We will distribute racing uniforms at our Kickoff Potluck on Thursday, August 22. All athletes need to fill out the check-out form by Friday, August 16 to receive a uniform. All athletes who are registered for the team will race! Everyone needs a uniform: Uniform Check-out form.
Official Practice: Monday – Friday at 4pm. Follow website for notifications of any changes.
August 12: DPS Athletics registration required to practice with team.
August 15: Team 2-mile Time Trial at practice.
August 24: First race – Rocky Mountain Lobo Invitational. See Calendar for meet schedule.
Don’t go topless….Fill out Uniform Checkout by Friday! Check-out form.
Due to the persistence of lightening in the area we have to cancel today’s afternoon practice. Please run (treadmill or outside after storm passes) for 30 – 60 minutes plus strides. We will see you tomorrow at 7:30am or 4:00pm.
Morning Practice Option Thursday, August 8 and Friday, August 9
Due to popular demand, there will be practice options for 7:30am and 4:00pm this Thursday and Friday.
August 15 Team Time Trial
The 2-mile Time Trial in City Park will determine Varsity for our first meet. Top-10 boys and top-10 girls make varsity for the first meet; all other athletes who give it their best effort make the JV team regardless of time or place! Warm-up from our usual spot in City Park at 4pm. Boys will race at 4:50pm and Girls at 4:55pm. We always love to welcome parents and team alumni to volunteer on the course and finish line. Please meet the coaches at the park and we will put you to work! Popsicles for all afterwards.
Team Potluck and Season Kickoff Meeting on August 22
Parents/guardians and student-athletes will celebrate the start of the season on Thursday, August 22nd in the Commons from 6:30pm – 8:30pm. Coaches will have important information for students and their parents/guardians.
9th graders: main dish
10th graders: sides/salads
11th graders: dessert
12th graders: drinks/chocolate milk
Remember to register for Cross Country by August 12 so that you may practice with the team!
Fall Sports Registration: Register for cross country via the link below. Registration must be completed by August 12, our first day of official practice. You will upload your completed physical exam form directly to this registration. (No paper or emailed copies are accepted). You can log back in and add the physical exam later if needed.
If you had a FAMILYID account last year to register for sports, you can scroll to the bottom of this page and click log in. You will search for Denver East and click on our school. Choose Cross Country and then the correct payment amount at the bottom.
If you attend a school that does not offer cross country and you will run for East, please fill out this “Students Without a Program” form.
Practice Times: Practice will move to 4:00pm, Monday – Friday, beginning August 5. There will be an additional, alternative morning practice option on days when the afternoon weather forecast is for very hot or stormy weather in the afternoons. Due to the current forecast, there will be a morning practice option this Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at 7:30am (August 5-7). Afternoon and morning practices will meet at City Park on the fields immediately north of the Thatcher Fountain, near the Esplanade entrance. Follow the website for announcements of additional morning practice options depending on the weather forecast.
Challenging Weather Plans:
Heat: Over the next two weeks, when the forecast afternoon temperature is over 90 degrees, we may offer an alternative, additional morning practice time for those who can take advantage of the cooler temperatures. Follow the website for announcements of morning practice options (see above). The regularly scheduled afternoon workout will be modified when the temperature is above 90 degrees.
Lightening: When there is lightening in the area (within 8 miles in the last 30 minutes), athletes will be moved indoors at East High School. Depending upon the timing of the lightening interruption and the storm forecast, practice will be delayed, modified, or cancelled. When practice is cancelled due to lightening, athletes will be given instructions on completing the workout on their own after the storm has passed or on treadmills at Carla Madison Recreation Center or other treadmills available to the athletes.
Air Quality: When the AQI is above 150, workouts will be modified or cancelled.
3 Weeks until the first cross country meet of the season!
Higher Altitude Camp is next week, official practices start in a little over three weeks, and our first race is in 5 weeks! It has been great to see how many athletes have been putting in the work this summer to have a great season.
