UPPER LAKE — The Upper Lake High School cross country team recently completed its fifth annual Relay to the Coast and Running Camp last week.
Leaving on the morning of July 27 from Ukiah, the team of 16 veterans and beginners took turns running one, two- and three-mile segments all the way to the coast using the Ukiah-Comptche Road. They finished in a record of 5 hours and 50 minutes.
Following the relay, the team set up camp at Caspar Beach and was visited by several guest speakers during their four nights on the Mendocino County coast.
Coach Reed Elmore of the College of the Redwoods cross country and track teams and one of his top runners, Andre Moodie, who was born in Jamaica, addressed the Upper Lake runners on Friday night. Reed discussed his days as an All-American steeplechase and cross country runner at Humboldt State while Moodie talked about running in his home country of Jamaica as well as in the United States.
Also on Friday night, former Willits High School standout Kenny Smith, who has since competed at Pepperdine University and this past season at Cal Lutheran, discussed his running days at Willits and provided information on how runners can earn college scholarships.
On Saturday morning, UC Davis runner and second-team track All-American Sarah Sumpter (10,000 meters) took the team through a typical Davis warm-up and then accompanied the Cougars on a run to the Point Cabrillo lighthouse and back.
Later that afternoon Upper Lake runners competed in a sand art contest on the beach during which the athletes took a breather while also creating works of art in the sand.
On Saturday night, the team was again joined by Sumpter, who helped the Aggies win Big West team championships in both cross country and track last season, firsts for the university. This time she demonstrated a variety of core exercises that strengthen all the muscles a runner needs. She also answered questions from the Upper Lake runners around the campfire, touching on a variety of subjects including her running career, diet and battle with cancer.
The team was up early Sunday morning for a six- to eight-mile run on the Big River trail. Sunday afternoon the team took to the pool in Fort Bragg to stretch and get a little water training. Sunday night was movie night in camp.
Monday”s schedule included a run of six to eight miles in Russian Gulch Park, commonly called the waterfall run, which winds through a redwood forest.
After striking camp Tuesday morning the team participated in an hour run in Van Damme State Park before returning to the inland heat.
Coaches John Woods and Lynda Wade said the runners made it a great trip as did the team”s support crew, including the excellent food prepared by John and Vickie Rodriguez with the help of Alice Woods and Martin Wade.
Regular-season practice for the cross country team starts Monday.
