2006 Season Preview

The Colby men’s cross country team heads into the 2006 season led by senior co-captains Jeff Alden and Dan Vassallo.

The Mules, who will have a new head coach (to be determined at this time), got a solid season last year from John Swain. He was the top Colby finisher at the NESCAC meet, taking 20th place at Wesleyan University. Alden took 37th place and Vassallo was 52nd.

Swain also led the way at the State of Maine meet at Colby and the Open New England Meet at Boston’s Franklin Park. He was sixth at the State of Maine meet and was 67th at the Open New England event.

Vassallo placed ninth at the state meet, Alden was 15th, Michael Collins took 17th and Jim Hurder placed 21st. Alden was the top finisher at the Division III New England meet by finishing 46th.

Program Overview

Blessed with a 714-acre campus that overlooks the Kennebec River Valley in central Maine, the Colby harriers are forever grateful to Judge and Mrs. Levin Campbell and their daughter Eleanor S. Campbell '81 of Cambridge, Mass., for their gift of The Campbell Trails, a race course trail system that winds through this spectacular pastoral setting.

Colby's harriers spend virtually every day running on trails, both for the benefits of a softer training surface and to better simulate the rigors of cross-country racing. In the early part of our season the team develops a strong base with long aerobic runs, hill work, and lactate threshold runs. As the team moves into the competitive part of the season, we add intensity with VO2 max intervals that develop our anaerobic energy systems. We prepare for the championship season with the introduction of shorter, faster intervals and a taper in overall mileage.

Daily runs are complemented with pool work consisting of aqua jogging, lap swimming, and water polo. Pool activity provides our runners valuable active recovery time for injury prevention. The team also works hard to develop core body strength that lends the stability needed for cross-country racing. Core strength is developed using medicine balls, thera-balls, and calisthenics.

Colby's cross-country program includes training trips throughout Maine. Popular destinations include Acadia National Park, the Belgrade Lakes region, and Sugarloaf Mountain. We thoroughly believe that variety in our training regimen has been instrumental to our success.

About Campbell Trails