From Summer Training, to Fall XC

With two weeks of Summer Training remaining, it’s time to glance ahead to fall cross-country! Similar to years past, Whisper Running opens the season with the Ultimook Race, Three Course Challenge, HOKA, and Rust Buster, but then heads east to Richland for the 56th Annual Max Jensen Invite on Saturday, October 11.  Traveling east will allow the runners of Whisper the opportunity to race runners from the Inland Northwest Association, which is in Region 13.  Region 13, aka the PNW Region, includes Oregon, Idaho, and Washington teams, which are the same teams Whisper will face on November 23, in the Regional USATF Junior Olympic Meet, the penultimate meet leading to Nationals in Shelbyville, Indiana, on Saturday, December 13.

Region 13 includes a gauntlet of teams vying for national spots, and there is plenty of talent in Clark County that when teamed together, can make a run through the USATF JO series.  While our Summer Training attendees are listed on the 2025 Whisper Running Team Roster spreadsheet, there is still plenty of room in each of the age brackets for those who have not attended so far.  Though not all who are listed on the roster sheet will participate (many are committed to soccer or their school running program), we are hoping most will decide to run club XC with Whisper!  And yes, athletes may run club XC with Whisper while also participating in their school or other club program(s).  

Just like summer, fall practices are flexible - attend when you can! Some runners will attend 2-4 days per week, others, like those involved with other sports, may only be able to attend 1-2 days per week. Those participating in other club sports or with their school program, may join us at the conclusion of their sport, which is usually mid-October. Ultimately, we are gearing up for Junior Olympics, which begin November 15, in Seattle, Washington, with the ultimate goal of attending club XC AAU and/or USATF Nationals in December!

If your child is listed on the spreadsheet, but does not intend to participate, please email Coach Dave he can remove your child from the roster.  If your child interested in joining us this season, visit the Join the Team page for details!

Saturday, June 20, 2026!

Early Bird registration closes January 31!

Click to watch the 2025 L2B recap video!

Whisper Team Corner

Visit the NEW Sports Physical Page!

With fall cross-country on the horizon - four weeks until our first meet of the season - it’s easy for eligibility responsibilities to sneak up on parents.  While attaining a sport physical is not a participation requirement at Whisper, it is highly encouraged!  The new Sports Physical page on the Whisper website includes a sports physical form that may be used during an exam.  Specific to runners, furthering a sports physical and attaining a child’s Ferritin levels (Iron test), can be a tell-tale sign of the comprehensive health of your little runner.

Ferritin is an iron-storage protein that circulates freely in the bloodstream.  A simple blood test (i.e., Ferritin test) can help determine whether your child’s levels reside at or below healthy/normal levels.  So far, Whisper runners are hitting 50-50, meaning half of the runners who plan to run fall cross-country have below normal Ferritin levels.  Lower than normal Ferritin levels might be fine for an athlete outside of running (i.e., volleyball, softball, etc.), but for a runner, Iron acts as the lungs of the bloodstream, and is an integral part of the cardiorespiratory system.

Revised Fall Training Agenda (Again)!

After hearing from a handful of parents, the grand idea of devising training groups takes a turn!  Starting September 1, fall training will look similar to last year, where runners were able to choose the practices they could most conveniently attend.  However, a new Build’em Up program is still planned for Tuesday and Thursday evenings, 4:15-5:15pm. See the shared Google Sheet titled 2025 Whisper Running Team Roster and click on the Training Groups tab to see which training group your child is in.

Rosters & Fall Practices

Click here to view the 2025 Whisper Running Team Roster, noting the four tabs along the bottom, which include:

1. Age Brackets - while the team competes as a whole (all ages race together) for most of the season, a handful of meets compete in age divisions, including the Halloween Dash Bash, WSRR Rust Buster, and Junior Olympics. PLEASE check that your child is listed on the roster and in the appropriate age bracket. If they are not listed and would like to compete, please let Coach Dave know. If they are listed on the roster but opt to not compete with Whisper, please let Coach Dave know.

2. Training Groups - Build’em Up roster and Premier roster. In an effort to keep everyone safe and together throughout the fall, creating these two training groups is essential. If a runner from the Build’em Up training group matures to the point where they can advance to the Premier training group, Coach Dave will communicate this with the parent and a collaborative decision will be made.

3. XC Girls Meet Registration - please fill in the meets your child (family) are committed to participating in.

4. XC Boys Meet Registration - please fill in the meets your child (family) are committed to participating in.

What to do about XC JO Nationals?!

In past years, Whisper has adhered to the USATF series of meets. However, in 2024, the team participated in USATF Associations and Regionals, and foreseeing the difficulty of qualifying the majority of the team for USATF Nationals, opted to race AAU Nationals, regardless of the USATF Regionals outcome.

So here we are again, trying to forecast the development of our current team, while simultaneously predicting the talent of the other ~15-20 team rosters throughout the PNW Region, to make a best-fit determination on attending AAU XC JO Nationals on Saturday, December 6, or attending USATF XC JO Nationals on Saturday, December 13, or both.

To continue reading, visit the Blog.

Whisper Tid-Bits!

Updated Waiver

All runners involved with Whisper will need an updated Waiver prior to the start of cross-country (even if you completed the waiver for Summer Training).

Best July Videos!

See more video's at whisperrunning.com/videos