Hey, I hope that everyone is as excited for this upcoming track season as I am! I'm Zack Smith and I'm a distance runner for Downers Grove North. Running is something that I have become very passionate about in my life, and I am very excited and grateful to be given the opportunity to talk track with other enthusiasts from around the state during this upcoming track season. I want to thank the whole Milesplit crew, especially Mr. Jones, for contacting me and giving me the chance to blog for them this season, as it truly is an honor to be recognized by them.
This past fall, the DGN cross country team placed 2nd at the state meet. It was a pretty surreal experience for all of us and is definitely a day that we will never forget. The success that we tasted on that day has motivated us even more, and we have continued to build off of our success as a team throughout this winter. We have a very tightly knit group of guys on the team, and although our official practice did not start until this past week, we have been meeting on a daily basis to run since late November. It really does make the training a lot easier when you have a group of guys around you who are so enthusiastic about what they do, and I think that the mindset that we have in the program has really helped each one of us develop as in individual athlete as well. Personally, I know that I would not be the runner I am now without Ryan Clevenger taking it to me in every workout, or Marc Mathy and Jeremy Craven pushing me to add on the extra miles every day at practice. I also want to point out how much Coach John Sipple has done for this program and its athletes. The program would not be the same without his contributions, as well as those of my fellow runners on the team.
My winter has had its ups and downs this year, but I am very optimistic about the upcoming track season, and I can't wait for our first few indoor meets to roll around within the next month. I'm also looking forward to these last few weeks of training before the indoor season begins, and I can't wait to work as hard as I can to be even more prepared for the start of the season. It should be great to see the rest of my teammates compete as well. I've seen how hard they have worked and I know that they are all eager for their hard work to pay off. It's tough to take such a long break from racing in between cross country and track, but it just makes it that much better when the racing starts up again. It's an exciting time for our team! Well I hope thats enough for now, but I'll be checking in again next week. Thanks for reading!