Man oh man! I really just had a crazy weekend which began Friday morning after practice. We were doing our pillar drills at about 9 in the morning and I got a call that we would be heading up to Nike Team Nationals to help cover it. I really didn't know how to react because I have never been to a National level Cross Country event before, but I was really excited to see what Nike would be pulling out for this.

After practice we had about 45 minutes to eat, shower, pack and get moving because the events on Friday afternoon started at 3 and we wanted to get up there to check them out. The evening was packed with tons of fun for the athletes up there. They got to have a q & a session with the superstars of track and field in the US which included Lagat, Ritzenhein, Fleshman, the Black Cactus, Webb among others. While one group was in the session there, the other group was out in the Tiger Woods parking lot, decorating their team vans. I really was impressed by the artwork but I was also blown away by the athletes themselves, they really are great kids that were all fun to talk to and get to know.

That night we ate dinner and headed back to sleep outside of Beaverton. The next morning was hell! I am not used to getting up for anything at 7, but it definitely was well worth it. There were two open races featuring some stud athletes from Kenya and following that, there was the main event which was the team races for boys and girls. The event was held on the infield of a horse racing facility which I found to be really cool, and the mud was no joke! I really felt for the athletes because they had to brave some serious conditions. The temp was hovering around 30, they had mud basically the entire course sometimes three or four inches deep, and on top of that it was snowing and the wind was gusting. All of this of course was what made the event that more special. The athletes were lucky to have the US stars as "team captains" and mentors for the race and had some sick introductions on the infield. Did I mention that the race was started by FIREWORKS!

The races were highlighted by wins from both Kenyan teams in the open races and for the main event Chris Derrick finished first overall individually while his Naperville (Chicago, IL) boys team took home the boys title. Madeline Morgan from Caution (Mountain Brook) Alabama took the girls individual title and the Manlius girls grabbed home the team title for the second year in a row!

What I thought was awesome was the cheering sections that these teams had who came all the way to Portland. My favorites were the Portland crew and the Don Bosco fans from NJ who were insane!

Well I'm back in Eugene now and getting some work done so I'll be in touch! I can't wait for the highlight video to come out, I think its going to be pretty sick!