St. John's Kayla Smith widens the gap between her and the rest of the field during last year's DODEA-Europe cross-country championships at Baumholder Army Golf Course in Baumholder, Germany. Smith is the favorite this year at the same location. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)
After a grueling season of intense training and competitive meets, DODEA-Europe cross country runners have been doing something unusual as Saturday’s European championship races at Baumholder, Germany, approach.
They’re slowing down.
Coaches across DODEA-Europe are guiding their teams through the season’s final days with a process called tapering, an approach designed to minimize the effects of the progressive fatigue inflicting each runner at this point in the season.
“For much of the season, athletes are racing on fatigued legs,” SHAPE coach Stewart Foster said. “The aim of tapering is to recharge athletes’ minds and bodies so that they feel fresh on the big race day.”
Coaches take a variety of approaches to putting this concept into practice.
Stuttgart coach Philip Bailey has his team running “shorter distances at easier paces” over the final week of practice. The Panthers also devote more practice time to stretching and other low-impact activities and might end some practice sessions early to allow runners extra rest.
Bitburg’s Christopher Allen said his team’s schedule includes yoga sessions in the week leading up to the final meet, which Allen said “eliminate fatigue and help with focus.” He also stresses relaxation and a “focus on technique.”
Vilseck coach Dave Nelson emphasizes adequate sleep and proper nutrition entering the race, which combined with a tapered running schedule should have his athletes “at their highest level of physical conditioning and ready to run.”
Stress management is another key component to preparing for the European finals.
Bailey said “anxiety does build up during the week” for many runners, often exacerbated by the approaching end of the academic quarter.
“As coaches, we try to calm their nerves and to focus on only those aspects of the race they can control,” Bailey said.
But even that becomes more complicated in the context of a championship meet.
Even experienced runners can get caught up in the unprecedented crowd gathered at the starting line of the European championship races.
“The championship race is going to have many more runners on the course and only the fastest runners are in this race,” Hohenfels coach Jay Danna said. “Our runners have to watch out for getting boxed in and not being allowed to open up their speed.”
Nelson gives his team one final set of instructions before the championship race: to enjoy themselves.
“They have worked hard all season,” Nelson said. “If they are not having fun then it is not worth doing.”
Saturday’s championship meet features a returning champion headlining the girls race and an wide-open field chasing the vacant boys title.
Kayla Smith of St. John’s recorded a runaway victory last fall, and is a heavy favorite to repeat. She’ll be pushed by the same set of runners that rounded out last year’s top four: runner-up and St. John’s teammate Sofia Jegnell, Ramstein’s Katelyn Schultz and SHAPE’s Holly Moser.
Ramstein’s Colin McLaren, Naples’ Daniel Aleksandersen, Hohenfels’ Jeremias Serrano-Velez and Lakenheath’s Austin Burt comprise the top tier of boys contenders after producing most of the best individual times recorded this fall.
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