Trust the Process
A third of the way through the season, how are we doing?
"Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the mouth." -Mike Tyson
In this post:
Season Update
Notable Performances
Fartleks (quick notes)
The Season So Far
We are already three meets into the season. It goes quickly, which can be said about many aspects of high school. Reflecting on the first third of the season, I think the team is in a good position for a strong finish. That is the goal.
However…
I know some runners would like better individual results right now. They look around and see their peers, people they’ve beaten in the past, putting up faster marks right now. They look at themselves, consider all the work they’ve put into training, and can’t understand why they aren’t racing faster. And then there are the moments in training, a race, or life in general where it all falls apart and they think it’s all for naught.
They have to be careful.
When my boys started running I emphasized comparing their times against themselves. I didn’t want to hear about how they measured up, or more often didn’t measure up, against someone else. I wanted to know if they they saw and felt the improvement as they practiced and raced more.
I also made sure they didn’t forget where they came from with their running. Whether it be their practice times from a few weeks or months prior, or race times from a previous season or meet.
I remember when my oldest son, Liam, first broke 20:00 in a 5K race. It was the summer before his freshman year of high school. I was excited as I recorded it. I thought he might enthusiastically punctuate the moment. He crossed the finish, looked at his time, and shook his head in disgust.
He felt he should have been faster. Maybe. Maybe there are things he could have done differently in the race to gain a few seconds of time. At that point, though, I didn’t want him to forget how far he had come in racing 5Ks. I wanted him to celebrate/honor breaking a major barrier with 5Ks, and then get to work on lowering his time some more. After processing a bit, we enjoyed him breaking the 20:00 barrier. Then we turned our attention to what can be learned so next time he can run faster.
It can be a balancing act at times, but we need to celebrate the process. As coaches, as parents, we want our runners to be in the moment, recognizing improvement, while also running toward a longterm goal.
The approach we have at Burke is to build up the runners before and during the season. We want the team to peak when it is championship season. That’s when it matters. In my years of high school cross country involvement I’ve seen individuals and teams that peak early and burn out by season’s end.
One of the reasons we also time our peak to the championships meets is to minimize injury risk. Injuries will always be present when you have teenagers going through puberty running six days a week. We do what we can to mitigate that, though. We want them healthy now and in the future long after they have left Burke. A teenager’s body can only handle so much wear and tear, at maximum effort, before it gives out. Injuries will happen regardless, but we can do our part to minimize the risk.
I’ve seen firsthand this approach be successful the previous three seasons. Liam made huge jumps in his race times from the first third of the season to the final third of the cross country season. Last year, Liam set a PR at Districts. When most runners last year set their PRs or season best times at the Platte River Rumble (PRR), Liam bested his PRR time by nearly fifteen seconds in the race that mattered the most.
Two years ago, the team ran their best collective race at Districts and qualified for the State XC Championship. Four runners finished under 18:00, and the other three finished under 18:45, on one of the more difficult courses. That doesn’t happen unless they keep improving throughout the season. After winning the Central Invite early in the season, the team had a wakeup call with a poor showing at the following Norfolk Invite. (Other than Tommy Vasquez, who ran 16:39, no one finished under 18:00.) So what do you do? You can either think it will all work out on its own, and not be honest about yourself, the team, or your competition. Or, you can pick yourself up, get back to work, identify where you need to keep improving, and give 100%. You can look to the Head Coach and senior who have been through this, or you can think you somehow know better because of some prior success with less stakes.
Liam looked to Coach Satterly and Tommy. He got back to work. The team got back to work, and trusted the process. 2022 Burke Boys XC worked out well.
This is all easy to say, but this sport exposes you. You are exposed when you run. There is no place to hide. During a race or practice, people can see you. It’s no wonder why some runners exaggerate a nagging pain as a way to escape a workout. The exposure can be too much for some. Plus, there is now social media, so students can expose themselves by posting workouts and/or comparing to others’ running highlight reels. Social media often creates as many, if not more, problems than opportunities. The students begin to doubt themselves, doubt their teammates, doubt their coaches, doubt anyone and everyone. They can lose sight of the process.
It’s not just the students. As coaches, we know the process AND YET we are checking in with one another to make sure we are on the right track because we want to do right by the students. A team may have surprising early season success at a meet while we don’t measure up. “Should we have done something differently with summer conditioning?” “Should we mix in more hills into the workouts?” “Should we have pushed more/less this week?” We remind ourselves, “Trust the process.” It works. We may tweak or adapt something, but we stay the course.
What has been beautiful and wonderful are the moments where teammates rally around each other to support and encourage one another. Often it is the upperclassmen helping someone on the team out navigate the course of the season. However, there are times where the underclassmen shine with their humanity and camaraderie. The picture at the top of this post is a freshman, Phoenix Mayle, providing support to Payton Thorpe, a fellow freshman. Payton had started the PRR race strong, but the conditions got to her (and a number of other runners). Payton had to drop out after 3K and understandably was upset and disappointed. She apologized, but we told her there was nothing to apologize for. Us coaches walked her back to the camp. Once there, she was able to let down in more than one way. Phoenix came over to her and was present as Payton processed everything. It was a beautiful moment to witness. If you’ve been running for any length of time, you’ve been in Payton’s spot at some point. All the Burke XC runners know the feeling, and that’s why they are quick to be there for someone when they’ve had a tough race.
Us coaches are not the students living out their lives, running six days a week, amidst a high school context. We can’t forget the highs and lows of teenage life, of racing competitively, being a part of a team, and how these moments are meaningful, symbolic, and influence our present and future.
