With the season-opening meet of the cross country season less than three weeks away Aug. 13 in Perry and time trials a week earlier, the push to be ready when the season begins and also set the top order of runners continues to be of the essence for the Greyhounds and Lady Greyhounds.
One of the final steps of the summer came last week when JCHS took a strong group of runners to the North Carolina mountains for camp at Brevard College.
“It was the best week that we’ve ever had since I’ve been going up there for eight years,” Jones County head coach Geoff Moore said. “The kids were well-behaved and respectful to all the staff, we got a lot done and grew as a team. You definitely get stronger when you’re up there.”
In addition to bonding as a team, the JCHS runners also got a wide cross-section of activity each day. That included aggressive terrains to run on that challenged the strength and stamina of the Greyhounds and Lady Hounds. And even though the course at camp may not be on the level of what will be faced during the season, its lessons taught about what runners can handle physically and mentally are not likely to be forgotten. The terrain of Brevard College, located in the Appalachian Mountains, is more than 2,200 feet above sea level, much higher than Gray and most courses that Jones County will face this season.
According to Moore, a majority of the courses that JCHS runners ran on last week ranged from six to eight miles long.
“When you can run up there, you can run anywhere. It’s just so beneficial for them to spend the week there together with all the challenge courses and clinics,” Moore said. “It’s a mental thing. They may forget a bit about camp, but if you are in shape, it does not matter where you run. That’s what we’re after – to get in shape and be physically and mentally ready.”
The Hounds and Lady Hounds didn’t coast to the finish at camp either, getting in one more run at 6 a.m. prior to returning home.
“We really saw some growth,” Moore said. “These kids have a lot of goals, both personal and as a team. A lot of them are things I would not have thought about, but they are thinking of them and about what they want to do.”
