Hey Sportsfans!
A beautiful fall day has somehow wedged itself between the rainy days that so often dominate the Victoria autumn. The BC Cross Country championships are being held in Victoria this year, and, against Darwin's best intentions, I have decided to enter.
Cross country was a glorious time in Ontario. In elementary school, upon coming second to Mike Slean in our area meet and then both he and Brian Stewart (who I later met up with again at McMaster and is now a radiology resident, so I should Dr. Brian Stewart) would beat up on me at our Durham regional finals. I ran throughtout high school as well, sitting with a walkman at the back of the bus listening to Zepplin as we were transported around the Durham region to run in different races. While the courses differed, there was always the smell of mulch and the colours of the midrainbow to connect us. Careening through Trillium Valley or Dagmar Ski Resort was amazing and helped to foster my love of trails.
Today will be my second foray into the world of the provincial cross country champs. There will not be mulch nor forest. It is being held at a high school where we will compete on a two kilometre loop. The race is 10k long, so that means 5 times around the loop. The loop traces its way around three soccer fields and a baseball diamond. I have described the race to friends as track on grass. There are no real hills and the course is all grass, with some gravel. It is also being attended by the fastest runners in BC. Suffice it to say that if I will be coming home quite humbled. However, after watching the Reynolds cross country team that I am helping coach
do so well, I really have no reason not to put myself out there. I am coming off personal best times, and while those times are not near the 30 minute 10k times that the likes of Jerry Ziak will be running, every so often it is good to run against people above your level to see where you are at. It is also fun entering a race where there is no expectation and where I am going out to with the sole purpose of having fun!
You can check results here....
http://bcathletics.org/main/xcchamps.htm
Look for me in Senior Men's race. Near the back. All grassy.
1 comment:
Brad, Hope you had a fun day! At least it wasn't in the rain.
B's D.
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