My oldest son is a senior at UMD and a cross country runner. His team has been pretty strong this year which they capped off with a runner up finish at their conference meet and a third place at regionals. They managed to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA National Division II meet this past weekend. This is UMD's first appearance at the national race since 2004. We decided to drive to Indiana to watch the race. David, my husband and I left home at 7:00 am Friday and arrived in Evansville at 7:50 pm. That was an adventure, but a good one. I managed to have the driving shift with the toll booth. The guys had my correct change ready. NCAA moved Saturday's race up by two hours due to imminent severe weather. The change in time was helpful for people traveling home. I'm sure the runners were happy to move the race up as I'm sure they didn't sleep well anyway due to excitement and nerves. The meet began with introducing the teams and individuals for the women as they warmed up. We were then treated to Oh Canada for the one Canadian team the the Star Spangled Banner. (Hearing the anthems reminded me that the Olympics will be coming up soon!). Then the ladies took off. We got a chance to say hi to Blake before the race. Then it was the men's turn. 249 guys make an impressive start. Blake and his teammates went out conservatively which was good strategy as 10K is a long race. They passed runners through the whole race. Blake himself moved up about 80 placed between 1K and the finish. It is mentally much easier to pass throughout than to be passed. Since Blake has used all four years of college eligibility, we knew this is really his last cross country race. He has always worked so hard both in and out of season; it was such a treat to see his last meet and for him to have a great race. Blake and the Bulldogs placed 25th as a team. Four of the seven runners are seniors, three juniors will be back. The National meet was a beautiful send-off for Blake, Cody, Henry and Grant who have been running together for four years. Nicely done, Bulldogs! If the shorts make you wonder about the weather, it was 65 degrees. We were warm in jackets but it rained off and on so we had raincoats. It was 17 degrees by the time we got home to Minnesota at 12:15 am Sunday. No shorts for running here. Happy running! Missee
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AuthorMissee and Stephanie are two Minnesota sisters and moms who love to run. We are not experts in running, parenting or anything else, but we do have years of experiences that may be helpful or entertaining to others. Archives
May 2020
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