The US National Cross Country Championships in St. Louis, Missouri were overall an excellent event and the only real damper was the low temperatures and the windchill that seemed to cut through most any clothing. Big River Running Company did a wonderful job with the event management and Miles Krieger was really solid with the announcing. I did here from a few locals that the event was not promoted that well, which is an area that could be improved upon for next as the event will again be hosted in St. Louis.
The races went about as expected but I'll admit I did not pick a single winner correctly. The Senior Women's 8K was easily the most exciting race of the day. The Molly Huddle and Sara Hall battle could not have gone any better. Huddle the American Record holder at 5K led Hall through most of the race as the two distanced themselves from the field. Over the final kilometer Hall began to surge and opened a small lead over Huddle with less than 200 meters to go. Hall, who specializes in shorter distances would be expected to have a bigger kick especially since she raced an excellent 3K recently closing very well. Seemingly out of nowhere Huddle found another gear and closed the small gap and passed Hall with less than 100 meters to go. She even opened a margin of a meter or two and it seemed the race was won. Again, seemingly out of nowhere, this time Sarah Hall responded with a late surge and dipped Molly Huddle at the line as she had began to celebrate lifting her arms in victory. No one was sure who won, after nearly 20 minutes of debate the photo finish revealed Sara had won by the slightest of margins. Neither woman appeared to have any idea who the winner was at the finish but both seemed pleased with the race and their efforts. The best part was that the crowd absolutely loved it. It didn't matter who won, just that the race was entertaining and it was definitely that. This race delivered what the sport needs to deliver every time to build interest with the casual fan. It had drama, lead changes, and two high profile athletes duking it out for the win. Yes, Huddle may not be in top shape and Hall may have raced a hard indoor effort two weeks ago but both still ran brilliantly and put on a great show. I picked Huddle, so I was 0-1 at this point.
The men's 12K race lacked a large number of high profile athletes just like the women, but the men I expected to be up front for the most part were. Aaron Braun, my pick to win led most of the race to be outkicked by Bobby Mack over the final 600 meters. My watch out for this guy pick Jeff Schirmer finished a respectable 5th to make the US team. This race lacked the closing excitement of the women's but it was interesting to see how the field responded to Braun's strength mid race as he pushed and slowly dropped the numbers of the lead pack. The one guy he didn't lose had a massive kick. Another exciting showdown.
The Junior races were dominated by collegiates and ran as most college races do; progressing over the second half of the race then seeing who still has their legs at 1K to go. The master's races were awesome. Those men and women were getting after it and I can only hope to still harbor the dedication and the desire to train at that level when I'm that age. Everyone had fun, it was great.
You should be there next year if you can, either running or watching. You could even go up in the Arch.
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