After a successful cross country season at the beginning of the school year, many runners and athletes from other sports are preparing for the upcoming track season by attending the offseason workouts, athletic director Chris Grossman said.

Captain, senior Aaron Lin said the importance of the offseason for many athletes like himself who will compete during the season. 

“Mainly, it’s staying healthy and building up fitness,” Lin said. “You can’t start from zero right when the season starts because it’s not sustainable. You need to have a base [level] and then you can build on top of the foundation.”

Outside of the preparation for the main track and field season, Lin said the factors outside of running help athletes receive a true season experience of the sport. 

“As a team captain, I just want to see people be there,” Lin said. “While track and field has a lot of emphasis on performance, it doesn’t have to be the main goal. You don’t have to pursue to be the best in the state, but making friends and being there for the community is a big part of the track and field experience.”

Captain, senior Christopher Miyai said he recommended people show up to find the events they are interested in competing in but to also see their progress by the end of the season. 

“At the end of the season, everybody’s always way better,” Miyai said. “Especially if you’re a newcomer you [will] shock yourself by how much better you can get through all the consistent training.”

Furthermore, the offseason is a good time to listen to the coaches’ lessons, so setting personal goals during this time is extremely valuable, Miyai said. 

Despite having personal time goals he wants to break during the season, Lin said his main goal is to savor his last year in track by staying healthy to compete in every meet he can with the most effort. 

“As a distance runner, I like going on long runs with my friends,” Lin said. “It’s a good time to relax because you can zone out, run, talk and it’s just a chill time. Outside of that, I think the socials we have are pretty fun.”

Similar to Lin, Miyai said he wants to have fun and grow the team in his final year in track and field.

“Just like soaking in all the meets, especially the travel invitationals will be fun,” Miyai said.  “Spending more time with my teammates running with them, sometimes with Coach Sealy is always great because I don’t always get that. Coach gives long talks, but they’re funny so I was enjoying them, and I look forward to cherishing those [moments].”