“Success is not where you got, but the distance you travelled from where you started.”

~Steve Prefontaine

Hey you, yes YOU! We think you are a perfect fit for the Monta Vista Cross Country team in 2025! Why do we think that? Because…

  • Our team is inclusive and we value everyone with a hardworking, positive attitude!
  • We are a bunch of achievers and we guess that you are too!
  • You might not think you have enough endurance. However, MVXC embraces a growth mindset. You might not have a lot of endurance YET, but you can train and develop your endurance. By the end of the season, a run that seemed long and challenging will become your recovery day run. Trust us!
  • For freshmen, cross-country is a wonderful way to start high school. Freshmen will have older teammates who will become friends you see in the hallway on day one. Monta Vista will be a more welcoming place when you have freinds who are seniors!
  • Athletes in other sports will be stronger. We have seen basketball players and soccer players go back to their winter sport and find out that they are just as fast in the last few minutes of a game or a match as when the game begins. Not being tired at the end earns an athlete more minutes!
  • You will be part of an uncommonly tight knit crew that will support you in your journey in athletics and in academics.

Here is some information to help you get started with MVXC!

The Basics of Getting Started With MVXC

  1. Buy some running shoes! We recommend getting fitted at a specialty running store such as Running Revolution in Campbell (tell them you are on the Monta Vista Cross Country team for a discount). Please don’t buy your shoes on-line or at a big box store that also sells canoes and whatnot. Gettting properly fitted shoes will help you so much! Tell the person who helps you that your coach recommends that you get a basic trainer that is as neutral as possible for your stride. Here are some details on buying shoes.
  2. Start your paperwork for joining the team today! There is on-line paperwork, and you will need to get a physical from your doctor. Please schedule your physical now and get this out of the way; too many athletes procrastinate and then they can’t start practicing with the team in August. Here is information from the athletics website.
  3. Start running!

Summer Running

If you have never run before, some summer running will get you ready for the season. At the most basic, just go out and run at a comfortable pace for 30 to 45 minutes, four to six days a week. But you know what is more fun? Doing this with a group!

Monta Vista summer running is optional. Athletes will meet at the Monta Vista track at 7 am Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We start early so that we get finished before the summer heat starts pounding on us, and so that we are done by 8:30 or 9 am and  have the entire day for summer jobs, internships, classes, games, trips to the beach–the wh0le day is open and we have our miles in the bank. Every day at summer running there will be options for many different distances…some runners might run three miles, you may work up to 12 mile runs at some point! The runs are student lead. Coach Flatow will have suggested runs for us to follow. 

And we will have some fun activities, maybe a pot luck breakfast on the Fourth of July, for example!

2025 Cross Country Season Highlights

Here is a tentative plan for the coming cross country season.

  • August 9: First Day of Practice at 7 am
  • August 18: Afterschool practice begins
  • August 20: Parent Night
  • August 21: Watermelon Run!

  • August 29: Team Pasta Night
  • August 30: First race! Lagoon Valley Invitational in Vacaville
  • September 19: Board a plane and fly to Portland, Oregon

  • September 20: Run the Three Course Challenge in Seaside, Oregon!
  • September 21: Run on the beach on the Oregon Coast and fly home.
  • September 23: SCVAL Season Opener at Baylands in Sunnyvale
  • October 4: Artichoke Invitational in Half Moon Bay
  • October 7: Crystal Preview in Belmont
  • October 11: Dawn Patrol and Candy Crush

  • October 17: Rough Rider at Woodward Park
  • October 21: SCVAL Baylands 2
  • October 30: Lynbrook Invitational, FUHSD Championships, and Senior Meet
  • November 4: SCVAL Championships
  • November 15: Central Coast Section Championships (MVXC has won twice since 2013!)
  • November 20: Season Banquet
  • November 29: State Championship Meet

FAQs:

Can I talk to someone if I have questions? Yes! You can email the team information line at mvxcrunningpride@gmail.com and a student-athlete will get back to you. You can contact Coach Flatow at coachflatow@gmail.com. And if you have questions about clearance, please contact Mr. Bonacorsi at nick_bonacorsi@fuhsd.org.

Do I really need new shoes? Yup! Well fitted shoes will help you avoid injury. This is the one equipment investment you need to make for distance running!

I’m not that fast. Am I good enough to be on the team? We want to change your mindset…we want you to think I am not that fast YET. One of the glories of distance running is that if you train, you will get faster. And that is what MVXC cares about most…we want to see you improve. Read the Steve Prefontaine quote at the top of this post again!l Anyone who wants to run and improve their endurace and speed is welcome and honored on our team.

Cross country and distance running is not my primary sport; I play basketball/soccer/wrestling/hurdle/swim. Does cross make sense for me? Absolutely! We have never had an athlete come back to tell us they were a worse soccer player or a worse basketball player or anything else after a season of cross country. On the contrary, what is more typical is hearing that because the athlete is so much more fit, she is just as fast in the fourth quarter as the first quarter, so their coach gives them more minutes, and they at the holiday tournament they make the all-tourament team for the first time ever! We want cross-country to help you be successful in your base sport after our season is over.

Do people get cut from the team? We don’t cut for performance but occasionally we may cut for attitude, if a person is not bought into our team concept. If you make cross-country your highest priority extracurricular activity, you come to practice every day, and you make a real effort to try your best, support your teammates, and work to improve, we have a place for you on MVXC!

Do I have to come to practice every day? Everyone is allowed five absences during the season, no questions asked. You are also excused if you are ill and do not come to school that day (if you attend school, can come to practice). If you miss more than five practices, then you will not earn PE credit and you may be asked to leave the team so that you can focus on your other extracurricular priorities.

How much does a season cost? Not including the optional Oregon trip, we has for a $250 tax-deductible contribution to the Monta Vista Athletic Boosters. This amount covers the bus trips to Lagoon Valley and Rough Rider, a technical practice t-shirt, a summer running t-shirt, entry fees to all the meets, contribution to the team uniform fund (uniforms are loaned, to be returned at the end of the season), Saturday breakfasts, and MVAB membewrsip. Grants/financial aid is available on request for any family; we understand the current economic conditions hit us all differently. By the way, families who join MVAB are eligible for scholarships in their senior year; in 2024, four cross-country and track athletes (Valerie Ayzenberg, Margaux Francoeur, Anika Mannesh, and Megan Nieh) all won MVAB scholarships, more than any other sport!

Is the trip to Oregon required? No, this trip is optional. All dedicated athletes are invited (there are 16 athletes signed up as I write this blog). Having said that…I do hope you come! The Three Course Challenge is a unique race starting by a good friend of mine, the coach at Seaside High School. Coach Branson created this race as a celebration of the sport of cross country. The night before there is a pasta party, an ice cream social, and a t-shirt exchange between athletes, and we all sleep together in domitories before we get up and race! It is really fun, and this is a beautiful part of the world (my great aunts bought property there in 1921, so Oregon has always been a part of my life).

Are incoming freshmen eligible for the trip to Oregon? Yes you are! Build up enough endurance so a you can handle a 5 km race, show your dedication, and we will invite you to join us!

“In the beginning, it’s sometimes difficult for new runners to understand that the whole point is not to beat the other fellow. The point is to beat the little voice inside your head that wants you to quit.”  -George Sheehan