US Cross Country Nationals

US XC Nationals were this past Saturday here in St. Louis and we were treated to some of the better fields assembled in the past ten years.  The day itself was quite nice as the temps were cool and the sun was out.  The wind was gusty and by the final race of the day the soft course was a bit torn up by a thousand or so runners who competed in the various races comprised of the 2K loop course in Forest Park.  The best part of the entire day was the outpouring of support that all of the competitors received.  People were there to spectate and the runners who competed in the community races stayed to support the elites competing to go to Poland.  It was nice to see people who were enjoying the sport.

Highlights (As I Saw Them)

Deena Kastor is awesome.

Deena who is less than 2 weeks from her 40th birthday placed third in the women's open race by running gutsy and getting away from a pack of ladies who were content to kick for a top 6 place on the team.  Shalane did what she does and Conley ran really well so those two spots were locked up.  Deena worked the middle of the race and none of the other ladies were willing to go after her.  Really shows the value of guts, years of mileage, and most importantly of smart decisions when racing.  

Craig Nowak 

The newest Cowboy out of Oklahoma State to show the nation that Dave Smith knows cross country and how to develop young talent.  Craig executed a near perfect tactical race to win his first national title in the men's junior division.  My pick to win; he shadowed the lead pack for 6K and his name was not even announced until roughly a kilometer left in the 8K race.  Over the last half mile he simply hammered a good field on a soft course and comfortably won in just under 24:50.  Smart racing again, ensured that the young talent would not only punch his ticket to Poland but would also walk away a champion.

Nowak and I

Ritz Is A Nice Guy/ Good For The Sport

After the race Dathan Ritzenhein who finished second in the men's open was very open with the media and the fans.  He was more than willing to express his thanks to the course staff and spent a decent amount of time after the race and awards taking pictures with his fans.  The reason I point this out is that some other top runners were not as willing and I overheard some fans speaking about another runner's rude response when they asked for an autograph.  Those fans walked away with a bitter taste on an otherwise great experience.  It is important for runners to realize the value in marketing themselves and conveying a positive image.  Maybe keeping to yourself and keeping everything about what you do a secret isn't good for the sport?  We really don't have high profile celebrities in the sport, but maybe we would if people were quicker to acknowledge fans.  I know it can get old and yes it's hard to smile when your upset about a race; but these people love you.  Sign their damn shirts.......  

The NCAA is Crazy Deep

Chris Derrick just won his first national title after never winning one in college.  There are arguments about Derrick being the best to never win an NCAA title but honestly there shouldn't be.  He is the best to have never won.  Congrats to him on his win at US XC and there will be plenty to come barring injury or some other life altering occurrence for him.  The fact that a 27:31 10K guy got out of the NCAA as a runner-up is nuts.  Tough time to be a collegiate athlete.  

National Champion

Darwin Price Is Tough

Darwin Price competed and finished 50th overall in the open men's race in a field that had 10 sub 28 10K guys.  This field was great, no doubt.  His 50th place this year was like a top 20 spot last and maybe even higher.  Darwin is currently training specifically for the mile but felt that St. Louis needed a local representative as the meet was here in our backyard.  He manned up and ran a race that we both knew had the potential to be very difficult for him.  A natural track talent, the soft ground really worried me.  Soft ground and a long way to go favors strength runners over speed and Darwin Price is a speed guy for sure.  He really impressed me though as our entire focus was to run smart.  He showed incredible poise for the first 8K and then moved quite well over the final 4K catching roughly 12 guys in a race where not a lot of movement took place.  He exceeded expectations and had I let him go a little earlier he may have even caught a few more.  Well done Darwin, you continue to impress me and are a joy to coach.

Darwin Price

Now that it's over I have the strong urge to race again myself.  It's been 8 months and nothing like the pure competition of cross country to motivate you.  Hopefully I will spike up sometime soon but more so than that I hope this meet motivated others in the same way.  We love this sport so we need to support it.  Support by competing, spectating, buying merchandise/ product, and most importantly inviting others to join us.  Thanks for reading and Run Steady.......