ILS athletes have been very excited to get back to representing the school with sports especially after COVID. The Cross Country Team kicked off its season September 10^th  at Tropical Park after a rain out the week before. As their first race of the season, all runners set a PR (personal record), cutting between 2-6 minutes off their last 5k run.

To prepare for the race, they get in some speed work which usually consists of sprinting uphill or jogging and timed running (40 minutes straight). However, the day before they usually do stretches and rest the body for the race the following day. The team eats a variety of complex carbs and hydrate the day before, and the day of eat as lightly as possible as to not upset the stomach.

“What I’m hoping to accomplish this season is to always do better than my last race, and always make sure when I finish my race that I am content with myself knowing I have given it 110%, and nothing less. I want to constantly break my PR to show I’m improving as an athlete, said senior Sebastian Larrota.

As far as the scoring system works for this particular race, the boys’ Varsity had 200 competitors. Their times were 21:51 (Sebastian Larrota), 22:19 (Kennedy Garay), 23:43 (Pier Roca), and 25:58 (Alejandro Barahona).

“We’re really excited with the progress made since the beginning of the season, which started during the hot summer. Runners are also excited and are looking forward to next week’s races as they continue to improve during the season, ” said Coach Nick Fernandez.