After Shaun Thompson claimed an individual victory at the Princeton Inter-Regional Meet last weekend, the graduate student—along with the rest of the team’s top 10 runners—will get a rest from competition this weekend.
Duke will travel to Charlotte, N.C., for the Royals Cross Country Challenge Friday, giving its B squad a chance to toe the line. The men's race will begin at 4:30 p.m., with the women set to start at 5:15 p.m.
“In collegiate distance running it’s really hard when you run an 8K, a five-mile race, all out. It’s really hard to recover in just a few days—you generally need a few weeks,” Duke men's head coach Norm Ogilvie said.
Thompson and the rest of last week's runners will spend the weekend resting in preparation for the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Louisville, Ky., next weekend.
The Blue Devils will run six runners Friday. In their first meet of the season, half of those runners—junior Brian Benesch and sophomores Josiah Hanko and Kyle Francis—were part of a sweep of the top five places at the Bull City Classic against N.C. Central. Nearly a month after the Sept. 12 race, the Royals Cross Country Challenge will allow the group to build on the success from their last race and the ensuing month of practice.
Ogilvie said he is excited about Friday's race because up to this point, the runners have been evaluated based on practice.
“I always like to see how people do in races. This is a real race and there’s winning on the line," Ogilvie said. "We’ll find out how this second group is—and this group can be a large part of our future too. We want to see who’s got it and who needs more work. There are a lot of valuable things to take out."
This meet marks a transition in the team’s season, as the races continue to increase in distance—entering October, the length of meets extends from six to eight kilometers. The Blue Devils' training program is geared toward building the necessary endurance, but Friday's race will be the B squad's first of this length all year.
At Princeton last weekend, Duke led the meet after three miles, but other teams were able to beat the Blue Devils in the kick—the final stage of the race. Ogilvie is not worrying, though.
“Running is a very time-sensitive sport and it’s all about peaking at the right time. That's why we know not to panic too much,” he said.
With a member of the A squad diagnosed with the flu, Ogilvie may need a replacement for the NCAA Pre-Nationals next weekend. Friday's race will serve as an audition of sorts for the Blue Devil runners hoping to make the jump to the A squad for the remainder of the season.
The Duke women are only sending two competitors, Allison Sturges and Gina Daniel, as head coach Christine Engel and the Blue Devils are preparing for next week’s meet in Louisville.
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