2020 Running Program
As the COVID-19 restrictions continue nationwide and locally here in Washington, organizations, including ours, are working rapidly to adjust and adapt. USATF has released updated criteria for hosting events that will prevent us from being able to race this season.
While this comes as a disappointment to many of our runners, it presents an amazing opportunity for our program to develop our athletes in ways that will not only be tremendously beneficial to their physical development but also provide the social-emotional support being part of a youth athletics program provides. We feel our kids need their sport now more than ever and are committed to providing a safe place for them to participate in athletic activity together.
Our fall running program will continue to be focused on endurance trail running, and training will be similar to previous cross-country seasons. Our coaches have developed age- and experience- appropriate challenges and achievements for our runners to work towards as the season progresses to replace the motivation that traditional races provide. The season will have a large focus on group cohesion and the team aspect of our sport, working to develop our young athletes as groups of runners who progress together for 2021 and beyond.
Practice will start on Monday, September 21st and will be held three times per week (Monday and Wednesday evenings and Saturday at mornings) through the end of October and extending on Saturdays only through the end of the calendar year, based on family and runner interest. We may be able to have some night practices or events on the track in early November under the stadium lights but will not know until late October if the City will be issuing permits at that time.
In addition to the rules and regulations provided by public health authorities and our state and local governments, we will be following the USATF Safe Return to Sport Guidelines available for review at: https://www.usatf.org/covid19
This guidance document on return to training considerations post-COVID-19 has been developed by USATF’s COVID-19 Working Group, composed of medical and scientific experts in the fields of sports medicine, physiology, infectious disease, and epidemiology. The document is based on specific content from the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee guidance document on return to training considerations and World Health Organization mass gathering guidance. It is considered a “living document", meaning that the document’s criteria and recommendations are based on known factors at the time of writing. As more information becomes available concerning COVID-19, this guidance will be updated as appropriate. Whichever regulations are more restrictive (State/Local or USATF) will be the guidance that is followed in all our organization activities.