Speedy Linden Runners!


Posted by Admin on October 22, 2017 at 10:07 PM

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By Soteira Briginshaw, Linden Lead Teacher and Cross-Country Coach

Runners from Grades 5–12 trained through September and October in order to feel confident at the start line of their races, which ranged from 2km–4km in distance. They practiced with endurance runs, threshold intervals, speed work, and hill relays. For many team members, this was their first year joining cross country and they stepped up to the challenge of training for a distance run with commitment and enthusiasm. We are very proud of all their results and personal bests!

Junior and Intermediate Team

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Our Grades 5–8 runners attended the Withrow Cup Invitational event on October 11th. For many runners, this was their first introduction to the Linden Nation sports experience, and they were feeling nervous. The nervous excitement eventually took a back seat to keeping their bodies warm during an unusually cold and rainy day in October. Linden runners tackled their individual goals with great perseverance and finished with proud smiles and tired muscles. At the end of the meet, there was a real sense of accomplishment, an ever greater sense of school community and pride. These athletes cheered on every single runner with the same enthusiasm that they would a teammate. A special shout out to Emily who picked tough spots on the course to help encourage and run in solidarity with struggling runners in other divisions after completing her own race.

Senior Team

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On October 20th, our senior team rejoiced in a much sunnier day at the SSAF Cross-Country Championships at Sunnybrook Park. This is a huge event that hosts over 1500 runners from over 30 schools. This team benefitted from a lot of experience and leadership provided by returning runners, and new Linden athletes really pushed forward to hit their personal bests. All of our runners who finished the course did so with top 10 finishes! The U16 race results had Lucia, Juliana, Julia, and Ellen in 2nd, 7th, 8th, and 9th place individually, and the U20 race had Liana, Sophia, Sierra, and Rachel in 3rd, 6th, 7th, and 8th place individually. Liana and Lucia also brought home medals for the team! The cheering, as always, was unparalleled, and one Linden runner remarked that it made the difference in her ability to bust into the top three as she crossed the finish line.

Thank you to all the athletes for truly representing the spirit of Linden Nation at practices and the meets, to the parent volunteer drivers for transporting our athletes and spending the day cheering, and to family supporters for keeping us warm and energized at Withrow. What an impressive season!

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