Nov. 4, 2021 -- When Scott McNulty was hired to coach the cross country and track teams at Heights High, he envisioned something much bigger than just spending his afternoons racing around behind a bunch of high schoolers. He wanted to create a community of runners that started with the district’s very youngest elementary students and connected them in common purpose with the middle and high school teams.

Now in his third year, he has finally launched the Heights Youth Running Program that comprises nearly 60 children in grades 1 through 6. They meet at the Heights track twice weekly for an hour of stretching, running (and sometimes playing dodgeball). Coach McNulty is aided in this effort by several dedicated parents, high school runners who volunteer after their own practices, and youth coach Michael Payne. 

All of the district’s distance runners came together on Saturday, October 16 for a cross country celebration on the high school track. Nearly 40 middle and high school runners gathered with the nearly 60 youth runners and their families for a couple of hours of running, mixed-age relay races, and a lunch sponsored by the Heights Schools Foundation.

The students played and laughed and ran with one another while parents of 2nd graders had the opportunity to meet and talk with parents of 11th graders, demystifying Heights High and hopefully providing a pipeline of families comfortable with and committed to the district. And children comfortable with and committed to distance running.

“I know we have the speed and the talent here in the Heights and I know we have the community here to support them,” Coach McNulty has said. “I just needed to create the space to bring it all together.” His focus on rebuilding a program that two years ago had a single girl runner is working: This year, there are eight high school girls with over a dozen competing for the middle schools.

For the first time ever, the district’s elementary and middle school runners will have the opportunity to join the high schoolers as they compete in the indoor track season from January to March. Coach McNulty hopes to continue this community-wide involvement in the spring outdoor track season as well. “I’m very, very excited for the future of Heights cross and track,” he said.