I hope you caught the fantastic piece in the Press Democrat a few weeks ago about the Summer Track Series. The article captures the spirit of this popular meet, which is hosted each year by the Empire Runners at a different high school and regularly draws 250 competitors on each of five alternating Tuesdays.

The longer days and warm evenings have also inspired a lot of energy and friendly track competition among Empire Runners. On the Tuesdays when there is not a scheduled meet at Santa Rosa HS, about 25 runners regularly toe the line at Montgomery HS track. Coach Larry Meredith has designed a set of workouts with a variety of paces and distances, often in the 200m to 800m range, to simulate race effort but at a shorter distance. I personally prefer racing on trails and roads, but these track sessions help develop pacing and turnover without the threat of crashing on boulders. Published monthly on the website as the Training Calendar, runners of various abilities are able gauge their efforts in a fun supportive environment. I’m excited to see that the end of this month (July 28) brings one of my favorite annual events, Lawn Relays in front of SRJC. Larry usually devises a clever handicapping formula to get us all finishing in a humid mass at the final oak tree, guaranteed to get you ready for XC season.