Battle of the Potomac 2009

The effort of Davis and Lowery helped lead the charge for TEAM VA’s GIRLS as they handily defeated TEAM MD 65 to 145.   Kaitlyn Davis also managed to add some intrigue to the Boys Seeded race.   She had a hand in convincing the Boys of Mountain View High School to come race the Smokey Glen Farm double loop course to stay fresh for their attempt to earn a berth in the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) Finals in early December at next Saturday’s NXN SOUTHEAST REGIONAL.  Their goals were to use the race as a training run, and they hoped to assist Team VA in the Battle for the Potomac XC Cup. 

  The lines are drawn and the Cross Country Battlefield is set.  Girls and Boys from Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia and the District of Columbia will face off and determine whose “home” can claim the title of Best in Cross Country along the Potomac River.   “Our event (XC BORDER WAR) is now established on the post-season high school cross country calendar.  It was only right to formally add the other state and homeland bordering the Potomac River to the Battle of the Potomac”, commented Dave Watt, Event Director.  

There are quite a few post-season racing opportunities this weekend for Virginia high school cross country runners to extend their season or prep for the Foot Locker or Nike Cross regionals over Thanksgiving weekend. Two of the faster 5K courses in the state wil be having meets hosted on their venues with the Run for Sight 5K at Norfolk Academy's flat and swift 5K layout on their school grounds while the AAU State Meet is being held for the first time on the Pocahontas State Park 5K in Chesterfield, which saw many of the state's fastest 5K performances of the season earlier from the MileStat.com Invitational. It is not uncommon for runners fresh off a cross country season to step on the track and pop a huge track PR, which runners will get an opportunity to run a new PB in the 3200 meter run if they chose to compete at Charger 3200 Open in Fairfax County. If you are proud to be a Virginian then you should consider jumping in the Battle of the Potomac, which is a border war race with runners from the state of Maryland held at Smokey Glen Farm in Gaithersburg, MD. Runners will be given Team VA singlets and a barbeque chicken dinner to follow the race. All four meets are accepting pre-race and race day registration, but would encourage register prior to the meet. MileStat.com will attempt to get photo coverage at all four events, so any parent photographers willing to take pictures please let us know.

Last fall, winds and rain blew through the rolling hills of Smokey Glen Farm and spectators scattered.  Team Virginia seemed to handle the elements a bit better than their Maryland counterparts.  One race in particular stood out:  the OPEN Girls competitors.  No runner left the Battlefield that day.   Such is now the lore of the Battle of the Potomac.  “We had 40 mile per hour wind gusts and driving rain.  I was amazed that all the girls stood their post waiting for the gun”, said Dave Watt, Executive Director of the American Running Association and co-founder of the XC Border War.  XC BORDER WAR 4 will continue the new traditions that have grown from this unique team event pitting states separated by the Potomac River in cross country battles or races.  This year’s event takes place one week after the public school state championships in Virginia and Maryland:  November 21, 2009.