Experiencing Egegik: Cross Country Meet

A short athletic season in Alaska is something that is regular for each sport they play. When I was asked if I would like to be the Cross Country coach, I thought (inaccurately) that it would be for the entire fall and there might be multiple meets. Ha, I was so wrong! One meet at the end of a month of training.

The season started off with 4 students saying they would participate. That diminished quickly when one of them quickly made a trip to Anchorage for a medical issue. Shortly after that two more were gone for two weeks to Anchorage and then I was down to one student. She put in a great amount of work throughout the season and took the coach's trainings well.

Having a new coach isn't the easiest thing in the world. I'm not the easiest coach to have either. I have high expectations and I admit willingly that when I know that there is more left in the athletes, I'm a little like Jillian and Bob from the Biggest Loser. (Just not THAT intense) Now, I can't run as far as the Cross Country kids can, but there is a bicycle around that I can ride just that far. It's nice be able to carry water for my athlete and a stopwatch along with some other provisions just in case. She took the coaching well and even made me proud when showing me some heart during a few of the trainings when I asked more of her than I ever had. Knowing that the one and only meet was fast approaching and that I would not see her for 4 days before the meet was a bit daunting but we tried to be ready.

When we met back up in Nondalton, AK and began to walk the course I really felt like she was going to do well. We knew what the goal was and that it might be a bit difficult because there were quite a few more hills than we have here at home. She ran through some huge blisters on her heels after a tape job and not only did she reach that goal, she exceeded it! I couldn't have been more proud of her when I found out her time, I think I might have run through the halls to tell her how fast she ran.

What was I doing then besides being at the finish line? Why did I have to wait to find out the time? I was out on the course making sure that runners turned around at the right spot. How was the weather while I was out there? It was great, a bit warm, no breeze and I had all the time in the world to wait for runners. Wait. Wait just one minute. Warm, no breeze weather in rural Alaska means one thing though. Bugs. Not just a few bugs. Swarms of bugs. Mosquitos the size of hummingbirds and flocks of them. You look up in the sky and I swear I could count a "little" flock of 40 of them just above my head. Oh my goodness! The little bugs that accompany them were dotting the sky ever so much more prevalent than the stars and so much more annoying too! There were times between the races that I had nothing to do but wait so I would pull my hoodie over my face as far as I could and my sleeves over my hands and just sit there in the "dark" so I wouldn't get bit or annoyed by the bugs. I had a ton of fun cheering on all of the student-athletes as they came past my station however I think my favorite time might have been when I got to run back down to the school when that last runner came jogging by. Phew, bugs over!

So, the other great parts about going somewhere else is getting to see what the other sites are like. Nondalton is beautiful. Not only do they have some beautiful scenery but we also got to see a cool piece of history in the form of a plane wreck. The lake and the mountains around it were stunning and I can't even imagine how beautiful they must be covered in snow! The plane went down many years ago when the lake was frozen and they just drug it off to the side. It still sits there now and you can visit the wreckage site.

Service Project- Filling in Potholes

We also had some fun seeing some Native Youth Olympics (NYO) events being demonstrated and I think my mouth dropped open a few times. Yes, I've tried them here at home now and I'm sure I look like a dork doing them. They are fun though! Besides all these things, there were leadership activities, many school meals and a dance to partake in. I'm not sure who danced more though; the teachers/coaches or the students. Fun was had by all though and I'm glad that I've gotten you all updated on at least this portion of my adventure!