That’s a wrap! We concluded our 2023 NICA Race season at Monticello High School this past Saturday. We had five students racing this week - Chip, Junior, Malachi and Marshaun. With a high of 85 degrees it was an unexpectedly hot day of racing. The course was a good 3-mile long trail along the school campus - the only race venue at a public school. Junior led us out in the Middle School Boys C race as he’s accumulated the most points this season.
The start of the race was another fight to the front! This time with a long climb at both the start and finish line. Junior found a few riders to chase and maintained his position throughout the race with Malachi about 30 seconds behind.They both finished the race mid-pack and feeling like they could’ve gone faster! Marshaun finished the race absolutely exhausted! He left everything on the course.
Marshaun’s Earth science teacher, Ms.Valence, from MLK Middle School reached out to us and made the long drive for a surprise visit to cheer him on! We are incredibly thankful for teachers and educators who go the extra mile for the youth in our programs!
Frankie Slaughter, a long-time supporter and mentor of Junior and RCC also came out to cheer us on! It is through support from individuals like this that empowers our youth and reminds them that they do have someone in their corner to help push them to achieve their goals.
Frankie and Junior post-race
The warm weather and added support was a great morale booster, everyone was all smiles at the end of the race.
Chip’s race, Freshman Boys, wasn’t until 1:50pm so he had a good amount of time to recon the course. He felt strong in his warm-ups and throughout the race. Finishing with a negative split in lap two! The race ended with an uphill sprint between him and two other riders! He finished strong but also felt like he could do better! He said it felt like his best result yet.
The whole team (and Chip’s mom!) came down to the starting line to cheer him on
We had an all-around successful day of racing with great attitudes and a strong finish to our season. On the way home, we voted on what our end of season post-race meal was going to be and the team chose their usual, Chick-Fil-A. With the team completely zonked it was a quiet ride back to Richmond.
We want to say thank you to all of our supporters and those who have helped us throughout our race season. To contribute to race season costs, head HERE or reach out to us directly!