Notes
52nd, USATF Club Cross Country Championships (10k). It’s rained for the past two days and we’d be the 5th race of the day on the course I knew it was going to be sloppy. My first thought in the race was to not get knocked over or fall in the first K. I high stepped off the line, relying on my 5/8th inch spikes to keep me from eating shit for the first few powerful strides. I pressed through the first mile, it was the largest field ever for the event (693 athletes and 72 teams in the men’s field alone) so I had to keep myself from being swallowed up. Before 2 miles I saw James Wilson ahead and wanted to keep him in sight. I soon realized the course required special attention as there was never any clean footing. I tried to keep the pressure on but seemed to be stuck in a group as we came past the start line. There was a line timing mat at 3.5k (which was also 7.6k) I Cameron through in 53rd place. What followed was a series of hills tucked away from the crowds and I worked the uphills to go past people but coming back down was no easy feat as the ground was slick as hell. I only checked my watch once and was at 15:49-15:50 for 5k. I thought to even split in these conditions would be great. Going into the second lap I was working hard to fight the guys around me but up the long uphill the second time I noticed my breathing was raspy. I got to the top and tried to get my stride back but I was not feeling much life thanks to the ever worsening mud. We came past the start line one last time and at the mat I was still in 53rd. i heard someone cheer for Seth Totten (a rabbitPRO) and worked myself up to his shoulder with two miles to go. We went back and forth, if occasionally pass by taking the poor footing tangents as he went wide but I made it my mission over the last 2k to stay engaged and race the best I could. I never knew what position I was in, the leaders were too far in front and the bodies were all in a line. I finally got up to the finally 600m and started to drive my knees but clearly the mud had taken its toll. The finish finally came into view but the mud got deeper as I went to press the gas one last time. I worked through the slipping and set out to catch as many people as possible (even if it was just a few in striking distance). I managed to slide past 2 guys in the final and held off a closer challenger up to the line. I was just 6 seconds behind Totten and 3 behind Joe Moore (KC Smoke). The guys I was competing with gives me confidence looking back through the results. Guys like Alex Monroe (Root’s Running), Louis Serafini (Tracksmith) were 30 sec ahead and being close to them it feels good! I had no idea what to expect today. I didn’t have any time in mind, and knew there would be some stiff competition. With a field so big and the course so f’d I was happy with the day. Now is time to recover and get ready for the marathon specific training starting with grindfest next week.