Practices are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30-4:30 p.m. at Cottontail Park, two blocks north of the middle school on Dearborn.
Runners should be prepared for practice with comfortable clothes, shoes and a water bottle. They generally have the option to take their bags to the park, if they know they are leaving from there or leave them at school during practice.
In the event of inclement weather, practice will be held in the gym, and Coach Doyle will send an email to parents and guardians when the decision is made to hold practice indoors.
Every parent or guardian is responsible for their child’s transportation to and from the meet. There is no bus.
For weekday meets, there is typically an email signup to organize a rideshare. Typically during the week, runners would need to depart the school by 3:30 p.m. to check into the meet on time.
As long as your runner has registered with the SLES Cross Country Coach, they will be automatically registered for the school’s meets.
The school may purchase uniform t-shirts for the meets. Please wear either the SLES Cross Country shirt or a SLES Gym Shirt to each cross country meet.
Upon arrival to the meet, look for a blue tent with “SOUTH LOOP” to check in. Your child will be given a bib and a set of pins to attach to their shirt. The number is linked to their name and they should not exchange numbers with other runners. The timing chip in their bib will allow their official race time to be recorded.
The dates and timing for each season of meets will be communicated to parents once available. There are typically two CPD Invitationals and one Regional meet, open to all registered runners. After the Regional Meets (Regionals are divided into two dates, CPD will assign SLES to their date), qualifying* runners will race in the City Championship.
A typical meet schedule looks like the following, though the order and timing may change for each meet:
4:15 p.m. Check-in
4:45 p.m. Girls 7th/8th – 1.5 miles
5:10 p.m. Boys 7th/8th – 1.5 miles
5:35 p.m. Girls 5th/6th – 1 mile
5:50 p.m. Boys 5th/6th – 1 mile
Runners are encouraged to cheer on their SLES team mates before and/or after their race.
Once runners have checked in with the team and received their bib, they may want to warm up prior to the race. Please advise them to inform a parent or coach where they are going and to never train alone.
As the time for their race approaches, they should be paying strict attention to announcements for lineup. There will be plenty of people to point them toward the starting line.
*Qualifying runners are the top 50 individual runners in their group and the top 25 teams (each category is based on the combination totals of runners in both Regional meets). Each qualifying team takes their top 7 runners. Substitutions for team qualifiers are allowed if a qualifying runner in their group is unable to participate.
Due to the chip in each runner’s bib, race results are available quickly after each race.
To view information on how the team or a specific runner performed, visit the website for Lakeshore Athletic Services > Select the date/meet name > Use the dropdown at the top to select the grade/gender
Snacks: Parents are asked to bring a snack to share for meets, as they can be long and our runners get hungry and thirsty. A signup will be sent to all prior to the meet.
Rideshares: For weekday meets, a volunteer or a website will be used to manage carpooling – people who have a seat available can offer rides; those who need a seat can request one. The site will be circulated prior to the meets, as applicable.
It is important to share contact information with those you are sharing a ride with to ensure you can arrange pickup and drop off details. For meets during the week, runners usually are back in the South Loop between 7:00 -8:00 p.m.
Meets are typically held in Humboldt Park, Hanson Park, and Washington Park.
Note: Parking fills up quickly, so please leave yourself time to find parking and walk to the race location.
Humboldt Park:
1440 North Humboldt Drive
The drive from SLES will take about 30-35 minutes.
From 90W, exit at North Ave. Once you pass California, the entrance to the park will be your next left. After entering the park, turn right on Luis Munoz Drive and look for parking.
From 290W, exit at Sacramento. Once you cross Grand, continue straight onto Humboldt Drive until Luis Munoz Drive. Turn left at Luis Monoz and look for parking after you cross Division.
Hanson Park: 5501 W Fullerton
Allow extra time for travel and parking as this area is congested.
Upon arrival, there is parking available to the Prosser Career Academy (off of Grand) or street parking on Central, Fullerton, or Long.
The location of the meet will be obvious upon arrival.
Washington Park:
5531 S Martin Luther King Dr
Enter the park on 55th Street and park along Russell Drive, or in the Fieldhouse lot.
The course will be just off of Russel Drive by the S. Loop Drive.