"I'm so excited," a Fossil Ridge runner said through his mask to his teammate.
"For what?" His teammate asked.
"To be racing again, it's been months since we raced."
The masked runners looked out at the smoky space in front of them where spectators lined the course in pockets with distance between them. There wasn't just a raging heat (about 88 degrees), or smoke from the wildfires raging in the west, or the thick grass that soaked up each step, slowing down the race, that made the Rocky Mountain Lobo Invitational in Fort Collins a challenge.
It was all of the above.
This conversation on the starting line of the first wave of the boy's varsity race pretty much said it all: It's been a while since anyone has toed the starting line, and despite all the challenges, it feels good to be back.
While it was exciting to be back on the course, cross country sure looked a little different - 25 runners on the starting line, five teams with blocks of space between them, and masks on runners until the gun went off.
Welcome to the 2020 Colorado cross country season!
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