After taking Labor Day weekend off, the Pagosa Springs High School cross-country team is preparing for the 33rd Joe I. Vigil Invitational in Alamosa on Saturday, Sept. 12.
“The Joe Vigil Meet is one of the biggest meets that we’ll attend all season,” coach Josh Kurz wrote in an email to the SUN. “The meet has a ton of energy because there is a college race and a big crowd that can chase runners around the whole course. It will be a great chance to see what our athletes can run on a fast course, and we’ll get to see many of the schools in our region.”
The Pirates used the week leading up to the holiday weekend as well as the week leading up to the meet itself to prepare, according to Kurz. This included the annual Lobo Overlook run on Friday, Sept. 4.
The athletes met at the top of Wolf Creek Pass Friday morning and gained just under a thousand feet while running almost 3 miles to Lobo Overlook.
Kurz explains the high-altitude training is meant to be difficult to make the rest of the year’s races feel easier.
“As the miles accumulated, the air got thinner until it felt like you were breathing through a straw and the veins in your neck were about to explode,” wrote Kurz. “But we kept going. And it was great to see our faster finishers run back down to encourage those who were still climbing.”
Kurz added he is also hoping to get some injured runners back for the first time this season in Alamosa.
jsellner@orourkemediagroup.com
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