East Grand Rapids Girls Cross Country team had a big start to the week with their first conference race Monday, Sept 12th; also, they have their biggest race of the season this Friday, Sept 16. They got second place on Monday just one point behind their biggest rivals Grand Rapids Christian, otherwise known as “the baby blues.”

According to Kate O’Connell ‘18, one of four team captains,“We did a nice job of packing up and staying together,” O’Connell said, “It was a really good meet for us.”

Now the focus is running at Michigan State as they will compete against teams from all over the state. The team prepares for a big race like this one by taking an easier run the day before the race. O’Connell has some rituals of her own that prepare her for a big race.

“Ever since I was a freshman, I always eat pasta for dinner the night before a race because of the saying ‘run fasta eat pasta’,” O’Connell said.

This ritual of hers seems to work because O’Connell’s personal record, she got at states last year, is a very impressive 19 minutes and 5.07 seconds.

The race is so big in fact it is bigger than the state championship race and,“When you go off you can feel the ground shaking,” O’Connell said, “It’s a really cool atmosphere.”

The team is resting up for Friday in hopes of continuing to run together and hopefully beat “the baby blues.” Not only is it the biggest race they’ll compete in this season, but for some runners it is their favorite race.

“It’s a good meet for the team to experience a bigger meet and see college teams run,” Sophie Ackermann ‘18 said.