Crossing the Finish Line

This past Saturday, nearly 300 runners and walkers alike wound their way through American Village in the 2019 Twister Trot. Thank you for taking part in this wonderful event, for honoring Marcy Speer and the many others in our community who have battled cancer with courage and strength. I was struck by how many names were submitted to be read during the opening ceremony. So many in our extended TDS family have fought this terrible disease.

In particular, I’d like to thank Casey Speer (TDS ’10, Riverside HS ’14, and Georgetown University ’18) for returning to TDS to speak about her mom, and what this race means to her. Casey traveled home from Washington, D.C., and, as has become her custom, she brought a dozen friends with her. Thanks as well to the many volunteers who made this event possible (including Maria Morrison, event planner extraordinaire!), to the TDS chorus for singing the national anthem, and to the TDS cheerleaders for helping many of us find that final burst to cross the finish line.

5K Overall Winners

• Male – Wil Schneider (7th)
• Female – Natalie Dickson
• TDS Middle School boy – Wil Schneider (7th)
• TDS Middle School girl – Avery Keats (7th)
• Male, TDS Lower School boy – PJ Lefebvre (4th)
• TDS Lower School girl – Irena Rand (5th)

Students Crossing the Finish Line Ahead of Mr. Norry (boys) or Ms. Hofmann (girls)
These students earned an all-you-can-eat lunch from Cookout

• 3rd – Bella Boytor, Olivia Neely, Skylar Offield
• 4th – Milan Krishnamoorthy, PJ Lefebvre
• 5th – Lingfei Tang, Irena Rand, Jahan Krishnamoorthy, Joseph Schneider
• 6th – June Calloway, Connor Winstead
• 7th – Avery Keats, Will Pavlicek, Wil Schneider

One thing I love about this challenge is the milestones it creates. Each year, I find myself sprinting down Neal Road amidst a pack of TDS students, wondering who will have the stamina to sustain the pace for 3.1 miles. In past years, I was surprised by the performances of PJ, Milan, Connor, and Wil S., who all beat me at very young ages. This year, I never saw the four of them once we turned into American Village. Each is a year closer to his athletic prime, and it showed!

Instead, I focused my attention on Joseph and Jahan. Running 10-15 yards behind them (and Will P.) for the majority of the race, I wondered if these fifth graders, with their short strides, would fade. I recalled passing them in the third mile in prior years. My eyes fixated on Joseph’s shirt: JUST DO IT. I had trained for this race, and I was trying. I even ran a minute faster than last year.

Here’s the thing – they didn’t fade. If anything, they gained strength and speed during that third mile. It’s worth noting that both of them joined the Cross Country team this year! They both passed this milestone, crossed this threshold. I imagine I’ll be buying them lunches until they graduate.

Ms. Hofmann shared a similar story about racing the girls. She trained diligently for this race, improving her time by five minutes over last year! Still, Avery, June, Irena, and Lingfei were far too fast. She did attract a sea of girls, and while some faded, Bella, Olivia, and Skylar matched her pace through three miles and then sprinted through the final segment to earn their lunch.

With the 2020 race twelve months away, Ms. Hofmann and I are back in training mode, determined to keep setting the bar high. Still, I find myself wondering which students will hit that milestone, or cross that threshold, next year.

Doug Norry
Head of School