Cross Country Season Has Begun

Tobin's cross country racing season has begun. He ran close to 500 miles over this summer in preparation for this season. Tues, Sept. 8th was the first race of the season. He was racing against two of the fastest guys in the the state. Needless to say, the pressure to perform well was huge.

The race began strong and fast.

He stayed with thefront pack for the first 2 miles.

After that he couldn't breathe well and felt as if his legs wouldn't move and that he may pass out. He decided to drop out of the race. I believe he had an asthma attack; exercise induced asthma.

Over the next few days, I got a new persciption for an inhaler and extender tube. He is using it and feels like his lungs are a bit better.

Monday, the 14th, he had his second race. Shrewsbury was running against a team that didn't have much competition. Coach Smith decided to rest the top 6 runners. Since Tobin didn't finish the first race he was to run this race. If things were going well with his lungs he was predicted to win the race.

Everything went well for the race. He began strong and in the lead.

Tobin won the race! He finished 40 seconds before the next runner.

I'm not sure how long the race really was. It was around a 2.6 or 2.8 mile course. He finished in 16+ minutes. Shrewsbury also swept the race having the first 7 runners finish the race. This is the lowest score a team could get at a meet. It was also a triple meet, so these scores count double for us!

Let's hope for more of these races. He is going to an invitational race in Franklin Park this Saturday. The coach has only invited the top 7 from the team. I'll keep you informed as to how he does.