At a quarter mile in, the St. Vrain Invitational is still one massive herd of humanity. It's takes either nerves of steel or a lack of familiarity with the race to take the lead this early.
It hardly seems possible, does it?
We're already to Liberty Bell/St. Vrain week. There was a time just a couple of years back where it seemed like better than 90% of the schools in the state were headed either to Liberty Bell or St. Vrain this week. That number has backed off a little of late, but they're still two monster meets and still easily the dominant meets on the statewide landscape.
Joining them this week will be the Brighton Jack 'n Jill Relays on Wednesday, the Standley Lake Gator and the Woodland Park Run Above The Clouds on Thursday, the Grand Junction Tiger on Friday, then Hotchkiss, Joe Vigil, Soroco, and Widefield on Saturday.
All that makes for a busy week.
I really don't know much about the Jack 'n Jill Relays meet. I'll learn right along with you when the results come in.
LATE BREAKING NEWS: The Jack 'n Jill Relays feature teams of two boys and two girls from the same school, each running two-mile legs of a relay. Schools may enter multiple relays, but only the top relay counts for team scoring. I'm still trying to figure out how you lay out two-mile loops at Barr Lake State Park. The trail all the way around the lake makes for about eight miles, but I'm pretty sure that isn't how it will be done.
The Standley Lake Gator has been standing firm in Liberty Bell/St. Vrain week for several years now. It was the original alternate meet for the week when the two mega meets went for back-to-back dates on the calendar and has by now gained a substantial toehold in the week. If massive crowds make you edgy, this may be the meet for you.
Perhaps the main draw for Woodland Park's Run Above the Clouds is that it comes back later in the season as the site of the 3A Region 2 race. Get your course previews here, folks!
Western Slopers enjoy a cornucopia of meet options this week. Some, of course, will come over the mountains for Liberty Bell or St. Vrain (probably more of the former).
The San Juan Basin crowd figures to head mostly in the direction of the Joe Vigil, though there is likely an option or two across the border in New Mexico. The Joe Vigil, despite 7554 feet of elevation, is one of the flattest and fastest courses known to mankind. Maybe it's on account of the resident deer flies. Life is never quite exactly the same after a deer fly lights you up.
Northwest Colorado can stay (relatively) close to home at Soroco's home meet. Of course, the cross country programs in northwest Colorado are pretty easy to count, even if you're missing a digit from an unfortunate encounter with a table saw. Maybe they coax a team or two across the border from Wyoming?
And then, both Grand Junction and Hotchkiss will be hosting in the heart of western Colorado. You barely have to leave I-70 for the Grand Junction meet on Friday. There is, however, one wild-and-crazy roundabout to navigate between the highway and the park if you're headed to the Tiger.
After viewing photos from the Delta meet this past weekend, it looks as if anyone who ran there should be fully primed for anything the hills of Hotchkiss can dish out. Funny thing, a lot of the same teams will be there. Some folks never get quite enough of that sort of thing.
Widefield parks its carnival ride (lots and lots of twists, crossovers, and turns) on the same Saturday as the Joe Vigil and the St. Vrain. That makes for a tough crowd to compete against for teams, but I think we'll still have a meet here in El Paso County this weekend.
See you on the course! I'll be at St. Vrain this weekend. Colorado Track XC will also have coverage at Liberty Bell, and perhaps spot coverage elsewhere as well!