Feeling their pain

I was down at Bowdoin Park for the Section 1 state qualifier on Friday afternoon. It was a great day at the park -- a bit windy and chilly, but what the heck for early November. There are a lot of very good runners in Section 1, and I was there to do some recruiting.

At this meet, and at another state qualifying meet on Long Island, two alumni of our program who are now high school coaches had disappointing days as their respective teams did not qualify for the state championship meet. In both cases, they were hopeful to do just that, and it did not work out.

When I go to these meets in a recruiting capacity, I am not there to "root" for anyone. I'm just checking things out. But I could not help but hope for my guy's team to win the meet. Inside, I was pulling for him and his squad.

Even though these guys are now in their 30s and have now established a track record of coaching success, I still consider them "my boys" and I want the best for them. It is gratifying to see them -- and many other Marist Running Alums -- coaching in the high school ranks.