The annual national coaching convention was held in Denver last week. This is the second year in a row the USTFCCCA (bless you!) convention has been in Colorado. Last year, a group of Johnnie coaches and alumni attempted to summit Quandary Peak near Breckenridge. The combination of -30 degree windchill, poor visibility, and the mile detour of snowshoeing off the trail caused us to turn around just short of the peak. Despite not getting to the summit, we still had a great adventure and solidified our desire to try a winter hike again.
Not everyone could make it back this year, but last week Johnnie coaches Maxwell Kuzara (‘17) and John Pollack joined me for redemption. We hit the trail around 8:30am with the temperature coming in around 5 degrees fahrenheit. The sky was clear all day, giving us great views of the neighboring mountains and we only encountered a few other hikers all day. There were a few challenges as we neared the summit. Wind gusts close to 40 miles per hour hit us pretty hard on a ridge and the last few hundred feet of elevation was a good workout. We successfully reached the summit of 14,271 feet, climbed around 3,400 feet, on a total trip distance of 7 miles in just under 7 hours. It was a fantastic adventure to enjoy just before the busy track season gets underway.
Despite all that energy exerted in one day, it didn’t count toward my running streak, so afterward I still needed to get my daily run in. I figured I would churn out a quick ten minute run once we got to our hotel- a mere 5 hours away in Nebraska. But I hadn’t factored the timezone change into my calculations! Once I realized we weren’t going to make it to the hotel, I decided to stop at a rest area and around 11:30pm I got in my run. Actually, it was a good shake-out run and my streak is preserved!
A thank you to John and Maxwell for joining me on this recent expedition and much appreciation to coaches Joe and Brady for keeping practice running smoothly in our absence! Finals wrapped up last Saturday and it’s pretty quiet in Collegeville right now. Athletes have been given their training plans for break. Remember guys, Santa’s watching!
Enjoy the holidays!
Jeremy
Coaches Maxwell, Jeremy, and John Snake Eyes Pollack on the summit of Quandary Peak, Dec 2023.