My Edinburgh race was not great. Not bad, but not as awesome as it should have
been for a strength runner like me. The
course wasn’t as muddy as last year, but it was still slow going. I did enjoy racing “real” cross country. We
did a 2k loop, three times at Holyrood Park.
The first half of the loop was manicured grass, similar to the golf
courses we run on in the U.S., but very soft from heavy rain and made exciting
by the log barrier we had to hurdle. The
second half of the loop was in the foothills of a dormant volcano. The footing was on wild grass, the climbs
were short, but steep, and we got to cross a couple shallow creeks. My teammate, Ladia Albertson-Junkas had a great
race, and finished 7th, well within the individual money purse.
Women's senior team
Women's senior team
As expected,
everything outside of the race was awesome.
The race directors put us up in a beautiful hotel and supplied us with
healthy, delicious meals three times a day.
I got to hang out with some of my best friends, and met some wonderful
new runners. My parents took the
opportunity to fly into London, then come up to Scotland to watch my race. This is their second time outside of North
America, so I felt lucky there were able to support my running as part of their
international travels.
Me and my parents
I
decided to take advantage of my free trip to the United Kingdom by spending a
couple extra days being a tourist after the race. Two points: 1) How could I have not thought
of this last year, when I traveled to Scotland and Trinidad through USATF? 2)
Thanks to USATF for supporting the cross country team and being kind enough to
let me change my departure date. The day
after the race, I took the train down to London with my parents. Over the next couple days, I spent some quality
time running in Hyde Park, visiting the Tower of London and the British Museum,
watching Wicked, the musical, and eating delicious food.
Me, Stephanie Price, Ladia Alberson-Junkans
Jon Peterson, Meghan Peyton, and me again
Race Results: http://www.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=5320&year=2013&do=info