So, yesterday the team helped out with a charity run which was held on our course.  It was organized by Amherst soccer Coach Justin Serpone and the soccer team, but the cross team decided to help out with directing runners around the course, timing, and other race details  that may be overlooked by a soccer coach, however adept he is (which surely Coach Serpone is).  Our help in the race follows another team service event from last week in which we helped the survival center by working at a furniture sale.  In a few weeks, the team will be running in a community-based run/walk for the ABC tutoring house.  Although service is important and certainly enjoyable, our team gets together for other fun activities, apple picking and team dinners over valentine fare.  It definitely makes you feel like more of a fully formed person when your athletic identity goes beyond the sport itself.  It sounds so weird, but It's so much more fun when you can be with your team and do things together that do not explicitly entail any elevation of your heartrate, any running intervals.  Although I may be deaf from moronically shooting the race gun at yesterday's race (without closing an ear), I am so appreciative of the fact that our team makes sure to do these different things together.  Maybe it's a function of DIII running or running at Amherst, but it's important that doing service and team activities is not regarded as entirely secondary.  And, who doesn't love some crunchy New England apples?