I have been extremely fortunate to have experienced BOTH Nike Nationals (Portland, OR) and now Foot Locker Nationals (San Diego, CA) during my short nine year coaching career. More importantly I was able to experience both races with outstanding people like Nick Diaz and my wife Mary.

When I found out I qualified to footlocker nationals, along with Steven Cross, I couldn't believe I was going to fly out of Florida again for a second time to get the chance to meet professional athletes and race amongst the top high school athletes in our nation. Coming from Nike Nationals last year, I had a lot of expectations of Foot Locker and I couldn't wait to see what they had in store for everyone. 

Hey Flrunners, I just wanted to share with you a little bit of my experience out at footlocker, due to how phenomenal it was. Getting off the plane in San Diego they had me feeling like a professional athlete from the start. Being escorted from the terminal to a charter bus to take us to Hotel Del Coronado just made me feel special. Looking up at the massive hotel, and walking in to receive a bag-full of 'goodies', so we could properly represent Asics, made me at a loss for words. This was just the first hour in San Diego, we had two and half days of this. 

Well it has finally hit me. With my team’s end of season banquet behind me, cross country is officially over. I’ve been running for all four years of high school and it is hard to imagine that I won’t be putting on a Creekside cross country jersey next year. I have put everything I have into this team and it has given me back so much more than I could have ever imagined.

Wow. The 2014 Cross Country season is over. First of all, congratulations to all of the national qualifiers from Florida who are lucky enough to have one last race! Go and make us proud in San Diego and Portland! I know I speak for everyone when I say that there were some great races this past weekend and I am so excited for everyone who ran PR’s or ran the race of their lives. 

Leon senior Sukhi Khosla recaps the days leading up to the NXN Southeast Regional and his thoughts following his runner-up finish.

Hey flrunners, sorry it has been a while since my last post, but that is not to say that little has been going on. The middle portion of my season has been a little rocky to say the least. Heading into  the flrunners.com Invitational back at the start of the month, I got sick and really wasn't able to shake it off fully for about two weeks. Regardless, I still should have ran better than how I did in that race, but I was just never able to find a rhythm.

Hi FLRunners! This past weekend my team and I took a trip to Clermont to run on the famous 10-mile clay trail and I really couldn’t have asked for a better training run on a day off of racing.  

Hello FLRunners!  It’s crazy to think we are just five weeks from the state meet. This season has flown by!  My team only has one regular season meet left. Though I am excited to get into post season races, it’s definitely bittersweet, as they will mark the end of my first and last cross country season. Senior year is full of “bittersweet". There are a lot of things in high school I have taken for granted and it’s strange to think that this will be the last year I can do that.  

Hi Flrunners! I am beyond excited for Pre-States this Saturday. It definitely ranks as one of my top favorite races of the season. It is one of my favorites because it’s a great team bonding trip and who doesn’t love a little team bonding?

Just as no runner is exactly the same no cross country race is the same. With each meet, course layout, weather conditions, competition, and the pace of the race varies making the sport all the more interesting. For two consecutive weeks I have run on wet, muddy, and slippery cross country courses that have made racing all the more difficult, but with the tougher courses I am convinced that I improve as a runner. Although these running conditions do not provide the atmosphere for the "ideal" race they provide me with opportunity to grow as an athlete both mentally and physically.

Well it seems like cross country season has just begun, and yet it’s also halfway over. The temperature is ever slowly making its way down and fall is coming into full swing. October is now here and it seems like all I want to do is watch Halloween Town and eat pumpkin flavored foods. October has become my favorite month since I started high school and I think it’s because of all the fun team bonding activities we do. Anyway this marks an iconic part in my season and my senior year for one incredible reason. I’m really having fun again.

Hi again everyone, again first off congrats to everyone who ran this past weekend as some stellar times were run thorough the state. With two big weekends coming up at FLrunners and Pre-State I look forward to the whole state competing together and hopefully whoever hasn’t yet, can run the time they hoped for these next few weekends. Today I wanted to target the “younger” runners and talk about my experiences so far (as they are far from over) with the recruiting process. Here’s a list of important things in no order or just general advice I'm either glad/wish I did.

