Chiefs Heiress Gracie Hunt's Heiress Sister, Ava Hunt, Is Ready For A Breakout Season, Ball Boy Booted & MEAT!
PLUS: Wait until you see this goal from a member of the TCU women's soccer team.
You guys have been great with the cross country advice for Screencaps Jr. who is making his big debut this afternoon
I knew we had runners in this group. I just didn't know we have THIS many runners.
There are former D1 college runners providing advice. There are dozens and dozens of high school runners. Former coaches. There are nutrition experts.
There are experts on experts. It's wild.
Today at 2:35 EST, we find out if this cross country thing is Screencaps Jr.'s future.
— Dan from the 2024 Screencaps Ragnar Relay team says:
Since I coached HS and JH XC for 10 years, here is the advice I would give. I am sure if there is an exercise scientist or dietician they might say something different. Being as it is only a 2-mile race I wouldn't change much from your son's morning breakfast routine, but what he does the last three before the race would be more critical.
I would advise eating something light/easy to digest around 11/11:30.
(Simple PB&J sandwich and an apple maybe) Early in the fall season I am sure he is getting the advice to drink enough water so that his urine is clear. I am sure being new to this he will find things that sit better with him than others as every athlete is an experiment of one.
— Brandon in NW Houston sounds like he was in my shoes years ago:
Heard Mrs Brandon in NW Houston telling Brandon in NW Houston Jr (who is a high school cross country runner and just turned in a solid 5k PR of 16:36.50) that he should be eating a meal 4-5 hrs before a race and a snack like 2 hrs before. Now to be fair I was only half-listening so take that with a grain of salt....
Good luck tomorrow or Screencaps JR. I never thought I'd enjoy watching someone run through a field as much as I do as when its my son doing it.
— Gen X Warren echoes the previous advice:
I’m not an expert, so please take this with a grain of salt. But regarding your son’s first cross country meet, one of the biggest rules before and the morning of race day is don’t do anything new. That is, don’t eat anything you haven’t already tried and tested before. Many other runners and triathletes like myself have made that mistake, and our stomach’s turned sour at the wrong time.
The only thing I would suggest is, if he has had toast with peanut butter, that would be a great idea. I would also see if he could talk to his coach about suggestions.
— John from SD suggests:
2:35 race time makes things interesting, especially with Ohio temperatures and humidity. Stick with the breakfast, maybe a touch more than eggs and toast and a light lunch, sandwich around noon. Focus on staying hydrated until noon and up to race time: water and Gatorade (not too much, but stay hydrated).
Post race and always for practice recovery: bananas, chocolate milk, granola bars, fresh fruit (watermelon, strawberries, grapes), and obviously liquids.
— Jonathan has extra advice that's smart:
I would also bring an extra pair of socks and comfortable shoes as he will most likely be running through a park and if you guys have had any significant rain recently he will probably have wet socks at the end of the race and it's not run wearing wet socks with your CC spikes.
Tell him good luck and run fast from us at screencaps.
— Rob in NC emails :
In the 80’s, I ran track and XC in college at a power 5 conference school. I had a solid college running career. I was also a 4 time state champion in high school in both track and XC.
My son ended up being a state champion in XC at his high school. He was the Gatoraid runner of the year. I still remember his first ever HS XC race and how nervous he was about everything; enough sleep, hydration, the right meal at the right time, etc..
My advice to him back before that first XC race was simple: relax, have fun, and don’t stress. Each race as the season goes on will be a learning experience on what to do and what not to do. You’re only a freshman. They have multiple races for multiple talent and grade levels for a reason. You are not teeing off from the tips as a freshman.
Just have your son get a good night sleep, be hydrated in the morning, and eat a solid meal about 2-3 hours prior to his race. He can tweak it each race after that. Tell him good luck and have fun.
It is rewarding as a parent going to a big HS XC invitational and seeing all those kids out running and improving their overall fitness. So you enjoy it as well.
