Hello everyone!!!
To begin with, I would like to thank flrunners.com for giving me the tremendous opportunity to write and share my thoughts during this past cross country season. I am extremely honored and thankful to have the experience to contribute to their wonderful site. Thank you so much again!
Sadly, the 2011 cross country season has come and gone and now another season in the past. To say the least, it was an action packed competitive season including too many nail biting races to name. As much anticipation awaits for the season to begin, once it gets started it seems that weeks filled with hours of practicing and competitive races fly by. Looking back, over the entire season it has been quite exciting for the sunshine state and I cannot wait to see what the track and field season has in store.
Now, I will share my experience this past weekend at Foot Locker Nationals that took place in San Diego, California. What an amazing weekend. I could probably write an entire book about this experience but I will summarize it as best as I can. Prior to the big trip, I was very excited but knew I had to continue to train hard since I was now going to be competing in the biggest race of the season. I am so incredibly blessed to have earned this experience.
From the beginning, very early Thursday morning I departed from Sarasota airport and arrived at Atlanta airport where I met my chaperone, other Floridian, Lily Williams, and from Georgia; Grace Tinkey and Joshua Brickell. Within 30 minutes of meeting each other, before we knew it we were seated on the 4 hour flight headed out to San Diego. Once we finally landed in sunny San Diego we got our luggage and waited for the bus that would take us all to the Hotel Del Coronado about 20 minutes away. This is also when I met my mom, who traveled on a separate flight. It was really nice to see her after a long day of travels and appreciate that she was able to come and support me. When we arrived at the Hotel Del Coronado, I was in complete awe. Everything I heard about it was true and even better. It was beautiful, elegant, historical and by far the nicest hotel while facing the Pacific Ocean. We all went straight to check-in where we turned in our paperwork, got our room keys, and received our Foot Locker and Saucony uniforms/gear. Foot Locker and Saucony truly are so generous and provided us with a trip to remember for a lifetime. Still in shock by everything I found my room and had a quick lunch with my mom. Time flew, and it was already time to shake out from the long traveling day and go on the group run. I was excited to run and see a little bit of San Diego, it is such a beautiful place. When I went back to my room, I met my roommate Hannah Oneda, a senior from the Northeast Region, she was so sweet! We then found a door in our room that we thought was a closet door and realized Bridget Blake was in the next room, connected to ours. Then, it was time for dinner where we had a South team meeting prior and where I met the rest of the South girls. Everyone was so incredibly nice while dinner was delicious. After dinner, we made crazy team t-shirts for the scavenger hunt that took place all around the hotel by answering various Foot Locker questions and taking pictures. By the end of the night, I was exhausted from the time difference and all the excitement that I knew the next days would be filled of!
Friday morning came and I headed down for breakfast to get ready for the course preview. I was very anxious to actually see the course, everyone spoke about and videos I had seen. After running the course, I was excited but knew the hills would make the race definitely challenging. I was up for the challenge and knew it would be a tough race. The course was two big loops around the beautiful Morley Field, Balboa Park. After thinking about my race plan and finishing up my strides, we all boarded the buses to go back to the hotel. I then had lunch with the South girls and we did fun activities at the hotel. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. Dinner was again delicious and overall so inspiring. A panel discussion took place after dinner of nine of the Foot Locker alumni. We learned their amazing accomplishments, heard them answer a couple of questions, gave their advice, and got their autographs! It was so cool! I was in shock the entire time. I thought it was so inspiring before the big race in the morning and it definitely helped me stay relaxed. After another fun-filled day I organized my race day clothes for the morning and tried to get some sleep since it would be an early wakeup call and a really important day.
Finally, it was race day! The big day we have all been waiting for and traveled so far to experience. I woke up early, met my mom, and a couple other teammates to see a lunar eclipse over the Pacific Ocean on the beach at the back of the hotel. It was such a great way to start the day and worth getting up early for. I then went back to my room, ate a quick breakfast, got changed, and boarded the bus to go to the course for the race. The weather seemed perfect for racing, similar to Florida weather but with less humidity, so I was excited. After, warming up for a while, introductions began. The South girls were second to each be introduced. The announcer introduced each athlete as we ran down a line of stars to our green box while we waited for the rest of the teams and took time to stretch and use the
bathroom. Within, five quick minutes we approached the starting line and the gun went off. The race went out really fast, like I expected and then separated out quickly. I gave it my best effort and tried to stay in the top half all throughout the race. Running up the first loop with the big hill was tough and faced a steep decline on the other side, but running up the second loop was so much harder. I knew I had to push it out and tried my best to catch some people after the steep decline for the second time on the way to the finish line. I finished in 19th place, and can honestly say it was the hardest race of my life. My realistic goal was to finish in the top half and I was thankful I was able to. Even though it was a tough race, I enjoyed every minute of it. The atmosphere was incredible, racing girls that are better than me and extremely talented. I know I have to improve and need to get better in specific areas. I am so grateful to have be given this opportunity to race in a race like this and will never take it for granted. It was truly a learning experience that I will never forget. After, the race everyone boarded the buses and went back to the hotel where we took the entire group Foot Locker picture. We then got vouchers for lunch at a restaurant next to our hotel that faced the Pacific Ocean. The weather was gorgeous and was a nice lunch with the South girls. After lunch, we hung out at the beach once everyone finished their interviews and ice cream sundaes. Time flew and it was time to get ready for the formal dinner and 
banquet. Everyone had nice dresses and the South girls all sat together at a table near the front of the beautiful room, facing the stage. While we waited for our dinner there was a display of pictures of the morning being shown. The four course dinner was amazing and the awards were given while we each received the group photo, the race highlights on a CD, and a copy of Adam Goucher’s book called, “Running on the Edge.” After pictures were taken, the banquet was over and all the South girls went to the dance held afterwards in the same room. It was so much fun filled with many laughs. Once the dance was over, the South girls and myself stayed up late, packed, and tried to squeeze in two hours of sleep before our long day home. Before I knew it, it was 3:15am and needed to be on the bus by 3:45am. Thankfully, most of the South girls were on the same bus that was headed to the airport. After, checking in and before boarding our flights we all said our goodbyes. The South girls could not have been any nicer and we all became so close. I then arrived in Atlanta and waited for my flight back to the sunshine state. It was another long traveling day but it was definitely worth it.
In the end, I am so blessed to have earned the opportunity to run at Foot Locker Nationals this past weekend. It was a blast! I could not be any more grateful for the overall experience, friendships I made, and race I ran. This has been an outstanding cross country season. I know I can always, always be better and need to train extremely hard for track season. See everyone in track season!
I hope you all have a wonderful, healthy holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
More Coverage
Olivia's Athlete Profile
Lily William's Blog On Her Experience At Foot Locker Nationals
MileSplit's Coverage of Foot Locker Nationals
