BMC XC Meet

A muddy day for the start of the BMC XC meet did not stop these girls from smiling and giving it their all.

The Junior Varsity girls before the race.

A picture of the start...lots of girls and a narrow track through the woods.

Kirsten turned it on at the end and passed this girl right at the last second.

The junior varsity boys are excited about their race.

The varsity girls got off to a very fast start and went on to finish 1, 3, 6, 14, and 21. This means that we won the 1st place trophy! GO SPARTANS!

The varsity boys race was every bit as exciting as the girls race and we are looking forward to the rest of the season.

Silly girls waiting on the awards.

Danielle accepts the trophy for the team.

Fun at the Saltillo XC Meet

We arrived at the Saltillo XC meet at 7:30 on Saturday morning. We had to get there early to get the tents set up and to get some of the nerves out of our runners. We always have a fabulous time together as a team.

The varsity and junior varsity boys talking race strategy (I hope).

The junior varsity girls were in the first race of the day and Kirsten was so excited to run. She was glad that they got their run over early, as the day got hotter and hotter.

There were 173 runners in the girls Junior Varsity race and we saw some very fast runners and some good competition coming into the chute.

The boys Junior Varsity race had 188 runners and it was a fun race to watch.

The girls 1A-3A Varsity race was our favorite of the day. Our girls finished 2, 7, 8, 9, 13, 29, 70, 74, 80, 88, and 90 out of 121 runners. We "won" the first place title but because we had to race as unattached runners we didn't receive the trophy. We are so proud of our girls and don't need a trophy for everyone there to know that we placed first. GO SPARTANS GO!!

The 1A-3A Varsity boys race was super fast and our boys ran well in the 179 runner field. Many of our boys had not even run in a cross country meet before and we are pleased with the team's performance.

Kirsten was able to pass one runner and almost caught another runner coming into the chute. Way to go, Kirsten!!

Danielle finished a close second (16:53:43) to the super fast overall winner (16:50:12), and we could not be prouder of these fast girls. Our varsity team is full of some fast runners and we are looking forward to the next three weeks.

Catherine gave it everything she had to edge out this racer at the last possible moment. I did not take this picture but am glad that someone on the team captured this moment.

The team awaits the awards ceremony.

Sherman Days 5K

My new reality (races every weekend) is still continuing to excite me. We had a big turnout for the Sherman Days 5K.

Kirsten and Alec both had fast goals for today, but the heat and the hills held them back somewhat. We are hoping for better improvements every week.

Alec ran a good race, although it wasn't his fastest at this race.

Kirsten gutted it out even though she was very tired.

Team Spartan won many medals and trophies. We stacked most of the age groups and most of the parents that raced, won trophies also. We are very excited for our upcoming cross country season. We will be competing in 4 cross country meets in the next few weeks.

Mt. Zion/St. Jude 5K on Labor Day

This morning was an absolutely beautiful day for a run. We drove to Falkner, MS, so the kids could compete in the Mt. Zion/St. Jude 5K. We have run this race five years in a row and it is always a good race,

Forrest, Riley, and Brandon lead the pack at the beginning.

Alec had a goal of under 28 minutes and finished in 28:02. The race clock was 8 seconds slower than the official time. He was very disappointed, especially considering that he would have sprinted harder if he could have seen the clock. They had the clock facing the opposite way so that they could take better pictures with the runners. I don't think many runners liked it this way, so hopefully they won't do it thay way next year.

Kirsten finished with an official time of 29:57, her fastest time since the end of March. She also managed to run the whole race without stopping to walk and is so proud of herself. Now that she has conquered that goal, we hope for great strides in the speed part of her training.

Alec got 4th place in his age group. He is in a very tough group of competitors and there were about 12 runners in his group.

Kirsten is proud of her 5th place finish. There were several that finished after her.

Brandon won 1st in his age group, Claire edged out Kirsten for 4th place in her age group.

Kirsten won this shirt as a door prize. It is a 2XL shirt and both kids can wear it at the same time.

Homeschool Entomology Lesson

This morning, one of the kids' cousins saw this praying mantis attack and stun this cicada/locust creature. They watched him (or her, as the kids told me it had to be female; maybe they pay more attention to the bug lesson than I do) suck out the inside of said bug. They were totally fascinated by this visual demonstration of the food chain we have been reading about in our science studies.

Kirsten brought this bug-eating creature into MY HOUSE to show me that she was holding it. Of course, my first response was, "Get that out of the house!!" Kirsten, being my child, said to me, "Don't you want to take a picture of it first?" She knows me so well, and of course, I had to get the camera out to document this occasion.

The mantis sat on her hand for quite a while just eating away at this creature. You could watch is disappear a little at a time. I am sure that this lesson will stick with the kids far longer than anything we learn about bugs in our textbooks.

BMC Topper Day 5K

Saturday, August 28, the kids ran a 5K in Blue Mountain, sponsored by Blue Mountain College. We had a good turnout of Spartans and some parents and it was a great morning to run.

Alec struggled a little during this race. There were three pretty hard hills, one at the beginning, a really tough one in the middle, and one at the end.

We are proud of Kirsten for finishing this race even though she struggled with the hills.

Alec won this cup during the festivities after the race.