Is anybody out there?

Yeah. It’s been quite a while (3 weeks?!) since the last post here – in part because of inertia (just didn’t post for a bit) and in part because last week we were away for our annual week at Lake George for family vacation. It rained all but one day while we were there. While this might seem like a bummer, we made the best of it and it was a great week. And it was an extra treat to reconnect with loyal Marist Running alum Tommy Lipari and his family, who were staying just two miles down the road from us, as well as connecting for a quick breakfast sandwich with equally loyal Marist Running alum Billy Hild, who was staying with his family a bit further up the lake for the week.

The difference between returning home from last year’s family trip as opposed to this year was stark, in terms of our Marist Running universe. Within days upon returning home in July 2020, it was announced that our entire fall sports schedule (including, of course, cross country) would be shuttered because of you-know-what. A year later, you-know-what still lurks out there on the fringes, and yet we are eagerly anticipating and planning for our first preseason XC camp in two years. Report date for our team is Wednesday, August 18, with first practice planned for Thursday, August 19. Once again, we will host our season-opening meet at Vassar Farm on Saturday, September 4. And as of now, it looks like we will have eight (8!) teams in attendance, which could be an all-time high for us. Highly neat.

Yes, we’ve had a lot of rain this summer – specifically in July – but for the first time in quite a while, our short-term future looks bright. Let’s keep it that way!