This season, there won't be e-mails or long distance calls between father and son.

Like many students at Leilehua High School, Bryce Jenkins' father, Bruce, is in the military. Running was a hot topic in the daily conversations between the two.

Bruce Jenkins ran in high school and college at George Mason. Bryce Jenkins was last year's state cross country champion after starting the season with a broken foot. During that season the father was stationed in Kuwait as commander of the Army's 556th Personnel Support Battalion, 25th Infantry Division.

"It is tough," Bruce Jenkins said. "The good news is automation via e-mail and phones definitely help out a great deal. My previous deployment didn't have that. So, that was a big difference."

This season will be different for the two. Bruce returned to O'ahu on Friday and yesterday watched his son win the Campbell Invitational.

"I can't put words on it really," said the father, watching his son race for the first time in nearly a year. "I ran cross country in high school and college. Watching him run is a hundred times better."

The 16-year-old junior led from start to finish on the three-mile course that snaked around the 'Ewa Beach campus while his father yelled out encouragement to his son and Leilehua High teammates. When Bruce called out a reminder about hitting a sub 16-minute time, Bryce yelled back: "I'm trying."

In humid and muddy conditions, Bryce was tailed closely by Kaiser's Dawson Vorderbruegge for the first part of the race before pulling away to win in 16 minutes, 17.41 seconds. Leilehua placed five runners in the top seven to win the team race with 17 points.

"It felt good," Bryce said. "I haven't been pushed that much this season."

In honor of the school's and team's military ties — 16 of the 23 members of the boys' and girls' teams have parents in the military — the Mules competed in a specially made uniform with a camouflage design across the running singlet.

"I like it," Bruce Jenkins said. "It's supporting the Army and our effort."

Leilehua coach Shawn Nakata said, "The ones with their fathers gone, we try to be remindful of those runners." He added, "We always tell them they have someone to talk to. It's a second family type of thing."

It's that type of family atmosphere and the Mules' training program that has helped the Leilehua teams develop and thrive.

The boys are two-time defending O'ahu Interscholastic Association champions and finished second in the state last year. The girls' team won its first OIA crown last season.

"These guys (Leilehua coaching staff) know how to train and to get them to peak at the right time," Bruce Jenkins said. "Other schools, kids are out there peaking right now. These guys are magnificent in what they do. They've helped them mature quite a bit."

Bryce Jenkins has matured in his own way, in part because of his father's deployments.

"I'm kind of taking it in my own hands and running for myself, not for everyone else," he said.

Referring to his father, Bryce added, "He's always there to push me and to help me keep focused on my running.

Bruce Jenkins noticed his son developing mentally last season after running without a game plan during his freshman year.

"He's come a long way," Bruce said. "He's only a junior. Last year, dad was trying to get his running back," following the foot injury. "He's completely independent now. For me it's stepping back and letting him grow up a little bit."

The Jenkins household is readjusting its rhythms. Four deployments have helped smooth that transition process.

As for the next father-son talk, conversation will likely shift from running mileage to the vehicular type, and a car for Bryce.

Reach Stanley Lee at sktlee@honoluluadvertiser.com.