Last lap

Because of end-of-semester scheduling conflicts, our ECAC/IC4A qualified athletes have had to practice at varying times this week. Senior captains Mike Kennedy and Kerry Gaye did their final track workouts in the late afternoon/early evening at the desolate Vassar College track. Going there at 6 p.m., with the lacrosse netting down and no one around, is equal parts an eerie and calming feeling. And as luck would have it, Kennedy and Kerry reached the conclusion of their workout, a 400-meter interval, at the same time and the same pace. This was a truly unusual coincidence; Kennedy is a strength-based runner whose best event is 10,000 meters. Kerry is a middle distance runner who is proficient at a wide range of races, all the way down to the 4x400 relay. This weekend, she’ll be on our 4x800 relay. So they knocked out that last lap in the fading sunlight on a beautiful spring evening in about 68 seconds, stride by stride, together, one last time on the track. It was pretty neat, and I was really glad to have been there. My daughter Natalie took this photo of the three of us. While they cooled down, I drove Natalie over to the Vassar pool for her club swim practice. A last lap, and life continues on as a typical Wednesday evening. In a few days, we look forward to one last meet from them -- and the team -- this weekend.