With winter sports coming to a close, track is quickly approaching, and for some, it has already arrived. Many track and field members train on and off throughout the winter in order to stay in shape. Willingly running in the frigid temperatures is not always enjoyable, but it’s not terrible the more you practice.

Despite the cold and dreary weather, the track team has began practicing. To better understand how training has been going, I spoke to Annika Jansen about her pre-season training and she expressed, “I have been working out sporadically over the past few months to prepare myself, but I don’t feel as though I am fully ready for the challenges ahead.”

With track season upon us, it is an exciting time because this means the beginning of all spring sports and nicer weather in general. Even though sunny skies and warmer weather is on the way, our track team begins our season at the SIU indoor meet on March 1st. This is a very large meet where teams from all over Southern Illinois come together to compete for the first time in the year. It is held on a Friday night and begins at three that afternoon. It usually does not come to a close until around 9 o’clock. As you can imagine, there is great anticipation for most considering it is the kickoff to our season. Regardless of the nerves, if we are lucky, we get to indulge in a Jimmy John’s sub sandwich after our events, thanks to our coaches.

In order to speak to a member of the track team, I asked about Maddie Fleege’s thoughts on the upcoming season. She replied by saying, “I am looking forward to our first meet. I plan to run the 4×8 and the 4×4. I’m excited to see what this year will bring.” She is hopeful for what’s to come and is looking forward to an exciting season.

There are many outdoor meets coming up once Spring Break is over, and the first one takes place shortly after we come back on Tuesday, March 19 at West Frankfort. Many runners on the team feel as if this is a good meet to get back into the swing of things, and shake off any possible nerves. The track team is looking forward to an exciting year!