An estimated 10,000 spectators, including a crew of about 25 from our clan showed up to cheer on the runners. What started out as a cold October morning turned into a very pleasant afternoon for the race.

As the runners started their warm-ups, the Lakeside team received some bad news as one of their better runners, Dan Ertman, encountered a knee injury that prevented him from running. Dan is known for wearing his signature headband during the race and in a touching moment, Jack Simmons offered to wear it during the the race.  While claiming he just needed to "keep the hair out of his eyes", Jack mentioned that about halfway through the race he thought of Dan and it gave him a boost.

Around the half mile point, the runners where still relatively bunched up.  A few of the Lakeside athletes moved towards the front, while Jack and Micah settled in around the middle of the pack.

These next two videos show our guys running up a grueling hill.  After nearly 2 miles of running,  to send runners up a hill like this, one might think the course designers had a cruel disposition.

Micah dominating this hill like a boss.

The final few hundred meters finish with an uphill grind.  At the beginning of this shot, you can see the gap between Jack and a large pack of runners as they start the climb.  By the time they hit the finish line he caught several from that pack to help his team.

In our final video, we get to see Micah close out his high school career as he literally rides off into the sunset (just a little off centered).