CROSS COUNTRY DEVELOPMENT AT FHS
The cross country program was started at FHS in 1985 by FHS Track Coach Steve Bender.
As early as 1980, Jo-Anne Charette remembers helping with a petition that was signed by many athletes to get a program started, but it did not materialize during her years there.
Bender said much 'research and development' was conducted in designing a course.
Neither the bike path nor Marina Field was in existence. The course had to be safe and relatively free from traffic. Bender approached the Reid family at Riverside Cemetery, and they were receptive to the idea of hosting Fairhaven cross country meets. After walking the cemetery several times with a measuring wheel, a challenging 2.45 mile course was created. Meets ran at Riverside Cemetery for 10 years before Bender retired from coaching. Many great athletes ran that course over those years. Bender estimates that over 5,000 cross country runners competed there. Several were Boston Globe All Scholastic Athletes and athletes that went on to compete at the collegiate level.
Coaches after Bender retired include Bob Demanche, Crispin Demers, Eric Carroll, and Jo-Anne Charette.
The cross country program was started at FHS in 1985 by FHS Track Coach Steve Bender.
As early as 1980, Jo-Anne Charette remembers helping with a petition that was signed by many athletes to get a program started, but it did not materialize during her years there.
Bender said much 'research and development' was conducted in designing a course.
Neither the bike path nor Marina Field was in existence. The course had to be safe and relatively free from traffic. Bender approached the Reid family at Riverside Cemetery, and they were receptive to the idea of hosting Fairhaven cross country meets. After walking the cemetery several times with a measuring wheel, a challenging 2.45 mile course was created. Meets ran at Riverside Cemetery for 10 years before Bender retired from coaching. Many great athletes ran that course over those years. Bender estimates that over 5,000 cross country runners competed there. Several were Boston Globe All Scholastic Athletes and athletes that went on to compete at the collegiate level.
Coaches after Bender retired include Bob Demanche, Crispin Demers, Eric Carroll, and Jo-Anne Charette.