Laker
harriers hit the dune to train
By MATT
WENZEL
Manistee News Advocate Sports Editor
Published:
Thursday, July 15, 2010 8:28
PORTAGE
POINT — Lewis Bartlett doesn’t like
doing it.
He’ll admit as much.
But, when it’s all over, he’s glad
he did.
Bartlett, a senior on the Bear Lake
cross country team, is one of the
Laker harriers that summits the
“Angel Slide” sand dune behind
Portage Point Inn during the summer
to get in shape for the fall season.
"It helps out a lot during the
season," he said. "You get good base
strength."
How long
has Bartlett been doing it?
“Too long,” he said after a
20-minute workout on the dune
Wednesday night. “I don’t like it.
“It’s more, I start doing it and
halfway through (I think), ‘why am I
doing this?’ Then at the end, I’m
glad I did it.”
Those Lakers who show up to climb
the steeply-graded dune power
through ankle-deep sand about 150
feet to the top, then head to the
bottom and touch the fence across
the street before doing it over
again.
“It’s an awesome workout,” said Bear
Lake cross country coach Eric Ross.
“There’s no impact, they don’t have
to be on the pavement and they
increase, basically their driving
leg power in a soft situation. It
strengthens their feet because every
step, you kind of dig with your
toes.
“Some kids love it, other kids hate
it.”
On Wednesday night, Bartlett was
joined by a trio of incoming
freshmen — Bryson Waller, Reilly
Merrill and John Girven. Despite
being underclassmen, they’re not
unfamiliar with the hill.
“I climbed this hill when I was 8
years old, just for fun,” Merrill
said. “Now it’s a workout.”
|
Bear Lake senior Lewis
Bartlett (left) and freshman Bryson Waller (center) train on the
“Angel Slide” sand dune on Wednesday night. (Matt Wenzel/News
Advocate)
It’s even a workout for former Lakers.
Brenna Miller, who graduated two years ago, was riding her bike by the
dune and decided to join the others in their workout, although somewhat
hesitantly.
“She wanted to do it,” Ross said with a laugh. “You could see it in her
eyes — ‘please ask me to run this hill.’”
Bear Lake, which co-ops with Onekama, has a few voluntary training
disciplines during the summer and the dune is just one of them.
“It’s really a great preseason workout
because there’s no impact,” Ross said. “They don’t get the jolting on
the knees. They get the muscular workout and its taxing on your
cardiovascular without having to do the miles.”
The Lakers also head to the lake to walk through the water.
“We do a water workout, which is the opposite,” Ross said. “We run or
walk in water waist high, so now it’s about the muscles lifting the leg,
(climbing the dunes) is about driving. Neither one do impact and it’s a
killer workout.”
While Bartlett and the other Lakers could probably think of more
enjoyable ways to spend a summer evening, getting in shape for the fall
pays off in the end.
“It’s definitely worth it,” Bartlett said.
After all, there’s a reason the Lakers have a highly-successful program
and are a fixture in the state finals nearly every year.
“That’s all that matters,” Ross said, “is the end.” |