Despite the hills of the course providing for a very painful race, we were still happy with the result as a team. Although some of us did not quite achieve the times we had hoped for, fifth place in the elite race earned us a plaque and a spot on the podium, which we were very happy to receive. Overall, I think its fair to say Maine was extremely well represented at the meet, especially on the individual side of the small schools boys and girls races. Speaking of which, our team had just set off on our warm up jog and were heading towards the woods at Manchester when we saw Dan Curts and Joseph Holt-Andrews tear onto the pavement in the final 800 of the boys' small school race. We immediately decided to do our warm-up closer to the finish line because we were not about the miss that race. Both individuals had legendary performances that day.
This Saturday, the Festival of Champions, in my mind the quintessential cross meet, the one that I look forward to for the entire first half of the season, takes place. You know it's going to be an extraordinary meet when there are nearly 30 kids seeded under 17 minutes and the top 6 teams have average seed times of 17:06 or under. I hope the race is fun and fast and that everyone gets a PR.
