LOWELL, Mass. – Friday afternoon in Franklin Park in Boston things get very serious for the UMass Lowell men's cross country team as they compete in the Boston College Coast-to-Coast Invitational.
"We want to be competitive," said UMass Lowell Head Coach Gary Gardner. "There are six or seven or eight teams ranked in the top 15 in the region who will be there and we want to beat some of them. If we can beat some of them and make a good run at Georgia or Florida State or somebody like that... that would be great."
The event attracts top schools in the region and from across the country. It will be the first time this season that the River Hawks have faced such a highly competitive field. A year ago UMass Lowell opened the eyes of some in the cross country establishment with a sixth place finish at the Meet of Champions in Van Cortlandt Park in New York City. That meet attracted top schools from the Northeast and across the country. Senior Robert Allen (Cranston, R.I.) won the individual championship at that race.
"It takes determination," said Allen. "In cross country you're crushing the miles; I (ran) 105, 106 miles for the week and i had to do three doubles. It takes determination and focus."
For Gardner and the coaching staff, it's not about the more experienced runners such as Allen or sophomore Paul Hogan (Burlington, Mass.) It is a question of team depth.
"We know what Bobby and Paul are; they are going to be somewhere in the top ten," said Gardner. "For us this is about figuring out where our three, four, five guys are against this kind of competition. That's what we want to figure out here; how much better do they need to be or are they good enough, right now, to compete with these teams."
Franklin Park
As a team, UMass Lowell is familiar with the 8K course. It is one the River Hawks run on a yearly basis and often more than once a year. It's not a fully flat course, but it is less hilly than some courses such as Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.
Strategy
Events such as these are not always about speed, often it's more of a tactical competition. Allen likes running from the front and has to remind himself to be patient.
"I like running in front, but you have to stay relaxed," said Allen. "I'm like a roaring engine, I want to go, go, go, but you don't want to be the person who does all the work in the race and then get beat at the end. You just want to sit back and relax."
The Level of Competition
This is not your typical Saturday morning run in the park.
"You're running against the ten best from each of those teams so that makes it very different," said Gardner. "It makes it crowded; you get pushed; you get shoved. If you have an off day at an event like this, you look really bad. It's definitley a different competition."
