With track season starting the last week of this month, cross-country and track students started to meet after school to stay in shape over the winter.
The Winter Running Club is mostly student-led, and meetings take place on the track after school Mondays and Thursdays.
Senior Logan Presnell, club organizer, recalls the event that led to the creation of the club.
“It was at our cross-country awards ceremony,” Presnell said. “Coach Nienhaus came up to a few of us and asked us to start a student-led running club because we haven’t had that in a while.”
Presnell said the cold is a limiting factor for runners, though the club still has between 15 to 20 consistent members.
“The cold is definitely the hardest weather to run in,” Presnell said “We really don’t like it. We’re not like Elsa from Frozen.”
Michael Ebert, cross-country and track and field coach, has provided opportunities for students to run in the winter in years past.
“Before COVID, we had more of an informal thing of kids staying after to run in the winter,” Ebert said. “Then COVID happened, and we lost that momentum.”
Cross-country athletes ran during the winter again under the guidance of their coaches last year.
“We went through a regular warm-up routine, but after that, they kind of did their own thing,” Ebert said. “This year, talking to the other coaches, we felt like the opportunity was there for them to kind of take over because there wasn’t a lot that they needed us for.”
Maleah Eggers, junior, enjoys the opportunity to stay active during the offseason.
“It’s a good way to organize cross-country runners who are really dedicated and want to improve during track season,” Eggers said.
Students work together during both warm-ups and practice, which Eggers said benefits the group.
“Since the coaches are getting busier, it’s better for us to have a student-led club,” Eggers said. “It also helps with the leadership of the team within itself.”
While runners differ in opinion on what weather is too cold to run in, Eggers said she doesn’t appreciate the cold.
“The coldest I’ve run is 28 degrees,” Eggers said. “I could do colder than that, I just try not to because it’s demotivating for me.”
Runs can range anywhere from 20 minutes to over an hour long. Because of the mix of long-distance and sprinting runners in the club, members choose how long they want to run based on their own needs.
