ROCKINGHAM — Hinson Lake has been a popular destination for many locals during the coronavirus pandemic, but the familiar sounds of footfalls by members of the Richmond Senior cross country team have returned.
The co-ed cross country program and second-year head coach Jessica Covington have been trying to get back into the routine of distance running the last couple of weeks. Richmond County Schools officials opened voluntary workouts the first week of August.
Covington said her numbers have been impressive, with about 16 total runners voluntarily participating on a regular basis. There were 12 runners at Tuesday’s workout.
Cross country, along with volleyball, are the first two high school athletic programs expected to kick off the 2020-2021 athletic calendar in November. While official practices can’t begin until Nov. 4, Covington’s crew of runners is continuing to adapt to the new restricted voluntary workouts.
Because cross country is naturally a more distanced sport than others, with limited contact, Covington said adhering to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s guidelines has been a pretty simple process.
“The new restrictions have not been too hard to follow,” Covington explained. “Check-in takes longer because they have to fill out their COVID-19 questionnaire. And we have been staggering runners to allow the six-feet-apart guidelines.
“The kids are doing great, but we are having to work hard to get our running base,” she added. “We have been doing a good amount of mileage, so we will work on improving our time as the season progresses.”
The loop around Hinson Lake is almost exactly a mile, and the Raiders and Lady Raiders have been working out on their home course twice a week to prepare for the upcoming season.
During Tuesday’s workout, runners ran a 3.6-mile course around the lake, which included a series of looped trails on the backside of the lake.
Covington said the team is using the extra loops, which are riddled with hills, to better condition. She also said the team plans to recreate its home course to make it more rigorous on opposing teams, while also benefiting the Raiders and Lady Raiders.
Upon the announcement from the North Carolina High School Athletic Association on Tuesday to allow teams to workout indoors with up to 25 participants, Covington said she’ll start to incorporate high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts to better condition her runners.
This fall will also be the program’s first without former head boys’ coach Reggie Miller, who captained the program for 10 years. Covington will take over both the boys’ and girls’ teams, a task that she’s excited about.
“We miss Reggie and he was very helpful in teaching me the basics with Mile Split and showing me the ropes,” Covington said. “I am very excited to work with this awesome team and love the challenge of getting them to a competitive level.
“I want to build this program and our numbers for sure. We only had four returning boys, so this is definitely a building year.”
Among those returning for the Lady Raiders are junior Maylyn Wallace and sophomore Sheccid Heaton, both of whom had break-out seasons a year ago. On the boys’ side, seniors Carson Jordan, Will Thompson and Josh Wallace will look to help ground the rebuilding stage.
“Workouts have been going great,” Wallace commented. “We have all been working hard separately and being able to come back together let’s us push each other even harder.
“Even though it’s very early in the season, I can tell that everybody is just ready to start running,” she added. “We are so excited for this season and we know it’s going to be amazing.”
Cross country, Covington noted, is a very individualized sport. Runners are able to workout and run on their own, which has proven to work in the team’s favor over the summer months and into the voluntary workout period.
“We have been very fortunate because running is easy to do by yourself. We have also been able to maintain our distancing while running,” Covington said. “The major challenge right now is not having our set conference meets and knowing for sure that we will be able to have our meets.”
At this time, the NCHSAA or the Sandhills Athletic Conference haven’t produced any official schedule guidelines for any athletic program. Per the new schedule, cross country teams can compete in 10 total events, and in up to two per week.
Of being one of the first programs to hopefully return to play, and end the six-month drought of high school athletics, Covington said there is a lot of hype surrounding her team.
“We are very excited to be able to give the athletes an outlet and way to work out,” she said. “The quarantine has really taken a toll on some of our athletes and they need to be out on the field running, and honestly, in school.
“I am so thankful they can come to workouts and have something to look forward to with the new season in November,” she closed.
