Missouri Collegiate Challenge

Last Friday Darwin and I traveled back to Columbia, MO for another indoor meet hosted by the Tigers of Mizzou.  The two hour drive was uneventful and we arrived about ninety minutes before the start of the mile.  I was unsure as to how things would go as the heats weren't particularly competitive and it seemed unlikely we would get a very quick race.  What can you do though?  We currently don't have the means to go to bigger meets as many indoor facilities are quite far from St. Louis and the financial and time costs associated with doing so simply are not available for us.  Sometimes you take what you can get..........  

The race started and no one wanted to lead, first 200 in 33.4.  This was looking like it would be a slow race won by a big kick until a brave redshirt from Missouri took control of the race at about 300 meters in.  They came through 400 at 65.3 and it was certain that Darwin would not be bettering his mark from the previous meet.  The redshirt (Tyler Schneider) pushed the pace and the two started clicking off 31 mids for each 200.  Schneider continued to press and ran in my opinion a very tough race but in the end could not match the strong close of Price who's final 400 was 58.9 to finish in 4:12.33.  Just a 10th of a second off of his personal best in a race that was not setup at all to go fast.  Very Impressive!  Darwin's effort was also good for a meet record and it was clear that the time really didn't show his fitness as obviously there is much more there but there.  Despite all these positives Darwin walked away unhappy clearly wanting a better time.  After a brief cooldown jog we sat and waited the two plus hours for the 3K.  

This race was more competitive as Mizzou had a number of runners in the race trying to run 8:30 in the hopes of making their SEC squad.  After getting third in the last 3K he ran Darwin felt he had something to prove and after a disappointing mile in his eyes he was ready to roll.  A group of four Missouri boys and Darwin seemingly separated themselves from the field almost immediately and set out 4:30 pace.  The Missouri boys did the work and Darwin simply trailed covering every move as any runner competing only for the win would.  He looked smooth, he looked confident, and most importantly he looked strong.  After an opening mile of 4:32 the pack reduced to three plus Darwin and the group continued to press although the pace dropped closer to 4:35.  With 600 to go it was clear the group was struggling and Darwin simply open his stride and began to press.  The slight pickup was enough to separate himself and then a final 200 of 29 was good enough to secure the win, a second meet record, and a PR of 8:28.3.  It was a huge run.  It shows how much stronger Darwin is as he seemingly eased his way to a 10 second PR.  

Double Champ - Undefeated Spikes

Above you can see Darwin with his new Brooks Wire 2 spikes which have yet to lose a race.  Thanks to Brooks Running for the support as these literally arrived an hour before we left for Mizzou.  No denying it, those spikes are sweet.  Darwin continues to work hard and his racing shows it.  His times will drop and we will continue to see what we can do together.  Thanks for reading and stayed tuned for big things from Darwin and for blogs intended to educate and inspire.  Run Steady!  

Like Our Team On Facebook  and Follow Us On Twitter