— Ryan from Naptown checks in:
I thought I picked up in an earlier screencaps that he was running CC. My 8th grader runs for one of your NLL rivals and my wife is the Junior high coach so may see you at a meet and be able to introduce myself in person.
As far as what to eat the day of, keep it light nothing heavy and he will be fine. Hydrate the day before since it may be warm tomorrow. Stay away from pop.
How about them Redlegs? Still in contention what more could we ask for. I bought fanduel at the start of the season hoping they could get me through the dog days of summer. Have more than accomplished that. Would like to see that starting pitching in a short series in the playoffs.
My dad took me to the Lou Pinella basethrowing game in 1990 it was as awesome as you could imagine. Everyone was chanting for him to throw it. Not sure why everyone thought that was a possibility.
In reading Sean Joes, True Romance article I got the sense his following was a little anti marriage. I got the opposite vibe from your readers.
Kinsey:
- This proves just how big the Screencaps community is. We have NW Ohio rival cross country teams checking in, but providing advice. I've been at baseball fields when guys have come up to me to say they're readers. I've been in a Thai restaurant standing in line for takeout when a guy told me he's a follower. Now it sounds like I'm going to get a tap on the shoulder at a cross country showdown.
- The best I can do from the 1990 Reds season was Opening Day and Game 1 of the World Series. I'm sure there were other games I was at that summer, but it definitely wasn't Lou Pinella night. I'm jealous.
- I'm not sure what that anti-marriage stuff was from SeanJo. He's a married guy with multiple kids. I do know he had to go to ‘Meet the Teachers’ night the other day. He might've been a little on edge over that and it came out in his writing.
— Dean in Fond du Lac, WI has a great suggestion:
One final thing – if Ohio allows cowbells on the course, get a cowbell! Ringing that helps spur on the runners when they think that they don’t have anything left in the tank along with loudly cheering them on! My oldest son became a really good runner once he figured out how to run as he had the raw talent.
CC running prepared him for US Army Basic Training as he was the second fastest runner in his platoon on cross country hikes, second only to a soldier from Kenya, who probably grew up running up and down mountains for pleasure back home.
My younger son followed in his brother’s footsteps 2 years later in CC as well. Both were letter winners in the sport. My wife and I had 6 great years of cheering on our sons in CC. You will quickly figure things out and enjoy the races.
Kinsey:
I will find out today if cowbells are legal. If so, I'm getting one, maybe two!
— Randy from right around where Dan's from (same last name; do you two know each other?) writes:
Joe, big fan. Daughters ran XC for Minster down the road from you in MAC land. You can look it up - but Minster girls XC has had some success over the years. Total novice as yourself when my oldest started out in 7th grade.
Many years later, I've become a big fan and pretty versed. I had some nervous runners, so we typically went with some scrambled eggs. Not running until the afternoon though, he'll definitely need to eat again. Maybe normal PB&J around lunch.
But, the main thing is hydration. Hydration during the week, if you start drinking water/liquid ivs on a Friday night/Sat AM for a Saturday race - you are too late. Focus on hydration the whole week.
Also, I was told this early on and it's true: Don't go in flip flops and bring a lawn chair.
Get stretched, and be on the move. You can move around and see him run numerous times. Study the race map. Mentally, its a grueling sport - go run as fast as you can for miles is a very tough task. I have a great respect for all the kids out there doing it.....
Kinsey:
Wait, I have to get stretched out?
PROMOTION
(NSFW language) because Jamie Lee Curtis has been pissing me off lately, and I wanted to test out what Ricky Cobb would let me say on his show
BTW, the new Busch Light hat came from the tractor pulls. I've been trying to figure out what CFH and UD Motorsports are.
Do you know how hard it is to find the baby blue Busch Light hats? I think this one was $20.
What do the guys who don't farm do in Crosby, North Dakota?
— Nate in Crosby writes:
Hey Joe, while the farmers are busy up here harvesting crops, I've been occupied getting started with school and football. The past two nights we have been busy getting the football field ready for the season opener tonight. It's a lot of work, and luckily, we have a good crew that is willing to help out.
