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Volume CXXXIII, Number 8 |
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Runners look to kick past their blues
BEN PEISCH
STAFF WRITER
The Bowdoin Men's Cross Country Team endured a disappointing loss this weekend at the NESCAC Championships in Middlebury, Vermont. The men had won the championship two years in a row, but faded to a distant tenth on Saturday, allowing Tufts to capture the team crown. Although the loss was extremely frustrating for the men, they emerged from Vermont a wiser team prepared for future success.
The men were lead by Owen McKenna '07 in 36th place, who was followed soon afterwards by Andrew Combs '06 in 42nd, Pat Hughes '05 in 54th, Ben Peisch '05 in 57th, and Scott Herrick '04 in 75th, who rounded out the dismal scoring for the Polar Bears. The men are bruised and battered, but even more determined than ever to put Bowdoin cross-country where it belongs: amid the best in New England.
The Stoic philosopher Epictetus once said to his disciples, "What do you think would have become of Hercules if there had not been a lion and a hydra and a stag and a boar and unjust and brutal men, whom he drove forth and cleansed the world of? What would he have done if there had been nothing of this sort? Is it not plain that he would have wrapped himself up and slept and slumbered all his life in ease and luxury? He never would have been a Hercules at all! What use would he have made of his arms and his might and his endurance and his noble heart, had he not been stimulated and trained by such perils and opportunities?"
Epictetus's wisdom is applicable to the men's new approach to the season. The men refuse to "[wrap themselves] up...in ease and luxury." They know that their situation allows them an unfamiliar but intriguing opportunity to succeed from the position of "severe underdog." Defeats have made them humble. Disappointments have made them hungry. They have learned their lessons. Now it is up to them to do their school proud.
The team certainly has the talent to succeed. The men have a perennial All-New England cross country runner in Herrick, as well as two All-New England track athletes in Combs and Peisch. The team has executed its tactics well, but too far back in the pack. Luckily, there is still time for redemption; the biggest race still lies ahead.
The men have endured their fair share of bad luck this season, but they are not concerned with fate or fortune. With two weeks of mental and physical preparation ahead of them, the men know that they have one opportunity left to redeem themselves. They are prepared to run smarter, harder, and tougher than they ever have before. They are prepared to live the words Epictetus, as well as those of Olympic gold medallist Said Aouita, who once said, "Those who say that I will lose and am finished will have to run over my body to beat me!"
The New England Cross Country Championships will be held in Cumberland, Maine, just outside of Portland, on Saturday, November 15 at 12:00 p.m. Fans, friends, and well-wishers are highly encouraged to attend. The course is one of the most spectator-friendly and exciting in the country, and the competition will be fiercer than ever. Neither the men nor the women will disappoint.
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