GRANITE STATE FLASH

THE LATEST

3K Preliminary Race

Amherst, NH 11/8/09

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Pictures Needed!

If anyone took some good pictures at the 11/8 Preliminary race that they would like to share, please email them to Justin. Also, it would be greatly appreciated if parents could take pictures on the course Sunday and send them along to Justin.

Results From the Preliminary Race Are Available

Results from the 11/8 Preliminary race in Amherst can be found on our Results page. The results are not totally accurate but are a good indicator. Times are not correct in some cases.

Announcements

  • A final course walkthrough Any remaining singlets and other Flash clothing ordered will be distributed at the race on Sunday by the Flash tent.
  • Emails were sent out on Tuesday to parents/runners with administrative issues- missing birth certificates or USATF membership numbers. A number of these issues are still outstanding. All issues must be resolved prior to the runner competing on Sunday. An additional follow-up will be sent out on 11/13. Contact Justin with any questions or concerns.

 

Team Pictures

Team pictures will be taken at this Sunday’s meet, and are scheduled to be taken 10 minutes prior to each race start time. Location will be communicated that day at the Flash tent. Runners should be in their singlets for the photo.

Course Walkthrough Scheduled for 11/14

For those that were unable to race at the farm this past Sunday, Coach Jan (and possibly other coaches) will be attending the walkthrough of the courses for Sat. 11/14 at 2-4pm. Please meet at 1:45p sharp. If you cannot make this time and still need to do a walkthrough, there are additional walkthroughs available on Sun. Nov. 11/15 - 9:00 for 3K and 11:30 for 4K/5K, but this is strongly not recommended as it will drain runners prior to their race. Please - do not go to the farm outside these timeframes! Directions to the race can be found on our Directions page.

Hotels for Maine

With the expectation that we will have some number of runners qualify to continue to the Regional Championship meet in Augusta on 11/22, hotel rooms have been reserved for Flash families. Information will be provided to qualifying runners/families on Sunday, so please make sure you speak to your coach, or Jan or Justin Platt before you leave the course.

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Congratulations to all the middle and high school runners that competed over the last few days, and best of luck to those still competing for your schools over the next few weeks. You make your families, teams, communities and coaches very proud, and never fail in giving us all some very exciting races to cheer for!

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Some pictures from the last few weeks

Patrick wins Tri-County Boys "A" Race

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2009 USATF Junior Olympics XC Signups and Schedules

Signups for the 2009 Flash Cross Country will be held Sunday, October 25 from Noon-4pm along the track at Livingston Park in Manchester. The Competition and Practice schedules are available- please follow the included links for dates and locations.

NOTE- All registration forms are now available online at http://granitestateflash.com/forms.htm. Please print all registration forms, fill them out, and bring with you on Sunday to registration. If you are unable to make Sunday’s registration in person you need to email Coach Jan to coordinate. It is important that all runners attend registration Sunday in person, so the coaches have time to talk with the runners and review the completed forms. All forms- including race and USATF forms- should be reviewed by your coach or Jan Platt. Note that the membership fee includes the entry fee for all races. Please bring a COPY of your birth certificate for registration. This will be provided to USATF for age verification, and will then be kept on file in case needed in the season.

 

Coaching Assignment Changes

Please review the Coaches Page for 2009 coaching assignments. Among the many changes, we are please to announce that we have added a dedicated Intermediate teams coach (runners born 1993-1994) to the Flash staff. Kurt Schulz joins us from Manchester Memorial, where he has been the girl’s varsity XC coach, and will be the Head Coach for the Flash Intermediate Girls and Intermediate Boys teams.

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Final XC school season races coming up for Flash runners

Best of luck to all our Flash runners that are participating in the middle school state meet this weekend, as well as the high school runners competing over the next few weeks.

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Alum Alex getting muddy at the Mt Epic Challenge

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More school season pictures Please forward to Justin any school pictures you'd like to share on this site - jsplatt@comcast.net

  

 

  

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2009 USATF Junior Olympics XC Signups and Schedules

The 2009 Flash Cross Country Competition and Practice schedules are now available. More detail, including additional links to meet websites, will be updated once available. Also note that the practice schedule may be updated to accommodate additional preliminary meets.

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Flash Runner Presented Award at USATF NE Annual Meeting

On September 17th, Jack Collopy was recognized as the November 2008 Athlete of the Month at the USATF New England annual meeting. Family, friends, and Flash athletes and coaches were in attendance to celebrate the presentation. Here is a link to the USATF write-up.

 

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XC school seasons begin for Flash runners!

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Selected Optional Race Calendar

(click on race for details)

Be sure to wear your singlet to the race!

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Race Date

Millennium Mile

Sunday, 12/27/09
   

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WHAT IS GRANITE STATE FLASH?

Granite State Flash (GSF) is a Manchester, New Hampshire based USATF Junior Olympic Cross Country program for children ages eight through fourteen. The team practices in Manchester, N.H. from late October to early December, and competes in the New England, Regional and National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championship competitions.

While the focus of the program is cross country, Flash runners also compete in various competitions throughout the year including area road races and the Junior Olympic Track & Field competition. The focus of the Flash program is running as a life long pursuit, team competition, sportsmanship, and increasing personal fitness levels.

                     

The Flash began in 2001 with just two teams and twenty one runners.  The program has grown since 2001 to include runners from more than 40 towns and cities throughout New Hampshire. Over the past seven years more than 600 New Hampshire youth runners have participated in the program with multiple teams advancing to the New England, Regional and National competitions.  Through 2007, Flash teams have won three National team championships, two bronze medal titles as well as numerous Regional, New England team and individual titles. Seventeen Flash runners have earned individual All-American honors (top 25 individually in the U.S.).

Flash runners have also gone on to success at the high school and collegiate levels capturing 44 State of New Hampshire high school titles (cross country, indoor and outdoor track) through Spring 2008, setting 11 Class and/or State records as well as winning three individual New England High School Championships. More than 20 Flash runners have gone on to compete at the Division I, II and III collegiate level. From 2005 through 2007, Flash runners have competed for Dartmouth, Keene State, UNH, Penn, Columbia, Yale, Quinnipiac, William & Mary, Bentley, Bucknell, Franklin & Marshall and Dickinson College.

Highlights from

2007 USATF Junior Olympics Nationals

Lawrence, Kansas

Dec 8, 2007

Gwenyth's finishing kick earns her 2nd place in the 2007 Nationals held in Lawrence, Kansas.

Kelsey finishes 15th in the 2007 Nationals, earning her 3rd consecutive All-American status.

Finishing 13th in the 2007 Nationals, Jack also earned his 3rd consecutive All-American title.

The Boys Youth team finished 3rd in the nation, earning themselves the bronze medal.

 

Click to see
more pictures

 

"There's nothing noble in being superior to some other man.

The true nobility is being superior to your previous self."