Sted X Country: Oh, Yerkes, Clark, and Logan
...not forgotten! Without doubt, the Steds X Country team is overlooked, and how could it not be? When there's football, inter-hall football, baseball, basketball, ping pong, and many board games being played in the Fall, well, for most residents cross country running is just going to fall into the abyss of oblivion. Still, I remembered that we had some people running in the Fall, and I finally caught up with one, David Oh, Steds senior, who was not running at the time, to inquire how the season had gone. Here's what David had to say...
St.Ed: To be honest, I didn’t know that we had Hall cross country team. Is this something new?
Oh: Not quite, because this blog actually did a story on the team from the Hall that competed in the fall 2013 semester (http://stedwardshall.blogspot.com/2014/01/happy-new-year-and.html). I don't know how long the team has been around, but I do know for sure that a few Stedsmen have been keeping it going since then. Cross country as an intramural sport on campus has been around much longer. And if you're an underclassman in the Hall and reading this, you should definitely sign up for the team next fall. After all, it is the only true sport--no half times, no time outs, and no substitutions! It's you against your body, and it doesn't get more simple but challenging than that.
St.Ed: Okay, pardon my forgetfulness. There are so many of you students. Still yet, pardon my ignorance, but how do you “do" cross country? By this I mean, what do you do at a cross country competition? Run around a tract?
Oh: It's no different than what one did in high school--run 5k (3.1 miles) on a course that traverses open terrain--hence the name of the sport! For intramural cross country, RecSports uses the same course that is used by the University's varsity team, so here's your chance to compete like they do!
St.Ed: What do you think is the reason for the success of the Hall’s cross country team this semester?
Oh: I think it's the collective dedication of our top two runners (senior John Clark and junior Pat Yerkes) and the other guys (which include a few newcomers to the sport) that made up the team. John and Pat led the team in each of the races, and the rest did their best to give the team as much of a chance to compete with other dorms that have more bodies to spare. As one of the smallest dorms, we sometimes struggled to field a full team (5 runners), so it's no small achievement that we placed as high as we did as a team with the number that we had. Everyone played a part, and it was an enjoyable experience for all.
St.Ed: As team captain, do you have any regrets?
Oh: Personally, I wish I had trained more over the summer to compete at a higher level--I have to blame my hectic travel schedule at the beginning of summer (returning stateside from the study-abroad semester in Jerusalem, then traveling to northern California and South Korea for thesis research). But I'm happy with how I did, and what's more important is that it was fun!
St.Ed: Running marathons is an in vogue thing these days. Why should someone run a marathon? After all, the very first marathon runner died after running!
Oh: Oh gosh, I don't know if I can do justice to this question, seeing as I've done two half-marathons but not a full-marathon yet. Both John and Pat have done a number of marathons, so maybe you should ask one of them. In fact, John did an ultra-marathon (50 miles) last semester with his dad--just a few weeks after he ran the Chicago marathon with Pat! All I can say is that I'm glad both of them are still with us today.
