The South Whidbey Falcons cross country team traveled to Yakima’s Franklin Park for the Sunfair Run Saturday — and they took plenty of water along.

Overall, several South Whidbey athletes fared well in a field of more than 3, 000 runners.

Still, it was the heat that had everyone talking.

“It was hot,” said Eric Stallman. “But it was fun, because there were thousands of top athletes who ran in seven varsity flights. There were four loops around the course on grass or dirt with varying degrees of difficulty.”

Stallman drinks water or Gatorade to stay hydrated but admits the heat affects his running times.

“My flight started at 1 p.m., the hottest part of the day,” he said.

“The heat plays tricks on you,” said Falcon runner Scott Stallman. “Your body thinks it doesn’t need water or food when you really do. You need to be in good shape and we all force ourselves to drink extra water. But it’s always fun to go on a road trip with the team,” he said.

They weren’t alone.

Teams from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Canada participated — 102 teams and over 3,300 runners ran a hilly course that circled the park.

“Both teams ran well on the 3-mile course,” Coach Doug Fulton said.

Erica Johnson was the top Falcon, running 20 minutes, 13 seconds in Flight 6.

Courtney Bosman was the top placer, coming in 10th in Flight 3.

“She was 2:28 faster this year than last,” Fulton noted. Kurt Warwick was the top boy with 17:44. (Complete results can be found at www.sunfairrun.com.)

Unlike most events, boys and girls run together.

This year, Scott Stallman ran with Jean Koelblinger.

“I think it’s neat because you get to pace yourself with the guys,” Koelblinger said. “But Scott pulled ahead and I ran with girls from all over.”

As a cool-down measure, the Falcon girls donned pink shirts and joined the community race.

“We ran slow the last 250 meters, held hands and skipped over the finish line,” Koelblinger said. “The cross country program seems like a family, especially when we travel together.”

Thursday, the team travels to Kings, then Lakewood Oct. 7.

Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221–5300 or sports@southwhidbeyrecord.com.