Hello,

My name is Zach Boehmke. I am the head coach of the Urbana Tiger Cross Country Team. This coming Friday, the cross-country team will be hosting our first Run-A-Thon at the Urbana Track Complex. This event is meant to be the culmination of summer training for the team and a beginning of the school year send-off. Athletes have been working hard since early June and we want to be able to show that we support them with friends, family, and fun.

Over an hour, athletes will be running as many laps around our 400-meter track as they can. They will have set goals on how many laps they may be able to accomplish in advance, so that those interested in pledging an amount per lap may do so (updates to come). Otherwise, we would gladly accept lump sum payments.

There will be additional races taking place as well during this time period:

7:10 - 400 meter "Little Ones Run" - Kids 5th grade and under may participate.

7:25 - 1600 meter "Middle School Mile" - Kids between 6th and 8th grade may participate.

7:40 - 1600 meter "Adult Mile" - Open to anyone 18 years or older.

Why do we need help?

1. Feeding Athletes - We have 30+ athletes on the team. After every competition, we provide meals to athletes. Daily, we provide protein drinks, bars, chocolate milk, etc. We want to make sure that our athletes are getting adequate nourishment, so they can train to their fullest potential on the track and in the classroom.

2. Uniforms and Operations- We are creating a uniform that athletes will wear during the state series. Varsity athletes will wear these kits, so we will be investing in ten kits per team (20 total). Uniforms (singlets and bottoms) can range between $50-70 per person.

To bolster team and school spirit, we are putting together plaques that recognize mileage totals that kids run over the course of the summer and winter. If an athlete runs over 200+ miles, their name goes on the plaque. We have 300+, 400+, and 500+ plaques as well. I am also constructing record boards that recognize the top cross country athletes over the school's history after researching UHS athletics all of summer 2022. These commemorate athletes from our 120-year school history while also allowing our current athletes performances to strive for.

Lap Goal for Athletes:

Sam Gresch - 16

Sam Clancy-Harley - 16

Ioelle Lee - 16

Citlali Cortes Alvarez - 16

Alondra Martinez - 17

Jonathan Allison - 29

Abby Fairbanks - 28

Beatrice Ebel - 28

Pablo Nardie - 23

Ethan Jewett - 20

Vinny Benjamin - 32

Will Kirkland. -30

Parker Schroeder - 32

Marley Yau - 27

Genisis Walker - 24

Ellie Scully - 22

Lily Schroeder - 22

Brianne Wefel - 22

Cassie Wefel - 20

Hudson Coady - 37

Mohammed Amrani - 35

Brian Allison - 32

Michael Allison - 32

Dominic Urban - 30

Syniyah Quenga - 12

Mia Nicholson - 16

Lavie Maisha - 16

Baraka Culpepper - 12

Jevan Juday - 28

Titus Coady - 26