It was a Thursday.
March, 12, 2020 to be exact.
It's strange to think that it's been nearly two years since the COVID-19 washed away the 2020 outdoor track & field season like a tsunami.
That 2020 season was DQ'd a stride into the race, barely out of the blocks. Only when competitors went back to the starting line, the race was called off entirely.
There have been ripples in the water ever since.
One day in the future, or perhaps now even, we'll reminisce back on the days of high-quality 100-runner cross country meets that felt like the dual meets, masks at starting lines, that nearly-seven month gap between cross country and outdoor track and field, and seven-week seasons - one that started as school was ending, and ended in the final days of June, right before the Fourth of July.
The past few years have been strange times indeed, though there are glimmers of hope for a return to normalcy when setting our gaze ahead.
For one, Colorado's 2022 outdoor track & field season will finally look and feel normal. We're talking a season spanning 11 weeks from March to May, and plenty of high quality, high quantity invitationals.
This year's crop of seniors won't be spiking up well after tossing their caps into the sky.
And on the topic of this year's seniors...
Consider that they will be competing in a "normal" outdoor season for the first time since they were freshmen. Their sophomore track & field season will forever be remembered as The Season That Never Was, while their junior season took a massive bite out of any summer plans for travel, as most of it took place after the school doors had closed for the year and summer was raging across the Rockies.
"Sorry, I can't go to Cancun the last week in June, I've got State..."
Editor's Note: I may have covered a meet or two in sandals during that 2021 outdoor season...
To go another stride, consider that juniors haven't competed in a "normal" outdoor season in their entire high school career. The same goes for sophomores.
They have yet to feel the buzz in the air when mid-May rolls around. It's when the everything turns green, mornings are a little warmer, and everyone is eyeing a chance to toe the line for those three days at Jeffco Stadium.
Meanwhile, freshmen will have the gift of competing in a season that most pre-2020 athletes would consider "normal."
And on the topic of freshmen (or any new members in the MileSplit Colorado audience.)
Welcome!
My name is Bobby Reyes. I'm the Senior Editor of MileSplit Colorado. In other words: I'll be the ship captain for the duration of your athlete's high school career.
You can likely find me most weekends trackside somewhere across the state. I'll be the tall, tan guy with long curly hair and a camera slung around my shoulder.
My hope is to provide an experience similar to Amazon - in the sense of this being a website where you can find just about anything you're looking for, including things you might not need but could easily find an excuse to order.
I really should return that laptop case...
The 2022 season officially launches off the starting line Thursday, March 10, and this time it seems unlikely for the gun to fire once more after the start to stop athletes before catching their stride.
We've got 11 weeks of Colorado track & field ahead of us, and one thing is for certain:
It feels good to be back.
It was a Thursday.
March, 12, 2020 to be exact.