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Distance runners will compete under the lights of UNM’s North Golf Course tonight at the 2012 UNM Lobo Cross Country Classic.
UNM’s first meet of the season will feature high school athletes and a community fun run in addition to collegiate races. The classic begins at 5 p.m., with the college women’s open slated for 7:30 p.m. The college men’s open race will follow at 8 p.m.
The women will run 5,000 meters, while the men will run 8,000 meters. All high school races and the community fun run are 5,000 meters.
Eighteen lighting towers, typically used in highway construction, will illuminate six holes at the course. It will provide a new and unique environment for the runners, which is what head coach Joe Franklin intends.
“What we’re doing is something that, as far as I’m aware, hasn’t been done in New Mexico or southwestern United States,” Franklin said at a Tuesday press conference.
The Lobo men enter Friday’s meet ranked 24th in the nation and second in the region. The Lobo women are receiving votes nationally and are slated fifth regionally.
The Lobo Classic won’t feature many collegiate teams — primarily regional schools such as New Mexico State and Texas-El Paso. While not officially a preseason meet, the early-season event will give UNM runners a chance to build confidence, race as a team and attempt different tactics.
“It’s a team booster; it’s a confidence booster, if anything,” said sophomore Pierre Malherbe, who was the one of the top freshman runners in 2011. “It’s going into the bigger races knowing we can run some of the times we’ve run at altitude. When you go to the bigger races, these smaller races always help you boost your confidence a bit.”
The humidity on the course should have some effect on the night meet, Franklin said. The North Golf Course tends to be humid in the morning from the previous night’s irrigation. With races at night, the course should be much drier.
Senior Josephine Moultrie said the night race could work to her advantage.
“I think it’ll probably make me feel better,” she said. “I’ll be able to get up in the morning, then relax during the day. I generally like racing in the evening. A lot of track events I run are in the evening, and I just prefer that. I’m used to it.”
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Franklin said he’s had a good reception from the north campus community, the surrounding neighborhood, the city and the golf course. He hopes their only home meet of the year will be a “home run.”
“The kids, the local high schools athletes and college athletes are super excited about running at night,” Franklin said. “All their friends compete on Friday night, so why shouldn’t they? We’re going to fire it up.”
