![Huskies Find Joy in Running: Cross Country Day 2023]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1699509453/hisacjp/sdokpms9spkkp98zsfde/HISCrossCountryDay.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1699509453/hisacjp/sdokpms9spkkp98zsfde/HISCrossCountryDay.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1699509453/hisacjp/sdokpms9spkkp98zsfde/HISCrossCountryDay.png","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1699509453/hisacjp/sdokpms9spkkp98zsfde/HISCrossCountryDay.png","width":1080}])
- Huskies Athletics
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On a beautiful sunny day at the Makomanai Stadium Park, a school of Huskies lay under the shining sun in preparation for running the Cross-Country 2~3km run. With many smiling faces and exhausted bodies, our students did not give up, and everyone did their best to cross the finish line.
Huskies Find Joy in Running: Cross Country Day 2023
Words by Ellie McGuire; Photos by the '23-'24 HIS Publications Team
On September 15th, 2023, Hokkaido International School Huskies sent runners of all ages to Makomanai Stadium. This event, which was supported by the school's new official Husky T-shirt, was a 2~3km course in the park surrounding the stadium. For those running the 3k, the race finished over one final arching bridge, with a chance for a straightaway dash. Teamwork and encouragement from friends inspired many Huskies to run to their heart's content, with quite a few beating their all-time scores. Some even won a medal.
The first race consisted of our middle school students with the girl's race coming before the boy's. After completing the warm-up with P.E. teacher Mr. Rankin, the girls were roaring to go. A common sight at the end of the race? Huge smiles, with many personal bests to go with them. While the middle school girls rested in the shade, the boys took their places. With bated breath, they stood atop the starting line, wondering how they would do or even if they would make it all three kilometers without walking. At the sound of the wooden clacker—a tradition nearly as old as the Huskies—the boys took off, keen on beating their friends or winning a medal. In the end, there were six medalists, with a round of applause for our first-place winners Ava and Seiya. Seiya not only took home the gold, but he also ended up with the fastest race of the day with a time of eleven minutes.
A link to our Publications Instagram where we have posted an interview on our fastest runner of the day, Seiya:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxsDmZMxCa8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
The second race welcomed the high school students who reported that they were both nervous and excited, after seeing the middle school's spectacular performance. But both girls and boys did not disappoint as they shattered many personal bests while some even created new benchmarks for future cross-country days. A couple of remarkable performances were by Noah Shibata, Joohye Hwang, Tayshi Ogawa, and Nina Tadano who all won first place with times close to the fifteen to sixteen-minute mark. On the other hand, non-competitive high school students cheered on their competing friends, some all the way from start to finish. After a relaxing break, the entire high school stood at the starting line decorated with hilarious costumes and accessories as they stood prepared to run the 2km Fun Run. With laughs and giggles, many of the students made their way down the path with confidence and humor in their steps.
The third and last series of races featured our elementary, starting with the kindergarten and first-grade Milepost (MP) 1 students who were running a single 1k-lap around the stadium. With many squeals of joy, they stood at the starting line and took off at great speeds. With legs kicking, many flew to the finish line where their parents were waiting to embrace them in a good-job hug. MP1 was followed by the longer 2km MP2 and MP3 races, which showed great physical development, and at least one long-sought-after goal by Kowa Schlosser, who added to his three silvers with the highly coveted gold. The three elementary competitions were capped off with the medal ceremonies and one final picture.
Once more, the cross-country day was a huge success, with many thanks owed to Mr. Rankin and his supportive crew. Joy filled the faces of many as they congratulated each other on a day well run. Here's to many more successful Cross-Country days filled with more smiles and personal bests!
Our 2023-2024 Sponsors
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Stay tuned for more information about our sponsors coming soon!
For more snippets from the 2023 Huskies Cross-Country Day, check out our official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/his.huskies/
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