We arrived on Saturday morning to Sunset High School in Portland at the track to watch the conclusion of Miles That Matters which is a fundraiser for Shriner's Hospital for Children. The athletes, alumni, parents and Sunset community are on the track for 24 hours raising money for Shriners. Last year the team raised $15,000 for Shriner's Hospital for Children. After the final lap of the fundraiser, the team sat down for a well deserved pancake breakfast!
Sunset High School competes in the 6A division in Oregon and is coached by Dan Neeway. The Apollos of Sunset qualify for the Oregon State Meet annually with the girls making several NXN teams in the last ten years. Coach Neeway shared information about the Sunset program.
During the summer season, how often does the team practice?
There are athletes meeting just about every single day. We advertise meetings 3 days per week: Monday evenings and mornings on Wednesday and Friday.
What are some special summer activities?
On Wednesdays, we have "waffle Wednesdays". After the morning run, athletes congregate at one of the coaches' houses for a waffle feast. We also have a "varsity team camp" where we invite about 40 team members who have shown the potential to make varsity-level contributions, either now or in the future, with their efforts, commitments, or leadership. This year, we set aside a few days and traveled around a bit: overnight in Eugene; a day in Salem - complete with a stop at In n' Out; a day at the beach on Sauvie Island; and a night of fun and games in the school auditorium. This year's camp was much different than in previous years but it did include the annual running of the Yamhill 500 Relay, one of the the most exciting spectacles in all of sport.
How do you build team culture?
We aim to make every team member feel welcomed, valued, and empowered. All are held to the same high level of expectations. We give explicit attention to the whole athlete. Our motto of "Get Better" includes not just improvements as a runner but in all areas of self, including gratitude, charity, compassion, bravery, self-love, and more. It sounds hokey but we sincerely believe in the greatness and importance of every single member of our team.
What are some events that the team is looking forward to in the fall season?
We are super excited to host our annual Miles that Matter fundraiser. Over the 10 prior seasons, we've raised nearly $135,000 for Shriners Hospital for Children Portland. We look forward to adding to that total again this year (donations can be made to support our cause: https://www.sunsettrack.com/mtm-donation-instructions). As for racing, we have some fun opportunities ahead of us. The Tacoma Coed Relays is one of the coolest events that you'll ever see. We do have to get on a bus at 4:30 am to arrive on time but it's worth it! We'll also travel by Amtrak to a new race for us in Tacoma: the John Payne Invitational. But we are just as excited as a team to race in Wilsonville at the Night Meet in two weeks, on our home course (for the first time in a couple of year) in late October, at Nike Portland (one of the best meets in the whole world), Rose City, and all the rest.
To view the photos of the conclusion of Miles that Matter, click HERE
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