On Wednesday, March 6, during Spring Break, 6 a.m. alarms blared in our ears, a literal rude awakening from the relaxation of the previous couple days. After trudging through a muddy yet productive workout, we scarfed down some cereal and piled into three vans, excited for our trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Photo taken by Emily Lane ‘27
Eight hours on the road, with necessary stops at Walmart and Firehouse Subs, resulted in our arrival at “Serenity Hideaway,” the luxurious oceanfront Airbnb that would be our home for the next four days. We settled in with a taco dinner, preparing for our free time on the beach the next day while nervously checking the forecasts for the weekend.
We started the next day with some pancakes and a trip to the track, where we would have our pre-meet practices. Some of our injured teammates had a different practice location, venturing out as astronauts in search of a Planet Fitness, where they would plead for a free day-pass in order to complete their training. After practice, we enjoyed the warm, sunny weather and spent time together on the beach throwing the frisbee, swimming in the water, and getting gorgeously bronzed.
On Friday it was finally time to compete—the main reason for the whole trip. A van of throwers, sprinters and jumpers left for the meet early, while the rest of us (the distance squad) stayed at the house to do our runs, as most of us wouldn’t race until the next day. We had a number of impressive performances, with school records from Cheney Byrd and Sarah Holler in shot put and pole vault, respectively.
As the meet progressed, the distance runners arrived, some to run, and others to cheer on their teammates. We finished out the day strong with a collection of great performances in the 5k and 10k, then headed back to the house for a relaxed night, eagerly anticipating the continuation of the meet the following day.
After waking up early in preparation for the 7:15 a.m. leave time, we were informed that the meet had been put on a weather delay due to thunderstorms in the area. We nervously waited for an update on the meet schedule that was promised to come at 11 a.m., passing the time by watching the NCAA indoor track national championships and playing Jackbox.
When that fateful hour struck, an email came stating that the meet had been canceled. All felt an understandable disappointment, as we wouldn’t have an opportunity to participate in the meet we had traveled so far for. However, we did still have something to look forward to, as our coach planned an inter-squad race on the roads that evening.
A day of relaxation culminated in some friendly competition, where everyone (even the throwers) got to put their rested legs to use. A most-definitely unrelated disturbance complaint led to the arrival of the police on the scene, but as far as we know, the perpetrators have not yet been identified.
Although the weekend did not go as planned, we were still able to have an amazing trip, growing closer together as a team and making life-long memories. Covenant Track and Field looks forward to the rest of the season, hoping for better weather and strong performances.