Aubrae Gunderson Invitational Driving Directions & Schedule

Who is Aubrae Gunderson?

For those planning to go to the Aubrae Gunderson Invitational at the Horse Park in Conyers, here are the driving directions and the schedule.

Directions: I-20 to Exit 82 (Highway 138), go North 4 miles, right onto Centennial Olympic Parkway, go 2 miles, the course is on the right at 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA 30013. For a map with detailed directions, CLICK HERE.

The 5K course is all-natural terrain with grass, dirt, and trails with rolling hills. We will use the F course. This is the same course we used in 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: There will be a $5.00 parking fee for spectators.

Race Schedule:
8:00 AM Collegiate Men
8:20 AM Collegiate Women
8:40 AM HS Red Boys Varsity (10 runners) - AAAAA/AAAAAA
9:00 AM HS Red Girls Varsity (10 runners) - AAAAA/AAAAAA
9:20 AM HS White Boys Varsity (10 runners) the most competitive races
9:40 AM HS White Girls Varsity (10 runners) the most competitive races
10:00 AM HS Blue Boys Varsity (10 runners) - A/AA/AAA/AAAA
10:20 AM HS Blue Girls Varsity (10 runners) - A/AA/AAA/AAAA
10:40 AM HS Boys JV (Unlimited)*
11:00 AM HS Girls JV (Unlimited)*
11:40 AM Middle School Boys* (Unlimited entries - 2 miles)
12:00 NOON Middle School Girls* (Unlimited entries - 2 miles)

* Meet management reserves the right to add additional sections of the JV races to the schedule based on the number of entries received. This may delay the start of subsequent races. Awards will also go to the top 20 individuals in the championship, varsity, and JV races. Plaques will be awarded for a new course record.

Mid-Season Update

This has been a busy week.  Wednesday's meet was a prelude to the Marist Invitational, but still showed we are getting stronger and more confident on the Grant Park course.  We will begin to push the pace more the next couple of weeks.  Thursday's service project at the PK Corporate Challenge was a huge success.  We had 32 team members helping and you once again showed why Grady High School is so well respected in the community.  We filled 15,000 cups, handed out most of them, cheered for the runners, and then cleaned up two city blocks in less than 15 minutes.  Saturday at Marist was our first big meet. There were 23 boys teams and 19 girls teams.  We were back in the pack on the team scoring, but our times continue to improve and we did well against our region competition.  North Atlanta will be strong contenders for the APS title this year, so we need to do some focused training to get ready for that meet, October 17th.

This week will be fairly normal.  Look for long intervals on Monday, a long run on Tuesday, meet on Wednesday, shorter speed workout on Thursday, easy runs and hill sprints on Friday, long run on Saturday.

We have about 20 boys right now who are running within two minutes of each other for 5K.  This is a good situation in that we like pack running.  This a less than desirable situation in that everyone must improve by at least 2 minutes to be competitive at State.  Only 12 will be named to the state team, only 7 will run.  This week I am looking to see who shows a genuine desire to be on that team.  You can't sit back and goof off any more.  Time to begin to push each other in practice.

Girls are in a similar situation.  Keep chatting with each other, keep your groups together, but turn your chatting to inspiring each other to run harder in practice.  North Atlanta would love to beat you at City.  Let's keep the Grady streak alive!

Next invitational will be at the Conyers Horse Park, September 29th.

Busy Week Ahead

This will be a busy week for the Grady Cross Country team. The second city meet of the season will be on Wednesday at Grant Park. Come on out and cheer on the team!

Then Thursday after school is the Corporate Challenge Service/Fundraising Project at Georgia State. Team members run down to Georgia State University and fill cups and pass out water to Challenge runners. Once the race is over they will take down tables and sweep the streets.  The race begins at 7:00pm and clean up should be finished by 7:55pm. The XC team receives $10.00 for each participating team member! This is the team’s only fundraiser so ALL runners are encouraged to participate. Participating runners also receive five hours of community service. Runners must have a signed Waiver form to participate.

On Saturday, the team will run in the first invitational of the season: the Coach Benson Double Dip at Marist on Saturday, September 15th.  Two groups of runners will participate: a Varsity and JV team. The bus will leave the Grady 10th Street lot at 6:30am, so runners should be prepared for the early morning. Team members that are not on the roster often ride along to cheer on their teammates and get a feel for the invitational experience.

You may also have noticed that there are no VolunteerSpot sign-ups for Saturday invitationals, Regional and State meets; this is because traditionally we have asked that ALL participants bring a snack of their choosing to the meets. After competition, the runners enjoy treats like bagels, muffins, cookies, fruit, etc.

First Meet Parent Info.

This afternoon is the first meet of the Cross Country season! Most of you received Mr. Cramer's email regarding today's meet and uniforms. Just a reminder that the team rides together on the bus over to the meet this afternoon. For those parents who are new to Grady XC, the meets are held at Grant Park in the field behind the baseball fields. Parking can be a bit tight in the lot at the end of the park, but there is usually ample parking on the street (behind the school buses.) It is the perfect spot since you can see the runners race by on both sides of the course.

In the past, the Girls' race begins between 5:00pm and 5:15pm with the Boys' race starting about 10-15 minutes later. Please remember that if you come to watch the meet on Wednesday that Mr. Cramer has asked that we allow the team to warm-up together and get their "game on" for the meet without interruption.

Thanks to everyone who signed into Volunteer Spot and signed up to bring snacks and drinks for the upcoming meets. I am pleased to announce that snacks and water are taken care of for ALL city meets!

First Meet & Corporate Challenge

Today's run was excellent.  We tacked on an additional half mile to the regular run.  Everyone did very well.  Have a relaxing (with a run or two thrown in) Labor Day weekend.  Practice Tuesday.  I will have the list of runners for the first meet.  Uniforms will be issued Wednesday afternoon after school.  Get there as soon as possible. Those with fewer than 15 practices may ride the bus, do the warm ups and cheer for the team.  T-shirt may be ready, but no guarantees.

September 13th is the Corporate Challenge water stop service project. We would like as many as possible to participate.  Leave the school at 4:15.  Run to Georgia State University.  Fill cups, pass out water to runners, take down tables and sweep the streets.  Race begins at 7:00, we should be finished with clean up by 7:55 if we can match the record set by last year's team.  Five hours of community service, $10 per person donated to our team for yearly expenses.  This is a Thursday. They lost contact with us and were very excited to learn that we were still interested in helping.  THEY LOVE GRADY because you do such a wonderful job.

June, July, August were base training.  September, the racing season has begun.  Workouts will begin to change a bit, week by week.  Every practice is important for a different reason.  The first couple of Wednesday meets will be relaxed (not slow, just relaxed).  The first invitational of the season will be the Coach Benson Double Dip at Marist on Saturday, September 15.  We will run varsity and JV teams at Marist.  Everyone will run together at Grant Park on Wednesdays.  Focus!!  Be there daily!!!  Complete all workouts, run past the finish, go a little extra distance, encourage your teammates.