Campers: We will see you on Tuesday at 7:45am in the East High School teachers’ parking lot. In preparation for camp, please read this article by Lauren Fleshman and review these videos: warm-up, and post-run work – lunges, core-X, SAM.
Practice Schedule: We will have our regularly scheduled practice at City Park on Monday, July 22. We will not have practice on Tuesday, July 23 or Thursday, July 25 while the team is at camp. We will resume our regular Monday, Tuesday, Thursday at 8am practice schedule the week of July 29.
Registration: The links for registration for fall 2024 sports at Denver East High School are not currently working. Online registration links should be available in a week or two and will be posted here. All athletes need to be registered and have a current physical exam to participate in official practices beginning August 12.
Meet Schedule: Our competition schedule has been updated and finalized. Please update your calendars.
You don’t have to run independently on July 4, but we will not have our regularly scheduled Thursday practice. Find a teammate and celebrate with a run. The training schedule is on FinalSurge. We will meet as a team on July 1 and July 2 as scheduled and then pick up our regular Monday, Tuesday, Thursday schedule the week of July 8. Follow the website for updates on weekend trail running plans.
We will have our second trail run of the summer this Saturday, June 29. We will meet at the Denver East student parking lot at 7am and caravan to the Waterton Canyon trailhead. All runners able to run at least 45 minutes are encouraged to join. Some runners may go as long as 75 minutes. Parents, family members and friends are encouraged to join (and drive if needed). Bring plenty of water, sunscreen and/or a hat, and a snack for after the run.
We will have our first trail run of the summer this Saturday, June 15th. We will leave from the East High student parking lot at 7am and drive to the Doudy Draw Trailhead in Boulder County. All runners able to run at least 45 minutes are encouraged to join. Some runners may go as long as 70 minutes. Parents, family members and friends are welcome to join (and help drive if needed). Bring plenty of water, sunscreen and/or hat, and a snack for after the run.
Summer Conditioning for Cross Country begins June 10 for new runners and June 11 for returning runners!
New runner orientation is June 10. We will meet at the Thatcher Fountain near the Esplanade entrance to City Park at 8am. We will teach our warm-up routine, go for a short run, and teach our post-run routines. Come dressed to run and bring water and a watch with a stopwatch function (available for less than $20 online).
We look forward to seeing the rest of the team on Tuesday, June 11th, and every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 8am through July 25th. Follow the website for announcements of additional weekend trail runs.
Final Surge: if you haven’t already done so, please go to FinalSurge.com and create an account. This is where our summer training plans live. After you have created an account, email Coach Kohuth (skohuth@dpsk12.net) and share with him the email you used to create your FinalSurge account so he can invite you to see our workout calendar, and so you may log your runs for the coaches to follow.
Coach Jay Johnson has generously shared the following videos. Please watch! Our warm-up will follow most of what is demonstrated (it should largely look familiar to our returning runners). The post-run work will be a point of emphasis this summer and all season long as we work to become faster and have fewer injuries. The time commitment to these routines is modest and will go a long way toward making you stronger and more durable against injury as you increase the distance and speed of your runs.
All returning cross country runners should nominate one or two seniors to be team captain for our 2024 cross country season. In your nomination, please describe how your nominee exemplifies the attributes of leadership and dedication described below. Nominations are due by June 6 by email to Coach Kohuth (skohuth@dpsk12.net).
Our captains should lead and exemplify the best of Denver East Cross Country. A great captain:
Believes you and the people around you are capable of greatness and understands it must be earned daily.
Demonstrates a positive attitude in words and actions.
Is respectful of teammates, teachers, and coaches; does the assigned workout at best effort; passes on positive energy to teammates; conducts drills and warm-ups and post run work correctly and completely; looks to help younger athletes; holds themselves and teammates accountable to team standards.
Is a top teammate: the teammate who changes someone’s day, week, season for the better.
Denver East High XC 