The season goes quick. High school goes quick. And, as many of us parents know, our kids grow up quick. Us coaches make sure our team, our runners, are maximizing their individual experiences. We make sure they enjoy this run and reflect on the journey as we continue to prepare them for today, tomorrow, and the next meet. If we do that, the team experience will be good and we’ll be as good as we can be come October’s championship season.
Notable 2024 Burke XC Performances After Three Meets
Team: This is the largest Burke Cross Country team since before the pandemic. Over a dozen runners have competed and finished a 5K race at the high school level for the first time. Their 5K times may not be noteworthy to others, but to us they are wonderful. For example, Ethan “Beast Mode” Ingram broke 30:00 at the Platte River Rumble (PRR). That was on the heels of running his first 5K race at the Burke Invite.
Liam Murphy (2025): Part of the reason I didn’t get this post up last week is I was driving my boys to various doctor’s appointments. We found out that Liam has pneumonia. (His pediatrician is a marathon runner and gave him the green light to keep running.) Despite the lingering sickness, and how it affects his recovery, he continues to improve his times each meet: 17:48, 17:30, 17:18.
Logan Wiseman (2025): After nearly a two-year gap between races, he medaled in his first race back and then set a new PR at the PRR. (17:41) Logan is making the most of every moment this season. I think all of us are happy for him.
Freddy Rubio-Acosta (2025): Us coaches always thought if Freddy’s health would be good for an entire season he would be great. Finally, his senior year, he’s in great form and running faster than ever. At the PRR, he not only broke 18:00 for the first time, but he also broke 17:30 with a time of 17:28.
Duncan Murphy (2027): Duncan has raced ten times in his high school career so far. He has set PRs in eight of those races. At the PRR, he smashed his PR by over a minute with a time of 18:20. Often training with Logan Wiseman, he locks in every practice with him and they put in the work.
Lily Nass (2027): She has set PRs in both races she’s run this season, medaled at the Class of the Metro meet, and broke 23:00 at the PRR with a time of 22:51.
Heidi Garcia (2025): She broke 25:00 at the PRR and set a new PR of 24:36. She started running last season, but since then has rapidly improved to where she is now.
Payton Thorpe (2028): She missed some workouts due to an injured wrist, and weren’t sure what to expect, but she ran confidently at the Burke Invite with a time of 25:34. Her run at the PRR didn’t go like she wanted, as the picture at the top of the post shows, but I like that she cares and has that passion to do her best.
Sophomore Squad: Grant Krelle & Chuck Pella continue to show amazing progress. They were first time runners when they joined the team at the beginning of their freshman year. These two often run together during workouts, and it shows. Last year at Time Trials Grant ran 27:05 and Chuck ran 39:11. Last year’s season average for Grant was 24:05, and for Chuck it was 31:45. This year, they have set massive PRs. Grant ran 21:28 at Class of the Metro, and Chuck ran 22:26 at PRR.
Rahzel Britt (2026): “Britt” hasn’t run cross country since middle school, but showed up at practice once the school year started. Sometimes it shows he hasn’t raced in a few years, but there are moments it looks effortless for him. At the Burke Invite he ran a 21:09. Pretty, pretty good for someone who hasn’t run cross country in three years.
Fab Freshman (2027): On the boys side we have a number of freshman out this season. It’s been fun to see them work together in practices and races. Henry Dawes is settling in and pushing our returning varsity runners. He set a PR of 19:32 at the PRR. Brody Busing (21:25), Dash Harger (21:26), and Santiago Ortiz (21:26) are doing well. I’ve enjoyed conversing with some of them as they’ve asked how they can improve. Reminding them to trust the process. Terrence Memini (24:17), Nathan Michaca-Avila (24:19), Dylan Amweg (24:03) and Micky Adler (26:19) started with the team once school started and they have made great strides with their running. Micky didn’t run cross country at the middle school level. Even those freshman that haven’t been able to run due to the “joys” of growth spurts and leg pain are still showing up, training as best they can, and supporting the team. (We see you, Finn Harrington!)
And there are many more outstanding performances. I expect to write even more with the remaining meets this season.
Fartleks
There is always sickness that gets passed around at school, and it only amplifies if you also play on a school team. This season there seems to be more than usual: colds, Covid, and more. We had one workout where over a half dozen runners were dealing with stomach issues. Sickness getting passed around like high school gossip amongst the team. Better now than later in the season.
The Burke track and stadium are finally under construction. This is part of an OPS project to upgrade the facility. Starting this week the team is beginning their practices up at the soccer field.
Thanks to the Millard West XC Program/Family that helped clean Walnut Grove before the Burke Invite. After the July 30th storm, we weren’t sure the course would be ready in time for our home meet. The City of Omaha closed the park because of all the trees and limbs down in the park. I went out there a few times, walked and ran the course, and initially didn’t think it would be ready because of all the necessary clean up around the city. The City was able to start cleaning and clearing the park, but our friends at Millard West helped out.
Thanks to the Burke XC Family that helped with clearing the Walnut Grove course as well before the Burke Invite. We were out there two separate days the week leading up to the meet. Raking of limbs and walnuts, cutting trees and limbs, and making sure the course was safe.
Thanks to Jessica Wegener with Positive Nutrition of Omaha for sharing with the team different things they can do with their diet and lifestyle that will positively impact their running.
Thanks to Boyd Waldmann who continues to do all sorts of little things to help the team. He has cold towels ready for the runners when they finish a race. He shows up to practices with water and ice pops. He helped clear the Walnut Grove course of debris. He encourages all the runners.
Thanks to everyone who has volunteered to host Burke XC dinners or brought snacks and drinks to the races.
Thanks to everyone who shows up to races and cheers positively for the team.
Thanks to Burke XC parents and guardians who raise up some amazing students. Near the end of the PRR meet, Eric Rose started cleaning up the team’s area and picking up trash without being asked.
Thanks for reading.
