The Lincoln Log

The Cross-country off-season is coming to an end with a new season about to begin. Abraham Lincoln High School’s cross-country team features six times a week at the South Gym.

Being part of the cross-country team is a great opportunity to stay in shape, have fun, make friends and increase stamina for other sports.

“The season is starting out wonderful!” said Coach David Chen and he has coached the cross-country for several years now. “I feel that the team has a really good chance of doing well on the race.”

Coach Chen feels that the runners are working hard and are maintaining a positive attitude. He also said that the new members are improving and that each runner is doing very well. Throughout his years of coaching cross -country, Coach Chen says that he has never seen so many runners participate on the team.

However, he also that he could still use more runners.

“Although the new season may be starting out great, the team is in need of freshmen and sophomore girls.” Coach Chen.

“Its pretty fun running with friends, it’s like PE but better,” said Alan Young.

Alan is the captain of the cross-country team and has been running for 3 years. He believes this year will be a successful year yet for him and his teammates. Alan and other runners run together as a group whiches pushes one another and encourages them not to slow down.

Alan is working with the whole team to make this a fantastic cross-country season. The people that motivate Alan to do his best are his coaches and fellow runners.

“It is not too late to join and there are no bench warmers “ said Young.

Runners will always participate and wont ever be a replacement for anyone.

The sport features a lot of running. They often run at the track field, polo fields (located in Golden Gate Park), the reservoir, Lake Merced and the beach. Sometimes the coaches lead the runners on an adventure during their workouts for excitement and a way of ground training.

According to Nelson Louie who is a member of the cross-country team, “one technique that the team uses to improve their running is by running longer strides”. This technique allows runners to cover more distance. Another technique that the team uses is sprints. Sprints are used so that runners can get strong finishes in the race. Coach Chen trains the runners with their distance, while coach Higgins focuses on speed.

There are many techniques a runner can use in order to improve their running. According to Nelson Louie, “We run shorter distances on Lincoln’s track field, Coach Higgins teaches us how to stride and sprint, so that we get strong finishes in races.”

The racecourse is on the polo field and is estimated around 3.1 mile length. There are many scrimmages between other schools designed to show what level the runners are at and to see if they are able to beat their own records.

These scrimmages happen roughly once a week and lead on to the All City Championship where all the San Francisco public schools compete. The winners of the city championship be able to participate in the state championships, which all San Francisco public schools (including private schools) will compete in vie for 1st place.