Authored by: Joy Chan & Paula Murray
Event Date/Location: October 5, 2024, Cedarcrest Golf Course, Marysville, WA
The Nike Twilight XC Invitational, held annually at Cedarcrest Golf Course in Marysville, is not your typical cross-country meet. True, there are thousands of students and their families, friends, coaching staff, and community members all zipping between clusters of colorful tents scattered over the rolling greens. But with giant, illuminated arches lining the final straightaway to the finish line and Halloween-themed course decorations culminating in an electric 1K night run complete with crazy costumes, this event feels more like a party than a cross-country race.
Since Twilight is a beginner-friendly meet with no team scoring, the LSRC team looked forward to a more chill time compared to the Bill Roe XC Classic, which was dominated by Division II colleges. The intention was to arrive early, set up our tent, enjoy seeing runners of all abilities compete in the open race, then watch the JV and varsity runners compete. Several things went awry: 1) The gates didn’t open until an hour before our race. 2) With hundreds more registrants this year, there were long lines to pick up our bibs. 3) Not enough porta-potties and even longer lines. By the time we pitched the tent, dropped our stuff, pinned on bibs and changed our shoes, we had only 20 minutes to the start of the Open 5K – leaving little time for both the bathroom and a warmup. This led to a stressful start, with several runners missing the gun. We took notes right away on what we will do differently next year. We later learned there were 656 runners on the winding course – high schoolers, adults of all ages, newcomers to XC, as well as long time enthusiasts.
Miles one and three were flat or gentle downhills, while mile two saw both short steep hills and longer gradual ones. There were about 20 turns on the course – passing was difficult in the first mile unless you were toward the front, with all the poles and flags. Although the well-kept grass provided even footing, any speed advantage was cancelled out by the number of turns and rollers. Still, these challenges make the course fun – even when you’re working hard, wishing those finishing arches would come into view. When they finally do, it’s a fast final downhill – causing tunnel vision as you enter the arches, picking up speed and barreling through the final 200m before throwing yourself across the finish line to cheers, fist bumps, and high fives from the crowd. These joyous moments as a team are some of the best of cross-country – you can bet there’s more to come.
Full Results: https://live.athletictiming.net/meets/40809/events/xc/1508862
|
Open 5K
|
Time
|
Highlights
|
|
Sam Salus
|
17:58
|
|
|
Zachary Fung
|
18:08
|
16th overall male
|
|
William Cunningham
|
18:17
|
|
|
Matthew Wolpert
|
19:24
|
28th overall male
|
|
Jonah Kumma
|
19:51
|
|
|
Luke Bartel
|
20:14
|
New course PR!
|
|
Mike Williamson
|
21:52
|
Way to set the pace!
|
|
Aliana Coburn
|
22:19
|
|
|
Joey Lacktrup
|
24:20
|
|
|
Joy Chan
|
25:52*
|
21s PR (41s by watch) despite hectic start
|
|
Paula Murray
|
26:05*
|
Strong race despite hectic start!
|
|
Zhenya Ross
|
28:53
|
Strong work at first XC race!
|
|
Kristi Kerr
|
30:50*
|
Strong race despite hectic start! First XC race.
|
|
Novhiliel Bledsoe
|
31:23
|
|
|
Perry Rodgers
|
33:58
|
Progressing well through the season!
|
* Missed start gun
