The tale of the three headed dragon begins long ago in a distant land, Hamilton 2018. When three young runners arrived on the OUA cross country scene with a bang. They trained hard and sought to continue their success. Dominating the high school scene was one thing, but they were in a whole new world now. Success would follow with OUA and USPORTS medals every year, but always missed that coveted gold.
They continued to improve and just when they thought they could finally achieve the one goal that had eluded them for so many years, a plague arrived. Covid called off the season that was supposed to be their greatest success. With a pause put on competition, the three headed dragon went into hibernation and dreamed of gold. After a year the return to sport came, and the boys hit the course with a vengeance. They put everything they had into the season, but came up short again, with a mere third place. Going into the summer of 2022, they knew they could do it, they just needed one more piece.
Legends tell of a discreet dinner in the faraway land of Langley, where the three headed dragon would convince Dylan Alick to return to the gray and maroon of McMaster for one last season. Once they had his commitment, they headed to Flagstaff to train in the mountains. In the clouds they would grow their power, running with some of the best in the world. It was here that they could run into their first hiccup of the season, a metal post. With Andrew running into one on an easy run and injuring his knee, the worries began to seep in. Going into the first race of the season they were missing one of their holy trinity. Despite this Max took first place at Western and Andrew would follow the next week with a win at Don Mills. Regardless of the ups and downs, there was never a question of their goal. They knew they were the best in Canada, but would even surprise themselves at points. After a key workout, Alex said “I don’t want to be too confident but I dont think I’ve ever seen an XC team this good”, all they needed at this point was the trophy.
Their season continued uninterrupted, putting their competition on notice that they were the real deal and not here to mess around. At OUAs they completed they flying V finish, a podium sweep and dominant team win, with their not so secret weapon Dylan Alick coming close behind in sixth. Now they were two week until USPORTS and there was nothing that could deter them from the gold, besides a twisted ankle. On an easy run a few days after OUAs Alex tripped over a rock and twisted his ankle, a simple twist of fate that could be the end of their final hurrah. After a terse few days of treatment and testing, all seemed to be going well for the national stage. The trio flew out to Halifax to face their final challenge of the season and ran into an unforeseen enemy. Hurricane Nicole brought unknowable conditions to what was already primed to be their toughest race ever. Despite the downpour the Marauders finally delivered what they’d been after for so many years. With a 1-3-5 finish from the three headed dragon, the national title was theirs and the prophecy was fulfilled. The trio shared their proud treasure pile with us and expect more in the near future.