Preseason 2026: Lisa's awesome presentation!

 

On Saturday afternoon, Forever Fox Lisa (D'Aniello) Chase (Class of 2008) did an amazing presentation for our women's XC team. The topic was all the lessons she has learned from a lifetime of running -- starting at age 6 as a kid growing up in Connecticut, all the way to the present day, where she is thriving as a masters runner (having turned 40 earlier this year). Her information and messaging was SO important for dedicated, young, female distance runners to hear. 

It should be noted that in this picture, the team members in the audience were not being rude (on their phones). Lisa was talking about the pitfalls of Strava as a comparison tool (much like all social media) and had them pull up Strava and show them that they could change their privacy settings. It was one of MANY outstanding information points (and lessons) that culminated an awesome day that saw Lisa meet the team at Minnewaska for a run, come back to campus and do this presentation. One of my all-time preseason highlights. Thank you, Lisa. Neat. 

Preseason 2026: Men at Minnewaska

 

Full team (top) + seniors (four of them)

Preseason 2026: Women at Minnewaska

 

Preseason 2026: First few days

 Preseason cross country training has begun, with a lot of familiar activities (pictures to follow). 

On Wednesday, the teams went to the Staatsburgh State Historic Site for the traditional "Mills Hills" workout.

On Thursday, the team went to Vassar Farm for a run-through of the season opener course.

On Friday, the teams went to the New Paltz rail trail, parking at the "Sojourner Truth Kayak Lot" for some easy/steady running with pickups. 

On Saturday, the teams went to Minnewaska State Park Preserve, which was bustling with activity - the Vassar XC teams were there, among others. Marist alum Spencer Bossi-Johnson (a Vassar XC assistant coach) was there too!

On Sunday, it's move-out day, as the athletes move from preseason housing at Ward Hall into their permanent on- or off-campus residences.

The weather so far has been favorable -- warm and relatively low humidity, and no rain (during practice time anyway). Here's hoping for more of the same in the coming days and weeks. 

Marist track team store

 There has been some interest in a Marist Track team store for team gear. Here is the link. If there is further interest in the future, we can have BSN Sports reopen the team store.

Please note: This is your opportunity to get Marist team gear. If and when you visit campus, please refrain from asking me if there are "any extra shirts laying around" that you can have. We don't do that anymore. We order what we need for the team and that's it. Any surpluses go back to the team. 

Not to sound like a grumpy old man but ... the world is Really Expensive now. Everything. Our operating budget included. It's why we are constantly asking for your support through Day of Giving and other such enterprises.

So anyway! If you want team gear? Here (again) is the link: Red Fox Track Team Store

Sign of the time(s)

 

Nice to see Marist Campus Safety getting into the preseason spirit. XC teams return to campus on Tuesday and the first practices are on Wednesday. Neat. 

41 years ago ...

 

An alert team member texted me a picture of this classic photo -- the 1985 men's cross country team at Marist College. That fall (1985) was the first time Marist fielded a women's team as well! The above photo of the XC team from 41 (!) years ago includes two current Metro Conference cross country/track coaches. Yet another cross country season begins here at Marist next week with the start of preseason. The road goes on forever.

School record board: In with the new!

 Here are the updated boards -- women's indoor track, women's outdoor track, men's indoor track, men's outdoor track. It is so cool to see so many 2026s (and a few 2025s) on this board! Hoping to have a similar chore next summer ...

School record board: Out with the old ...

 

With the help of my son James, we updated the school record boards in the hallway of the McCann Center on Monday afternoon. Here is a scattering of the old records that were removed from the board. We will discard these OR/AND save them for the (previous) record holder(s) to keep as a souvenir. 

Peru update: Amari/Team USA get silver!

 

Amari Mathis was part of the silver-medal winning 4x100 relay on Friday night in Lima, Peru. The team completed the relay in 41.26 seconds. Earlier in the day! Amari got sixth in the 200-meter dash in 21.57 seconds. Overall! It was a GREAT week for Amari and Coach Alisha as they represented Marist Track as part of the UNI USA team at this meet. Fantastic STUFF. Very proud (of them both). Neat.