2026 DeMatha XC Kickoff Time Trial: Info

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

There will not be transportation from DeMatha for this event. Please have your sons at Greenbelt Lake no later than 3:15pm so we can go through first-day-of-practice check-ins, verifying all in attendance are fully cleared, with the intention to begin our warmup no later than 3:45pm.

Note the following details:

Location
Buddy Attick Lake Park (aka Greenbelt Lake)
555 Crescent Road
Greenbelt, MD 20770

Schedule
3:15pm - Check-in
3:45pm - Warmup
4:30pm - Time Trial (All athletes)

Estimated end time
Approx. 6:15pm

• After the time trial, athletes will have an easy run to cool down/complete their mileage for the day. After this we will go through stretch and flexibility routines before a brief wrap-up address from the coaching staff to end practice.

Athletes:

• We will not wear racing jerseys for this time trial -- those will be distributed to the team next week ahead of our first official meet. You may wear any clothing you would normally wear to practice.

• Wear your training shoes. Do not wear spikes for this 5k -- the course is entirely on gravel.

• Bring your yoga mat (or towel) for our post-run stretch routine and cooldown stretches.

• Bring a filled water bottle. We will have at least one water cooler but our supply will be finite so arriving with your bottle already filled will help ensure we make it through practice without running out.

Additional Important Details

• The distance for this course is approximately 5 kilometers, or 3.10 miles. The course is not sanctioned and so will not count as an official PR but will be used to calculate your target pace range and assign your training tier.

• Parents: you are more than welcome to stick around, watch your son run, and offer encouragement during the time trial. If you drop your son off and leave, please be sure to return by 6:15pm to pick your son up.

• Anybody taking photos of our athletes during the time trial can upload them to our shared album here.

Forecast

• As of Sunday, August 9, the forecast for August 12 is cloudy with a high of 88º F and a chance of scattered thunderstorms developing later in the day.

  • We will be tracking the forecast closely. In the event we have to cancel this practice, we will not reschedule the time trial and will instead rely on next week's College Park parkrun to calculate training paces and adjust training tiers.

If you have any questions, contact Coach Puffett directly.