By: Zachary Nolan
Dale Kujanpaa has been hired as RRC Polytech Rebels’ first cross country coach, setting the pace for their inaugural season.
Kujanpaa has been participating in cross country for decades and has run the Manitoba Marathon for over ten years, with the last two years as a pacer. To date, he has completed six full marathons and 17 half marathons, so the opportunity to coach a team caught his attention.
“I’m excited to try something new,” said Kujanpaa.
Kujanpaa got his enjoyment of cross country from running back in high school, when he attended Rorketon School in Lakeshore, Manitoba, and regularly participated in track meets.
“I enjoyed the ruggedness of it. You’re running on sand. You’re running on grass, gravel, up and down hills and it just made for a more challenging race,” said Kujanpaa.
Kujanpaa found great success, winning regionals and going to provincials.
Kujanpaa said that a good coach can build an athlete’s passion for a sport, and he said that he had a very inspirational coach when the program started at this high school.
Now many years later, he looks forward to trying to fill the shoes of an inspirational coach.
“The tentative plan right now is to mix in a few different types of workouts,” said Kujanpaa. He said his team will start practicing with shorter distances to build up a tolerance before moving on to longer practices.
The terrain is extremely important, said Kujanpaa, and plans on practicing on uneven terrain, such as hills.
He plans to approach adversity as it comes rather than worry pre-emptively. Kujanpaa hasn’t outlined his goals yet, saying he would rather see the team before making expectations, but said that he really wants to see some podium finishes.
“I think it’d be really cool to reach a podium in the first inaugural year. If we could make it to the provincial or nationals, I think that would be fantastic for sure,” said Kujanpaa.
No official dates for races have been confirmed yet, but Kujanpaa is eager to hit the ground running once its announced.
Prospective and current students can register to tryout for the cross country team, along with the mens and womens basketball and volleyball teams, at ourrebels.ca/prospects/.
For the latest updates and news, The Projector is your home for all things Rebels.
