24 HOUR RUN TEAM FUNDRAISER -- November 20 - 21, 1998
OK. . .new meaning to the word "tired".
Not like the tired" you get when you finish a 5K race flat out. . . Not like the post-interval lactic acid headache. . . Not like the spent feeling you get at the top of a good 200m hill. . .
Bingham High Cross Country Runners are legitimately "tired".
After a concerted effort by 70 team members (and a few selected high-speed graduates), Bingham Junior Dave King found himself in the unique position to not win a race but to make each step count as he rounded the 1st turn on Bingham's track using a 20 mph wind to push him down the backstretch in front of team members, graduates, parents, community members, and one lone 11 year-old trying to kick field goals with Dad patiently holding the fake snaps from center. As the official clock passed the 24-hour mark, Dave captained an effort that led to the best mark we have ever heard of in a 24-Hour Relay. . . . . . .
250 Miles, 190Yards !!!!!!!!!
Bingham's previous best of 247 Miles, 440 Yards, set in 1997, was crushed by the outstanding efforts of 70 tough team members and several grads on current collegiate programs. Our slowest mile, a 9:05, and our fastest, a 3:50 final mile run in a relay format, bracketed what was an epic performance at the high-school level. Rules being what they are, and forgiving memories aside, we have never heard of a documented performance exceeding this distance regardless of format. Needless to say, our 9:05 miler soon relished a new task of championing the "gym-cleaning" cause, but everyone present helped obtain a piece of the new record, from Event Statistician Emily Roberts, through Team Cold-Pizza Eating Designee Danny Winegar. Special thanks goes out to our parents, who continually resupplied the smorgasbord tables with all manners of tasty delights, from relish trays (healthy) to good old-fashioned glazed doughnuts (affectionately known as "spudnuts" in the pastry industry but in reality, appropriately termed "gut-grenades" to runners). Mrs. Sheffer. . . . . it was I who took out the majority of your breakfast casserole. Apologies to the team for my gourmand-like predelictions.
Of course, the main reason to dwell in this masochistic realm for so long was the great work all of our kids had done in obtaining pledges prior to the run. 65 Pledge Sheets had been distributed to team members, with a goal to try to hit $1.00 in pledges per mile, per sheet. Some runners met with greater success than others, but all tried fairly hard to hit their goals. 250 miles makes pledges easier to calculate! Our next week will be spent in hard training for Footlocker-West at Mt. SAC, and attempting to collect all of the pledges from students, relatives, and community members. We anticipate good results, and enough available money to fund the program for another year. Still, a serious benefit was the team spirit that such an event fosters, as girls, boys, managers, and parents saw the possibilities of a new record appearing and set their goals for it. Saturday afternoon and Sunday will be spent in resting muscles still kinked from awkward sleeping positions on the gym floor, but Monday will bring a lot of pride as the announcement is made to the school that a new mark has been hit by one of the toughest groups of runners to pound out mile-repeats on the windy oval in South Jordan, Utah.
Thanks to all who made this such a successful event. Hmmmmm. . .250+ in 1999?
Not that we expect to be bombarded through the mails, but any Cross Country donations can be sent to:
Bingham High Cross Country c/o Head Coach Jeff Arbogast 2160 West 10400 South South Jordan, UT 84095