When it comes to weather, I always go-a with NOAA, or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Everything else is just a watered-down version of true meteorology.
It is obvious to anyone who watches a television weatherman that he spends more time in the makeup room than in the radar room, and his main expertise is the old two-step; step left, step right; then left, and right.
The real heroes of weather forecasting are the NOAAns. No mortal has ever seen one, because—like the Titans they are--their heads are somewhere up there in the clouds, but no doubt wearing taped eyeglasses and accessorized with plastic pocket liners. These bona fide, college-educated, taxpayer-paid, official government-sponsored meteorologists can predict things out of thin air, and lo, it comes to pass that the skies darken, the rain comes, the earth shakes, and mortals tremble…well, you get the idea.
For decades now—even when I made a feeble attempt at teaching weather--I never thought I would be without my wingman, old Blue. Alas, on the afternoon of October 8th, just before I left for the 5 Star Conference F/S Meet, when I attempted to log on to NOAA, the unthinkable happened. Instead of seeing that trendy logo at the top of the page, this is the message that popped up on my screen:
•Due to the Federal government shutdown, NOAA.gov and most associated web sites are unavailable.
•Specific NOAA web sites necessary to protect lives and property are operational and will be maintained.
•See Weather.gov for critical weather information or contact USA.gov for more information about the shutdown.
•NOAA Federal Employees: For access to the Notice to Federal Employees About Unemployment Insurance (SF-8), please Click Here.
Left to my own resources, I did what I had to do. I walked outside, looked up, and subsequently prepared for the worst. I grabbed my raincoat, a towel, a really big umbrella, a waterproof chair, another towel, and then threw them all in the trunk of my car (along with my cameras) and headed east into the storm. When the weather gets rough, this correspondent gets tough.
The Backdrop
It was wet; really, really wet. Truthfully, it didn’t rain continuously, but no sooner than you put your umbrella down—anyone at all—it would start in all over again. So after awhile, everyone kept theirs up. Before long, Spruce Creek’s athletic fields looked like a ten acre umbrella stand. Try taking photos around that picture. But in entertaining the masses, we do what we must.
It was wet; really, really wet. (Yes, I know that I already said that.) However, wetness is a relative term, and when running, wet—it seems—is spelled r-e-f-r-e-s-h-i-n-g.
The Girls Race
It was a sure bet that a Seabreeze girl would win, but which one? Would it be (a) Elizabeth Murray; (b) Kianna Bonnet; (c) Alyssa Bayliff; (d) Josie Gray; or (e) yet another rising star? In fact it was (f) all of the above.
First, there was Elizabeth Murray in 19:57,
a pretty remarkable time considering the atmospheric and course conditions. (Her PR, set at FLR XIV, is 19:42.10.)
“I just took off,” she said. “I didn’t think about it. It was really cold.”
And the ground was one big doormat.
“There was a big ditch, filled with water,” she continued with her cheery endorsement of the conditions. “My shoes filled up with water and got really heavy. That slowed me down. I just had to tell myself to keep going. I didn’t think I’d be under 20, especially with the rain--my PR was 19:42—but I think I ran about 19:55, and it was satisfactory.”
This season, Elizabeth seemed to start off more slowly than last. Now, however, with two wins in four days—she set a course record at the rather challenging Titan Trail 5K the previous Saturday (20:11.4)—including her repeat as the 5 Star Freshman/Sophomore champion, she’s on fire.
“The first races that we had, I was more timid, and now I’m going for the win. Personally, I definitely want to go to States, and get a low 19:30. I’m just going to keep my competitive mindset, and hopefully things will keep improving for me.”
There to keep her honest will be another Seabreeze sophomore, Kianna Bonnet. Although in her first full season of cross country, Bonnet’s six meet record includes a win (20:15.38 at Embry-Riddle on September 21st), three seconds (20:03 at the August 31st DeLand Invitational, 20:35.5 at the October 5th Titan Classic, and 20:15 here), and successive PRs at the season’s two biggest meets (19:34.83 at the September 14th Mt. Dew/UF Invitational, and 19:23.80 in the ROC at FLR XIV). It has only been in the last two meets that Murray, last year’s 5 Star F/S champion has caught her.
“(In this race) Elizabeth had a very good start,” Kianna pointed out. “After that start, I couldn’t catch her. My goal was the mid-19s, but my time was 20:15. It wasn’t that bad, because it was raining.”
As if to emphasize that fact, Kianna gave her perspective on the course.
“You could see the puddles. There was that slushy part—down in a ditch--a little after mile one…and because you had to go around twice, it was there again a little after mile two. Your foot sunk into the water.
“Other than that, it was good; nothing that slowed you down, really. As far as that goes, if you get too comfortable, you don’t push yourself.
“I feel satisfied with today’s race, because we all did well; we all placed well. We had the first three, but after that I don’t know where we placed.”
Team Race - Spruce Creek—with a five year F/S winning streak (2008-2012) and a home course “advantage”—made a run for it. But their 10-11-12-14-18-19 finish order—deep as it was--simply could not overcome Seabreeze’s sweep of the first three places. Even with a 23rd and 28th place tacked onto that, red-shirts won, 57-65. Creek’s tight team running did, however, finish off Mainland, which was only a point behind (6-7-9-13-31; 66). 93 girls, but only seven teams—there are ten in the conference--scored.
Boys Race
It was raining pretty hard during most of the Boys race, and FPCs Kadeem Wynn’s early lead was erased by two New Smyrna Beach runners somewhere out in the great dismal swamp.
“I was fourth for awhile—me and the #3 runner, Anthony Peer,” explained Cliff Howard. “Then I just passed them. I took the lead after the first mile.
“I just got a lot of distance after that. I think it was about ten seconds. I accelerated a lot, because I wanted to beat my friend, Anthony. I was #3 on the team, and wanted to be #2. #1 is a junior—Matthew Seward, with a 17:36.90 at FLR XIV—and so he didn’t race today.”
“I wasn’t surprised,” said Peer. “I knew he was going to get me. He’s really good, and at practice he was right there. He’s been working hard. In the last race, we were really close. It was close again, but he got me in the last mile, and kept going.”
“I ran the whole summer,” continued Howard. “Before the race I drank a lot, and I had a lot of carbs yesterday, and today. I had a lot of energy.
“I ran 17:56. I liked the course. I thought it was really fast, except for the woods. The sand was a little tough, but it was okay.”
Better than okay; it beat his previous PR, an 18:24 at FLR XIV.
“Hopefully, by the end of the year, I can get a low 17, maybe 16.”
Team Race – Team-wise, the race was close through the first four runners, after which Flagler-Palm Coast’s depth took over. Their 4-6-9-10-11 (and 12-38) took it with 40 points; New Smyrna Beach had 1-2-8-20-24-25-26 (55 points). Orange City had 114 (13-21-22-28-30-36-41). Nine teams and 105 runners scored.
Footnotes – A lot of work goes into a meet like this, which was compounded by this year’s showers. Kudos to Stephon Gallon and his staff. It’s always a pleasure to visit Port Orange.
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