MIDDLEBURY — This past winter featured heavy and recurring snow, but for many runners on the Middlebury Union Middle School track team that was no reason to take a break from training.
For the third straight winter a group of diehard harriers have run throughout Vermont’s coldest season, taking many runs across snowy fields on snowmobile trails. Their coaches, Karen and Rick Morris, ran with a group of up to 17 runners every Monday and Friday since the last week in October. They even met during school vacations to get in runs.
The only time they didn’t run was when the temperature plus wind chill was under 8 degrees — and that was because of school district rules.
“Every time we had to cancel the kids were upset and wanted us to meet them off property,” Karen Morris said. “Parents told me that for the holidays their kids were asking for warm winter running clothes and gear.”
Most runs were 5-6 miles long, and last Friday they ran an 8-miler. Most times were on snowy snowmobile trails, but when that wasn’t practical they ran through town and out to Weybridge.
Most of the seventh- and eighth-graders logged more than 100 miles per week over the winter, with Will Carpenter recording 157 miles, just ahead of Kate Wallace’s 156 miles.
Other runners were Michael Huber, Ethan Reiderer (an Aurora School student), Nico Gori-Montanelli, Silas Conlon, Julian Roy, Ken Barkdoll, Gabe Cason, David Livingstone-Peters, Peter Wolosinski, Maisie Newbury, Ailey Bosworth, Mary Ann Eastman, Emma Huntington, Mira Magliente, and Taylor Moulton.