It had been quite some time since I was fortunate enough to throw down a big distance double at the same meet or over the course of a weekend. Though I think last week’s whirlwind adventure of going to the Penn Relays and hosting the NESCAC Outdoor Championship all within 72 hours, certainly made up for my long hiatus.
I guess this crazy weekend began during the weeks prior, as we put on our first home meet of the season and hosted nine teams on a relatively pleasant early spring day. Unlike the 2015 season, we were spared long days of shoveling 3+ feet of snow leading up to the night before the meet. Still, it was a long week of painting lines, clearing circles,pulling out mats, organizing student workers, etc. Luckily, the meet went off without any major hiccups (the sector lines for our javelin area were not accurate and resulted in ten minute delay as we laid down new lines with chalk) and set up things very nicely for our next hosting duties at the end of the month.
Approaching last week, I knew very well it was going to be a long and busy seven days of meet prep, travel, coaching, some more meet prep, more coaching, and little rest. Though maybe being young and naive, I didn’t think it would be that bad or overly busy. I figured we had already put on a relatively successful and well executed meet just a few weeks prior, so we were pretty much in the clear. But after a hectic Monday throughWednesday, I was almost thankful for the long drive from Amherst to Philadelphia for a 10,000m race later in the evening. Still, as we cruised down the highway to Franklin Field, I was trying to check off in my head the long list of tasks for NESCACs, worryingabout all the meet emails going unanswered.
Once we got to Philly and I was able to shoot off a few emails, I turned my full attention to Mohamed and his 10K, as well as the great event that is the Thursday Distance Night at Penn Relays. It was an especially unique atmosphere on a drizzly and cool Thursdayevening, as most people who stick around are loving parents, die-hard fans, and coaches. Nestled below the stadium in the relatively warm and dry tunnel leading out the track, Mo and I camped out for a few hours discussing our summer plans, looming finals, and the ever important quest of post-race food. Unfortunately, no matter the size or prestige of a meet, it is still subject to running behind schedule and the 11:10pm 10K would now be going off shortly before midnight. Once underway, Mohamed did a terrific job of clicking off 71-second quarters, hitting the first 5k in 14:55. Throughout the race, Mo did an excellent job of keeping tabs on what was occurring in front of him and making the necessary moves to close up gaps. Despite hitting a bit of a rough patch between 7K – 8K, he would still knock off 38 seconds from his previous best and punch his ticket to NCAAs with 30:05.8 performance. Seeing as it was well after midnight and we had a long ride home, we made it a short cooldown and quick walk back to the car.
Unfortunately, the night became much longer as we found our car to be locked up in the parking garage and the place shut down for the night. After a few frantic phones call to the parking garage company, local police stations, and eventually UPenn Police, we were eventually rescued and finally homebound for another meet in a little over twenty four hours. Thankfully the coffee and awesome race provided enough adrenaline to pull me through the long haul back to campus.
Friday would be a whirlwind of less than fours of sleep, final touch ups for the meet, practice, seeding errors, and a close to 10 o’clock departure from the track. As I would want to get up and run before being at the track by 6:30 the next morning, I knew it was going to be tough nigh to catch up on sleep. Though I knew we were rounding the bend and entering the homestretch.
I really couldn’t imagine waking up that Saturday morning to a day of mid 40’s and rain, such as we have had in past NESCAC Champs or just about any other spring day in New England. Luckily though we didn’t have to fear rain or cold, as throughout the entire day we were treated to an abundance of sunshine and temperatures in the mid sixties. Despite the ideal weather, I would still remain on my toes throughout the morning just waiting for something to go wrong or implode. While we would have have to put out the usual “little fires” through out the day (student workers not showing up, water table for the 5k, or disappearing hurdle crew), I was actually thrilled and surprised in regards to how smoothly the day progressed. I found myself being able to actually take splits, communicate with my athletes prior and post races, and essentially most things a coach is supposed to do on meet day. This definitely wasn’t the case with our home meet earlier in the season and something I find as large negative when it comes to hosting meets.
Despite those challenges, I felt that the entire production of putting on a championship meet was a very valuable and worthwhile experience as a coach. I can for certain say that I didn’t feel that way in the weeks prior to the meet and almost saw it as unnecessary nuisance in our outdoor season. A week removed and finally caught up on sleep, I definitely have newfound respect for any coach or team that puts on a large meet and also very appreciative to have had my own experience as a meet director.
Luke Maher 