Wednesday night it was 100 degrees and last night we battled mosquitos that were the size of turkeys. The one photo is of the string we use to make sure the lines are painted straight. We've used this specific string for at least the past 15 years. Take care!
Kinsey:
- Just based on what I can see of the stands, I'm very impressed by the Crosby football operation. Have you guys ever Google Earth'd that town? It's tiny and in the middle of nowhere. Seriously, NOWHERE. But the football operation appears to be top-notch because of parents like Nate who keep things chugging along.
- I can report that Divide County (Crosby) won, 43-20, last night on that field.
Need you guys to have your heads on a swivel this week for the Respect Summer project
Remember: If you see one of these places with Christmas crap out, we call them out. I'll also accept Halloween and this fall stuff.
Is your wife pestering you to get the fall decorations box down from the attic? I want to hear about it. Did she already get the fall candles out? I want to hear about it.
Is this true about Hertz?
— Jaime C. in Houston, TX checks in:
Saw your bit in Outkick about buying cars from Hertz. Many rental car outfits sell their cars and you can get some pretty good deals. But do you remember when you could rent one of these from Hertz?
1966 Shelby GT350H. The "H" stood for Hertz. All you needed was a valid driver's license and the ability to drive a stick, though there were a bunch of automatics in the mix.
There were stories about guys renting one ($17 per day and 17 cents per mile) on a Friday, then going racing with it on the weekend before returning it Sunday night. It would be really cool if you could still do that....
Kinsey:
I had no idea the car rental industry was so old. According to Wiki, Hertz started in 1918 with a dozen Model T Fords. What a visionary Walter Jacobs, the founder, was.
How you knew someone was rich growing up?
— Dave from SW Ohio (love when the SW OH crew checks in) writes:
Love your articles. As a fellow southwest Ohioan (Dayton), I appreciate the mow club musings.
For the rich list, you asked us Generation X-ers about what felt rich growing up. Some people talked about grandiose things, such as inground pools or cars. I'll go with something a bit smaller:
Star Wars toys had a (perceived) wealth hierarchy. For some of us kids with a more pedestrian upbringing, we were pretty happy with the Star Wars action figures from the sale bin. Think B-list characters like Bib Fortuna and those midgets who worked the carbonite machine. A rung up on the wealth pecking order were those kids who had the cool action figures we all wanted, such as Han, Luke, or snowtroopers.
Then, enter the kids who had the pretty cool toys like the TIE fighters with the wings that could pop off. However, the real BMOC of Star Wars toy wealth was the kid who showed up with that big-ass Millennium Falcon. You know, the one that could hide action figures in the secret smuggling compartments.
The one where you could sit the action figures down to play that holographic chess game. The one that had rotating quad laser cannons. Viewed through the eyes of an eleven-year-old, the kid who had the big Millennium Falcon was rich af.
Bob sent in this photo at 7:53 a.m. EST from a flight as I was working on this column
— Bob got the message that I want readers checking in, telling me what's up with their lives. He also KNEW I'd be pounding the keys on a Saturday morning for the readers:
Joe- Love screencaps! Thought you might enjoy this photo of a sunset I took from my seat on a recent approach to Dulles Airport. Keep up the good work.
Kinsey:
The haters will say that's just a worthless photo of a sunrise on a Saturday morning. I would argue that's a loyal reader who is thinking about this column on a Saturday morning with a full day ahead of him. That's a reader who wants to feel the energy this column brings on a Saturday morning while the coastal elite writers are sleeping in until Noon because they're hungover or just worthless.
Meanwhile, the readers of this column are up and preparing for cross country meets, soccer matches, JV football games, a full day of BBQing, a full day of partying their asses off on the patio, etc.
Give me more Bobs.
Now go out there and have one helluva weekend. Breakfast is ready to go and it's time to get the weekend started.
Take care.
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