Reflections on the NXN Experience

The first thing you learn after the gun goes off is that this isn't just like any other race.

But, that shouldn't be all that surprising. Thursday and Friday weren't just like any other days. Nike made certain this was a first-class event run in a first-class manner.

So, how do you put on a meet for nearly 400 competitors, and their chaperones, from all across the nation?

Part of the picture is having regional ambassadors for each of the nine regions. Rob and Kathy Hipwood of Los Alamos High School in New Mexico were ours. They did an outstanding job of answering questions, keeping us pointed the right direction all through our busy schedule, and making certain the teams under their care had everything they needed. They did everything from meeting us at the airport to seeing us off way too early for anyone to be up on Sunday morning.

Another piece of the picture is having a fleet of tour buses on hand to transport the athletes and chaperones between the hotel, the Nike corporate campus, and Portland Meadows. The drivers were classy and courteous. To keep those buses clean, you provide a pile of surgical slip-on booties for the athletes to put over their shoes when departing the race course.

You have first-class meals served on site at the Nike campus. And a whole lot more.

Yet, as well as Nike treated the teams for NXN 2008, the race was clearly the centerpiece of the weekend--as well it should be.

While the course was more or less completely cordoned off, there were "gates" made in the cordoning so that the masses of fans could move through before and after the racers went through. Thus is was that the competitors were never far from scores of screaming fans.

The competitors were also never far from one another. About 70% of the girls finished between 18:00 and 20:00. About 85% of the boys finished between 15:30 and 17:30. The fields simply never strung out as we are accustomed to seeing in a high school cross country race. Physical contact between runners was frequent. Runners went down and battled back to their feet, sometimes before--and sometimes not--being sliced by the spikes of oncoming competitors. Runners were (probably) indavertantly bumped from the course on the whoop-de-dos. It was not uncommon to see runners going over the hay bales at three abreast.

It was, in just about every respect, an exhilirating experience and the kind that you recall with affection.

That's not to say that all went as planned for us. We (Colorado Springs XC) finished in 13th place of the 22 teams in the girls championship race. While that placing squares well with where those who study high school cross country across the nation predicted we would finish, it was certainly not where our hearts were set on finishing.

Still, we do not hang our heads. This year's finish was no trivial accomplishment. Even within our own school, we had to convince some people that we weren't running against a small-school field at NXN.

At some level, our own inexperience bit us. I doubt there is any longer a way to adequately prepare for this event without advance experience of what to expect. Chris Suppes of Fort Collins and a few other coaches offered helpful suggestions--which I passed along to the athletes--but the big picture was still a little overwhelming.

I discovered that our level of training was not completely adequate for NXN. It carried us sufficiently through the NXN regional meet, but this is another league of experience. It's certainly not as simple as adding on six more weeks of training after state. Neither is it as simple as "extending your peak." I only wish it was as simple as either of these scenarios. Moreover, I'm skeptical that any high school athlete can carry a peak over a period of six weeks. You make compromises at some point. Then you hope the compromises you made are more strategically sound than those the other teams made.

There are so many considerations to balance and make allowances for in those extra six weeks (mercifully, it should be five weeks for Colorado next year). Considerations of available daylight hours, available time, injury situations, family trips, and escalating homework loads--to name just a few. This season took us three weeks further into formal competition than we had ever gone before. We learned that the impacts of accumulating fatigue (both physical and psychological) and minor injuries escalate at a disconcerting rate during those few extra weeks.

It's probably fair to say that I hadn't provided an adequate base of strength and conditioning to carry us completely through to this kind of finale. If the opportunity rolls around again, I will ensure that we aren't caught a little short in that area again. This responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of the coach.

Did I leave with the impression that any of the teams, Manlius in particular, were unbeatable? Not in the slightest. As I see things, their grasp on dominance of the field is a precarious thing. There are too many great teams, too many great coaches, and too much desire out there for the stranglehold to last indefinitely. Momentum is building for NXN and, as it builds, so also will the number of rivals to the throne.

It will take better performances to make it to NXN next year than it took this year. As good as this year's winning performance was, it will probably take a better performance to win it next year.

Whether we make a run at NXN again next year is a decision that belongs to the girls who start training after our rest period following the state track meet. It is no small decision and, more importantly, no small commitment. We'll talk about that when the time is right for talking about it.

It is, however, an eminently attractive event. It is an honor to have dreamed the dream, chased the dream, and to have lived out at least a good part of the dream.