It was Jeff Weiss' first trip west of Ohio, and he went as far as a high school cross country runner can go, all the way to San Diego and the Foot Locker Finals.
The McGuffey senior and PIAA AA state champion said the day after the meet that he was 'somewhat disappointed' because he started feeling better during the race after a slow start and had too much ground to make up. "No one talked to us about the course, even in the walkthrough on Friday, that it would start so fast. It was a shock. It would have helped to know." The result, he said, was that most of the Northeast team was buried at the start, and with the course narrowing quickly. it became hard to pass. "We were picked to win and that start hurt us."
But he hung in, even though his first time up the hill he didn't feel all that great. But by the second time up the hill, he was feeling better. "The hill played into my strength and I passed seven to eight people over the last mile." He also believes that he should have had more big race experience before Foot Lockers to learn about the starts and "how to pass in crowds."
Weiss during introductions at
Foot Lockers (photo by Dyestat)
Weiss hadn't run over 16 minutes since the beginning of the season, and believes that it's especially difficult for anyone from a state that ends their season in late October or early November to hang on for Foot Lockers. But that had been his goal since the summer, and that's how he focused his training. Weiss aimed everything for the Northeast Regional for his peak. And while he ran a strong race and was definitely helped by Van Cordlandt's hills, he says his best race of the year was the 15:30 course record he set at the Tri-State Coaches meet on October 21st.
His plan to get from the state meet to the regional meet included an easy week from November 7th to 13th, with three complete days of rest. He then went back to mileage, and added a few speed workouts before tapering for the November 27th race. But the effort in New York had taken a bit of a toll. "I was sore for a week and at the start of the (final) race, I felt stiff and lethargic. I didn't feel my best." He kind of knew what was coming because his training in the two weeks between Regionals and Finals had been "iffy."
But he wouldn't trade a thing for the "experience I'll remember." Now it's on to indoor and his ultimate goal of going under 9 minutes for two miles outdoors. He'll also start his college visits, something he had delayed so he could concentrate on cross. Weiss has one scheduled with Kentucky, but surprisingly, hasn't received any new calls since the Northeast Regionals. He might even be open to going west of Ohio a time or two again.
It was Jeff Weiss' first trip west of Ohio, and he went as far as a high school cross country runner can go, all the way to San Diego and the Foot Locker Finals.
The McGuffey senior and PIAA AA state champion said the day after the meet that he was 'somewhat disappointed' because he started feeling better during the race after a slow start and had too much ground to make up. "No one talked to us about the course, even in the walkthrough on Friday, that it would start so fast. It was a shock. It would have helped to know." The result, he said, was that most of the Northeast team was buried at the start, and with the course narrowing quickly. it became hard to pass. "We were picked to win and that start hurt us."
But he hung in, even though his first time up the hill he didn't feel all that great. But by the second time up the hill, he was feeling better. "The hill played into my strength and I passed seven to eight people over the last mile." He also believes that he should have had more big race experience before Foot Lockers to learn about the starts and "how to pass in crowds."