Following a good performance on the soft and soggy course at the Pine hill Invite I was confident that I was ready to PR big at the Brooks Oshkosh Invite. The field was stacked with 3 of the top 15 D-III teams in the nation and the course was perfect for a great race. When I arrived at the course I could not have asked for better conditions. The temp was in low 60’s, there was no wind, and the course was firm with good footing.
As the gun went off I took flight. The first mile flashed by in 5:10. At the 3 mile mark I was at 16:15, and still feeling strong. With one mile to go I saw that I was on pace for a BIG PR, perhaps even a sub 27:00 performance. With 800 meters to go and my coach yelling I sprinted like a mad man. As I sped down the final straight away I saw the race clock ticking off the seconds. As I crossed the line I looked at my watch – 26:54! A new PR!!!
Indeed, the race was a PR by more than 40 seconds. What's more, the new PR had moved me into 2nd place on the CSS all time XC list! I had run a strong and intelligent race starting out fast, holding a strong pace for the middle three miles, and closing the race with a 5:15 final mile. This was just reinforcement that I had trained perfectly all summer, was in great racing form, and would be a favorite to win the UMAC XC championship on my home turf in two weeks.
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