In Her Own Words: Kendall Ellis

Hey everyone Kendall Ellis here again. As you know from my previous blog, I went up to New York last weekend with a few of my teammates for the Adidas Grand Prix. The 4x4 ended up finishing third and I’m proud of the girls for doing their thing representing for the U.S, even though it wasn’t the originally planned relay. One of my teammates had to be replaced due to an injury, so I extend a big thank you to Deanna Hill for stepping up and being willing to run. The 400 isn’t exactly the ideal race of choice to be thrown into, but Deanna was definitely a team player. Let’s talk about the conditions though - it felt like a repeat of the 4A State Meet actually. Windy, rainy, and cold the weather wasn’t ideal but it’s all just a matter of remembering that every athlete is competing in the same conditions I am. Still didn’t make me any warmer though.

Alright now the fun stuff. It was New York after all, concrete jungle where dreams are made of (I had to). This was my first time going to the Big Apple so everything was new to me. Everything was bigger, brighter, lighter. Public transportation was fun, personally I liked the subway, a switch up from what I’m used to in Florida. The team and I went to the World Trade Center, Central Park, and Times Square although my favorite part had to have been just walking around Harlem. Like I’ve said before, my teammates and I are always bonding and this trip was just an extension of that, plus we got to see a different side of Coach/Uncle Armenteros. After being trapped together for four days, I’m pretty sure this will be  memorable trip, with all the pictures, inside jokes, and group texts. 

Other than the vacation aspect of the trip, I loved being around the pros while at the meet. I saw Ryan Bailey, Bianca Knight, Dee Dee Trotter, Tony McQuay, Tyson Gay, and of course my favorite Sanya Richards-Ross. I know for sure there were a whole bunch of others, the place was teeming with professionals. Besides the professional talent, the amateur talent was just as impressive. Florida was represented extremely well with eight athletes competing in the Dream 100 or Dream Mile. I’m so proud to come from a state where some of the biggest competition is each other. 

Overall, the meet was a success as well as visiting New York itself. It was nice to see the city and get to experience a new level of competition, something I’d love to experience again. I thank Adidas Grand Prix for the opportunity and of course thank FLrunners for the opportunity to blog about it. As always best of luck and go for the gold!