MST hosted the ISTAA Cross Country Invitational for the second year in a row. The competition, normally a spring event, was held on November 29. The late fall weather offered a cooler and thus safer but still sunny experience for the runners.
Nine international schools participated: KIST, UST, KAIS, Nishimachi, Phoenix House, TIS, Columbia, Malvern College, and of course, MST. In all, 355 runners joined in the annual event. Of them 37 MST students participated, from all four elementary classes plus the middle school.
Over a quarter of our runners medaled, continuing MST’s strength in the sport, and in sports in general. Three earned gold medals, 4 won silver, and 3 nabbed a bronze. Even though we were only 10% of the field, our athletes garnered 20% of the medals. An impressive showing.
More important than the race results were our children challenging themselves to complete a tough task at the individual level. And also to practice supporting and celebrating each other. For the adults, it was a chance to come together and acknowledge the hard work of our children. And at a larger community level, the event allowed international communities from all over Tokyo to come together outdoors on a beautiful day.
Deep gratitude goes to the parent volunteers who helped monitor the competitors and cheered on our runners all along the route.
The event required a large contingent of MST staff and faculty, including school head James Moore who emceed the event and provided invaluable institutional knowledge, having been part of the event for decades. Intense coordination by PE Teacher Vitalii Goncharenko and organizational wizardry by Assistant Head Gel Vicencio also made the event run smoothly. Support specialist Wesley Lim and elementary support Fuh-Meei Yu got a major workout running and biking each heat. Dozens of other staff helped out in countless ways, chief among them were school nurse Shoko Lowe and Chisa Honda of the Many Hats.
Congratulations to all our competitors!
–Wind Edward Kim