Track is preparing for the Azusa Distance Meet of Champions this Saturday.

The Meet of Champions (MOC) has been a highly competitive meet for over a decade. It features both fast invitational races and slower non-invitational races that match athletes with others at or near their racing ability, reducing the chances for demotivating blowout victories.

Boys and Girls Track have been preparing for this meet from the beginning of the season. Farooq Tariq, senior, will run in the second fastest 800 meter heat, or the Rated 800 meter race, at this meet.

“This is a really exciting meet that’s super competitive,” Tariq said. “This is also one of my most favorite track meets.”

Tariq aims to win his race and go under 1:56 for the 800 meters. He has been changing his sleeping and eating habits, along with his practice mentality, to achieve his goals for this race.

“I’ve been getting more sleep and eating healthy so I can do my best this race,” Tariq said. “I focus more during our workouts like the 400s and 800s for pacing and 200 meter sprints to work on turnover speed.”

Tariq feels his workouts have recently been gaining more intensity and volume to get him physically and mentally ready for this race.

“As a team we worked a lot for this and I know these workouts will help us go out and race our best,” Tariq said. “No more comfortable, easy races.”

Peyton Heiden, junior, will run in the second fastest 1600 meter heat, or the Rated 1600 meter race, at this meet.

“This is a great meet for us to get new PRs (Personal Records),” Heiden said. “The meet provides a lively, competitive atmosphere for everyone to do their best in.”

Having already raced at this meet twice before, Heiden feels calm going into this meet, even though she is running an elite calibre race. The girls, like the boys, did some hard workouts these past few weeks, switching between hard threshold workouts like 800 meter repeats and quick intervals like 150 meter sprints.

“We’ve all been working a lot on the last half of our intervals to improve our kick and stay focused,” Heiden said.

These workouts give Heiden confidence that both her and her team will race well this weekend.

“Although we have been racing pretty well these past few weeks, there are always a few mistakes during the race we can each work on,” Heiden said. “I hope we this meet is a turning point for us to finally correct those mistakes.”