Harwood Cross Country hosted their last Fun Run of the summer on Tuesday and dozens of athletes turned out for the Kids Fun Run and the 3K and 5K races. 

At the 2023 World Youth Championships in Gran Sasso Italy, there were 14 American runners and 31 teams overall. The American team had an impressive 6th-place finish.

John Kerrigan of Duxbury is a coach and co-founder of the U.S. Youth Skyrunning program and traveled to Gran Sasso, Abruzzo, Italy, for the Youth Skyrunning World Championships held Aug. 4-6. This is one of two reports he filed from the competition.  

Harwood Union High School junior Heidi Haraldsen of Waterbury is with 13 other runners from across the United States to compete in the 2023 Youth Skyrunning World Championships in Italy. 

Flooding and thunderstorms canceled the first two summer Fun Runs hosted by Harwood Cross Country. But skies were clear and trails were drier for the third scheduled run on July 25 when coaches welcomed seven runners.

Harwood Summer Fun Runs for runners of all ages and abilities will begin on Tuesday, July 11. They will take place every Tuesday until the end of August. Kids are free. Proceeds support Harwood XC.

Last Saturday, a young Harwood Cross Country team competed at the annual Burlington Invitational meet held this year at Hard’ack field in St. Albans in mid-summer conditions. 

Harwood XC alumnus Mike Griffith of Waterbury repeated his victory from last week in a time of 22:29, a 10-second improvement.  

It is said that a good laugh and a long run are the best two cures for anything. There was a lot of laughing, chatting, reminiscing taking place at the second Harwood XC Fun Run of the season this past Monday.  

Come run/walk on Ellie Purrier’s (Olympic Trials 1500 meter winner) favorite high school cross-country course as Harwood’s Summer Fun Runs/Walks begin Monday, July 18. 

The Harwood Boys and Girls Cross-Country teams travel to Thetford on Saturday to race in the Vermont state title meet on trails designed by Olympian and master trail builder John Morton.

Harwood Cross-Country went into the final week of the season with strong momentum that carried both boys and girls teams to double victories ahead of the state championship. 

The 33rd annual Harwood Co-Ed XC Invitational had a COVID-19 twist: The start/finish line was adjusted to allow for safe-distancing; disposable chips were utilized for timing to reduce contact between meet officials and runners; and in keeping with state guidelines for sports competitions from the Agency of Education, the number of runners on site at Harwood were capped at 150.