Banquet

Celebrating another CC season! We value each runner who participates, so we strive to recognize each one with words of affirmation and appreciation for their unique part of the team. It may take a while to acknowledge them all, but it brings near-perfect attendance at banquets. :) Thanks to everyone who helped make this a great night--we have the best banquet team, and we appreciate all of your work and creativity. Thanks to our captains for serving the team and to the coaches for investing so much in these student-athletes. Congratulations to those who earned volunteer service awards, varsity letters, athlete of the meet, and other fun awards. And we sure will miss you, seniors! Thanks also to all who supported us this season in various ways.

2016 Nighthawk Cross Country Banquet

That's a wrap! The End-of-Season Banquet is a sweet time of celebration for a season well done. Many thanks to the team-moms who made it all so beautiful. This is a family event (130 in attendance, wow) designed to recognize, encourage, and honor each athlete's unique character and contribution to the team. Thanks to all runners for giving us your hearts for a season and to all of the parents, grandparents, and siblings who supported us each step of the way. And best wishes to our seniors--we will miss you!

2nd Annual CC Jr.

The 2nd Annual CC Jr. run was a success! This family event is our way of thanking the younger team-siblings for being our biggest fans. The sibs (20+ of them) enter races of various distances (up to 1 mile) while the Nighthawk runners serve as meet directors, race starters, timers, chute helpers, awards presenters, and more. Thanks to all who participated!

Downpour

Now that was wet. Just a few seconds after the first race began, the downpour came. The meet directors combined events and moved things along, but we couldn't quite get all the races in before the lightning came. The boys were disappointed (their race was canceled just seconds before the gun was to go off), but for some that was a good thing: to realize that they wanted to race more than they thought. And hooray for the new tent! Thanks to all who helped chip in over the past few CC and T&F seasons so we could buy some protection. :) Congrats all runners who put forth amazing performances in the mud. All smiles in the end, especially when Chipotle is on the agenda. ;)

Geezers

Another early-season favorite: the Geezer Chase 2-mile fun run in St. Louis Park. Non-CC runners (parents, siblings, and friends) get a 2-minute head start, and the CC runners chase the "geezers." Brings an entirely new level of motivation! :D Thanks to all for the fun and sportsmanship.

MFD III

Mega Fun Day: The early-season tradition of running, food, work, more food, and a movie (keep eating). This year's installment was postponed a week due to the weather, but even so we ended up plenty wet. Still, the crew kept smiling and we made good progress on brush clearing and tree planting. Each year the "home course" looks a little better, and these young men and women have much to be proud of.

Beach

It's been crazy hot and humid this week. Who wants to mow the course for Saturday morning when there's a great local trail that starts and ends and the beach? Congrats to about a half-dozen runners who ran PL's (personal longest runs) today. Something to be said for motivation!

A New Take on Hill Training

Making good on a promise today! They do seem to enjoy sliding down it in the winter more than running up it in the fall. :)

Mega Fun Day II

Cross country, Nighthawk style! Practice at 8:00 A.M. followed by breakfast, trail/farm work crews (cleared & hauled brush, pulled posts, planted trees, and built a bridge!), lunch, and a movie in the barn. Done by 2:30 P.M. Impressed?

This is what we call "empowerment." :)