Hey FLRunners! Congratulations to those who have run in the past three weeks. I hope everyone is starting their season out well. Personally I am very pleased with the start of my season and look forward to what is to come.

Hey Flrunners! It's been about three weeks since my last update and I have had such a hectic schedule lately that it has felt more like three months. Since the beginning of this month, I have definitely added a lot more activity both physically and mentally in my life at school and in running, but I have been able to survive my first batch of tests, essays, quizzes, and races of the year (for the most part). September isn't a month that I put all that much stock into as far as racing, but it is still nice to have my first two races out of the way so I can start to get into a rhythm.

Hey flrunners! Hope everyone is happy with the way their season has kicked off. Based on the times already run, it looks like it’s going to be a great season! For our first meet, our team went to a smaller meet in Panama City, the Dolphin Dash. As I’m sure most of the Florida meets have been, ours was miserably hot. It was a pretty low-key race to kick off the season. Last week was an off week for the FWB Vikings. This weekend we’re heading to Northport for the big meet there.

First off I would like to congratulate all those who ran this past weekend. we had some really great times posted and everyone should be really proud of themselves. In honor of the first meet of the season I thought I would present to you, my fellow runners a list of what I know now versus what I knew my freshman year.

First off I would like to congratulate all the Florida runners that had a great opening weekend! For this blog I want to talk about what makes me, or runners in general, well, run basically. 

First of all, let me say congratulations to all the Florida runners who ran great races this past weekend! There were some fast times and some battles, and it points to how competitive the state meets are going to be come November. I had an interesting experience in my first high school cross country race, but it is only making me feel anticipation and excitement for the upcoming season.   

I can’t believe that the season has truly started and results from pre/early season races are starting to pile in already! The past two weeks since I have started school have been very up and down for me both physically and mentally. Between enduring a boatload of texts, quizzes, and essays, attending meetings for student council and other clubs, leading the cheers at the first home football and volleyball games of the year, training, and (of course) getting sick after the first week of school, I have hardly even had a minute to think about racing! 

This year I definitely have much to look forward to. From the local meets to the FHSAA state series there are many events that I am excited for as I reach for some of my senior year goals.

Hey flrunners! My name is Zack Bias and I am a senior at Creekside High School in Saint Johns, Florida. For starters I would like to thank Todd for giving me the opportunity to blog for you guys this season. Before I get into all the running stuff I want to tell you all a bit about myself. Like many other  cross country runners, I am an incredibly weird person. I have a wardrobe of flashy pajama pants that I like to wear to school from time to time. I am known to blast some boy band music from my car to get amped up before practices and of course I also have one of the weirdest hobbies out there... running!

Hello everyone! My name is Alexa Cruz and I am going to be a junior at St. Thomas Aquinas. I hope everyone had a very fun and safe summer, filled with lots of miles and good training. Before I start talking about how my summer went, I’d just like to give Flrunners a BIG thank you for letting me blog throughout my upcoming season. I’m super excited and can’t wait to see what this season has in store! Now, let’s get started. 

Hey there again! I hope everyone is having a fantastic summer of training and is excited for the season ahead. Summer training for me is all about putting in good solid weeks with high mileage to build the biggest base possible and I'm sure each and every one of you are well on your way. After coming back from Smoky Mountain Running camp in North Carolina with some friends I spent two weeks training in Brasil at my grandfathers farm. 

Hey FlRunners! My name is Nic Jacobsen and I am going to be a junior this year at Saint Andrew’s School in Boca Raton. Throughout my season I will be taking you all with me on the rollercoaster ride of ups and downs that defines cross country. With school just two or three weeks away for most of us, the excitement that comes with the fall invitationals and showdowns is looming, and I am eager to get started! 

Hello FLRunners! Wow, where does the time go? My senior year starts in just a little under two weeks and it's hard to believe that I have just one more year of high school.  I am getting so excited for the upcoming season and I cannot wait to start racing. 

Hi FlRunners! It’s Autumn. As the 2014 cross country season grows nearer every day an excitement and hope for a successful season also grows.

Hey FLRunners! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Autumn Bartlett and I am a rising senior at University High in Orlando, Florida. First I would like to thank Todd and FLRunners for allowing me the opportunity to blog this year about this upcoming season which I am so very excited about.