Frequently Asked Questions

Practices:

When does practice begin and end?

Weekdays: 

  • Monday-Friday practices begin at 3:00 and end at 5:00 during fall XC and spring D-team. This includes Wednesday early release days, half-days, etc. We also tend to host optional practices on school holidays and through Spring Break.
  • Varsity practice ends at 5:30.

Saturdays:

  • Saturday practices are generally reserved for returning athletes who trained in the off-season and are ready for the demands of running six days per week. Athletes who were not running in the off-season generally do not benefit from the additional day of training. 
  • Saturday practice generally begin at 9:00am, though start-time may be subject to change when meeting off-campus.

Is attendance required?

Although we will accommodate scheduling conflicts due to club sports, jobs, other extracurricular, etc., practice is expected of all athletes who can attend.
 
Athletes who are going to miss practice should let a coach know in-person or via email (shorecrestdistancerunning@gmail.com).
 
Repeated absences will result in athletes being held out of meets. If held out of weekday meets, athletes will not be granted an early dismissal from class to travel with the team.

Where/when is Saturday practice being held?

The location of Saturday practice changes based on the needs of the team, weather forecast, etc. Athletes will be given as much heads-up as possible, and the calendar will reflect our plans.

Generally, Saturday practices during fall cross country are held at parks in the North Seattle/Shoreline area.

Saturday practices during spring D-team are typically held at the Shorecrest track, though practices at the Nathan Hale track are also common in late March & early April.

My shins/knees/ankles/Achilles hurts. What should I do?

Continue attending practice--you will be assigned productive cross-training and rehabilitation exercises.

Meets/Transportation:

How are athletes transported to and from meets? 

The district provides transportation depending on how far away the meet is.
  • If the meet is within the Shoreline/Edmonds area, we will be given a one-way bus to the destination. Athletes/families will have to arrange their own transportation from the meet. Athletes are permitted drive themselves to these closer-by meets.
  • If the meet it outside the Shoreline/Edmonds area, we will be given a round-trip bus back to Shorecrest. Athletes are not permitted to drive themselves to these further-away meets.

Is my athlete racing at ____ meet?

  • All athletes compete in Wednesday/Thursday meets. These are "league meets", held against our neighboring school.
  • The team travels to Oregon to attend "The Mook" invite the weekend of September 20th. As we are limited to one school bus for this overnight trip, we will only bring varsity and returning runners.
  • All athletes compete in the other Saturday invites until the regular season's final meet, the WESCO League championship. The final Saturday races--District 1 and State Championship--are varsity-only. JV athletes are welcome to continue attending practice in these postseason weeks.

Can I leave the meet after my race is completed?

No. Although your race may end hours before a meet concludes, all members of the team are expected to remain and support their teammates until the entire team is done competing.

 What if I have _____ appointment/commitment?

Athletes may leave meets early or arrive late in the case of unavoidable appointments/commitments (e.g., SAT test dates commonly overlap w/Saturday XC meets). In these cases, please note:

1) The district generally prohibits students from driving themselves to/from meets that are outside of the Shoreline/Edmonds area (i.e., if we rode a bus there).

2) Any parent/guarding transporting an athlete should check in w/a coach before leaving a meet with their athlete(s).

Shoes/Spikes:

What kind of shoes should I buy?

You absolutely need dedicated running shoes. Sneakers or general athletic trainers will break down quickly and contribute to injury.
  • Shoes should have "step-in comfort", meaning they should be comfortable to wear immediately out-of-the-box or in-store. Do not rely on a break-in process.
  • If between sizes, opt for the larger size. We recommend that you try on a larger size shoe every time you get a chance, as your feet continue to grow into your early 20s. Some sizing advice will go as far as to recommend wearing the largest size you feel could be appropriate. In the overwhelming majority of cases, improperly sized shoes are sized too small. 
We recommend nearly all runners opt for simple, no-frills, road-running shoes from major running shoe brands.
The appropriate terms to look for, whether online or in-store are: 1) neutral, 2) mid- or max-height/stack/cushion, 3) road-running, and 4) daily trainer.
  1. We recommend against wearing stability shoes or orthopedic inserts unless recommended by a medical professional or trusted physical therapist--hopefully following detailed in-person analysis of your running. Salespeople may ask about history of injury and recommend stability shoes/orthopedics--they are generally unnecessary for new and young athletes whose ability and running gait are changing rapidly.
  2. Mid-height/stack/cushion or max-height/stack/cushion are the most common, and can help to reduce repetitive stress injuries common in new runners.
  3. Despite being called "Cross-country", you do not need any kind of trail running shoe whatsoever. Road-running shoes, designed for running on pavement and groomed trails will be more appropriate for 95% of runs.
  4. Most major manufacturers maintain a stable of running shoes with semi-specialized applications. "Daily trainer" is a near-universal term for the shoes recommended for daily running. In addition to daily trainers, most brands will have some kind of "speed" and "race day" offerings. These more specialized shoes are more expensive and often significantly less durable--we do not recommend them for new runners.
For in-person shopping, we recommend Super Jock & Jill in Greenlake. They are knowledgeable, employ lots of local runners and coaches, and offer a discount to high school athletes which bring their prices into line with big-box retailers. Selection and colorways may be limited. Seven Hills Running near Discovery Park get a honorable mention also.
 
Road Runner Sports (also in Greenlake) have similar stock to Super Jock & Jill. They will, however, try to aggressively up-sell orthopedics and "diagnose" running gait based on spurious methods.

REI.com, runningwarehouse.com, Amazon, and similar online retailers can be good sources for last-years' models of shoes. Most brands issue updated editions of their core models every two years (e.g., ASICS follows the Nimbus 26 w/the Nimbus 27).  In 90% of cases, there are no significant functional differences between the current year's model and the previous. In many cases, discontinued or outgoing models can be found for around 50% off.

Do I need spikes for XC/D-team?

Probably not. We generally advise that athletes purchasing spikes until they make a varsity team or are seriously training to race their way onto a varsity team.

While spikes do provide a noticeable advantage in races, this advantage is relatively small compared to the improvements in fitness that most JV athletes can expect to see throughout each season.

Nike Dragonfly XC's are recommended for those buying spikes. Athletes participating in both XC and the track should prioritize getting XC spikes, as XC spikes are a better substitute for for track spikes than vice versa.