Trivia: Where does the name for shoe company, Saucony, come from?
THAT'S MY BOY. I held the All-State certificate in my hands, slowly going over the spelling and wording, letting it all sink in.

The honor was the end result of a steady summer of training, followed by a good cross-country season that got more interesting with an early-October breakthrough race.

Going into the State Meet at Michigan International Speedway on an ideal day for racing, 50 degrees and windless, I didn't allow myself to estimate any particular finish. More than anything, I hoped he'd simply run a race he could feel proud of and the rest would take care of itself.

As announcer for the meet awards ceremony, I'd thought many times how cool it'd be to call his name. His race went as others had during the season, moving up steadily, running even effort, bleached hair and all (it's a team thing). He was in 10th in the final yards, got outkicked and finished 11th (top 30 are All-State). Over the next 90 minutes, I felt a mix of happiness and relief while trying to compose my thoughts for the awards presentation.

After the final race of the day (all four divisions, boys and girls, are held at MIS), I started off with the Division 1 boys results. In descending order, I called off names from 30th to first, pausing at 11th. It would be the 1,100th All-State name I'd announced over four and one-half years.

"Many times in the past two years, I've rehearsed what I might say about the next runner," I managed. "This is my son, Jeff Hubbard, Ann Arbor Pioneer, in 11th."

The boy who looks too much like his dad climbed the stairs, got his award and I gave him the hug I'd longed to give him. I understand the crowd gave out a collective, "Ahhh."

I've had far more than my share of positive experiences in the sport. Watching my son develop as a runner is among the most positive, and the State Meet awards moment is about as special an occasion as they come. If you detect a hint of pride, forgive me.

THE MID-EAST. Eight days after the State cross meet, Jeff qualified for the Mid-East cross team in Jackson. The Mid-East meet is for seniors only, with 10 runners per team.

After the qualifying race, it didn't take much to conclude the Michigan boys team was very strong. It boasted a couple Division State champs and several other top-five finishers. Division champs were Luke Walker of Flint Powers in D-2 and Josh Perrin of Hillsdale in D-3. Runner-up finishers were Frank Tinney of Ann Arbor Huron in D-1, David Bills of Williamston in D-2 and Liam Boylan-Pett of Bath in D-4. Four others bettered 15:37 in the D-1 5K race.

The 17th annual Mid-East meet was held Nov. 15 near Dayton, Ohio, and featured teams from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. It was chilly at 36 degrees and rained right up to race time, making footing wet, mushy and slippery in spots. The course had numerous sharp turns, one good-sized hill traversed twice, and two stream crossings. True cross-country! In the early going it was clear MI was in control, with four in the top 10 and two more in the top 20.

The MI boys continued their strong running. Both Tinney and Perrin fell on the same turn near the end, but still finished second and fifth respectively. Rounding out the top five MI scorers were Walker in seventh, Boylan-Pett in eighth and Bills in 14th. That made for a team score of 36, 19 points better than second-place Indiana.

Other team members were Seth Thibodeau of Milford, Don Letts of Portage Northern, Mike Barrows of Flint Powers and Tim Kenny of Traverse City West.

JUICED. Can I see a show of hands among those who care or follow news about the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs in running? Yeah, that's what I thought. Not many.

It'd be naive to think illegal drugs are only used by the best .1 percent in the sport. Although the numbers are probably greater than that, they're still tiny in proportion to the overall running population, while generating a disproportionate degree of bad press.

The optimist in me says folks care about drugs in sports and would like to hear less about it. The pessimist in me says drug investigations and busts wash right over folks without effect because they feel removed from the problem.

I've avoided discussing the topic for the latter reason and the swirl of suspicion, innuendo, uneven international drug-testing protocol and judicial process, and the relatively-few positive test results among distance runners, Waldemar Cierpinski notwithstanding. (It's alleged Cierpinski, the '76 Olympic marathon winner, took illegal drugs, costing Americans Frank Shorter gold and Don Kardong bronze).

I find recent drug news disturbing because it's become increasingly clear cheats may forever find ways to stay a step ahead of the testing process. Moreover, testers and national governing bodies aren't on the same page in efforts to nail abusers. Progress is being made, but it remains a confusing, frustrating and maddening situation.

Meanwhile, we can take unfettered pleasure in high school and college cross country. Marc Bloom, author of "Cross Country Running," says the sport "makes use of our natural environment, which is diminishing all around us. It brings the runner closer to nature, to God's gift of things green, fragrant and primitive. You are running cross country if you're spurning the precision, predictability and symmetry of a track, or if you're avoiding the convenience and comfort of the roads."

Congrats to coach Brian Diemer and the Calvin College men's cross country team for winning the NCAA Division III National Championships! Congrats also to Dathan Ritzenhein of Rockford and the University of Colorado on winning the men's individual NCAA Divison I National Cross Champs!

Answer: Saucony is the name of a valley and Indian tribe in eastern PA. MRBy Scott Hubbard