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Cheyenne Mountain HS coach Stan Lambros is borrowing an idea made popular in Virginia, running a cross country race after dark.
In Virginia (above), it's called the Brentsville Relays and last year it drew more than 80 teams (in the rain, no less), including regional powerhouse Midlothian.
In Colorado, it's called the Silver Moon Relays, and the meet will take place on September 12 at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs. Coach Lambros indicated that one of the selling points of his race is that, "We have positioned the event around Liberty Bell and Pre-State strategically so that teams can do a fun team building event in between and still keep the competitive juices flowing. That is what we observed in Virginia. Our team seemed to appreciate not running a 5k in between those two meets and I received similar feedback from the coaches that attended our event. Also, it helped the team concept for us in a big way."
Last year, 12 schools participated in the meet. Lambros is hoping for a bigger turnout this year, in part to make affordable the rental of the high-powered construction lights necessary to run a race safely after dark. The goal is to eventually make this one of the marquee events in the state, possibly drawing regional teams as well as the in-state teams.
Plenty of room is still available for schools without this date on their schedule already filled.