This year the race was on the same course, I know, what a coincidence! I wanted to leave this years race just like I left the last time I raced on this course, as a champ. I came into the race thinking I was running 8k and the race was actually a 10k and the course is already tough, but with some added turns and mud, the course was a whole different ball game. I love rough conditions so I was pretty confident coming into the race. I knew I had some stiff competition with Sayenko who just ran 2:18 in the marathon this year, and Uli from Germany who usually wins this race. Uli is a pretty good hill runner so I was thinking he would offer the most competition, but in the end it was another stud who I have raced for years as he competed for the Huskies while in college named Mark Mandi.The course was pretty tough so I didnt even go into the race thinking about time I just wanted to place top 3 and maybe win a little money in the process. The first mile was pretty fast considering the course was so muddy and twirly!
Mike was up front with Hickey, who also was a stud in Highschool and college. I knew I had to get away from him early because this guy had major wheels in college! I didnt have to seperate the pack as there was yet another guy who showed up who has been good for quite some time who started pressing the pace. The hills and turns eventually took their toll on the field and he had a good lead over Mandi and I. By 6k I caught up with him and started to gap both he and Mandi. The early surges caused him to fall back and Mandi began gapping him. With about 1200 to go I slipped coming around one of the many tight turns. Mandi caught up real quick and put me in a bad position as I wasted a ton of energy trying to get back up and keep my lead. Thank God, I was able to hold him off despite his fast closing near the middle of that last k. I bided time and on the last hill I blasted up it as if I was fresh, but in all honesty my legs were dead. 
Up next for me is the Regional Cross country championships for the Northwest, which should also be pretty competitive. Im rounding into shape finally so I will be racing a lot better there, but my rival from Oregon Mr. King should be there, maybe I can take the lead on our recent bouts hahaha. Last time I ran a regional XC race in the Northwest was back when I was 14 and it was a bittersweet day as I finished second after winning the Pacific Northwest title as I did this year. Hopefully I can change this and take home both crowns! We will seePacific NW Athletics Champ. Meet HY-TEK's Meet Manager PNTF OPEN XC - 11/2/2008 Event 3 Men 14-39 10k Run CC OPEN ======================================================================= Name Age Team Finals Points ======================================================================= 1 Gray, Joseph 24 Club Northwest 31:50.00 1 2 Mandi, Mark 25 Club Northwest 31:56.00 2 3 Murray, Jon 32 Eastside Runners 32:06.00 3 4 Steidl, Uli 36 Seattle Running 32:55.00 4 5 Sayenko, Mike 24 Club Northwest 33:13.00 5 6 Baca, Angelo 28 Unattached 33:26.00 7 Park, Jeremy 28 Club Northwest 33:41.00 6 8 Johnson, Destry 24 Seattle Running 33:42.00 7 9 Halliday, Scott 20 Club Northwest 33:43.00 8 10 Pekoker, Steve 27 Brooks ID 33:54.00 11 Mangrum, Ben 30 Seattle Running 34:13.00 9 12 Sonderlage, Charles 28 Running Shoes 34:19.00 13 Charles, Chris 31 Seattle Running 34:24.00 10 14 Boyd, Travis 23 Seattle Running 34:25.00 11 15 Bauman, Ahrlin 37 Club Northwest 34:33.00 12 16 Sauvage, Ben 39 Seattle Running 34:36.00 13 17 Hickey, John 24 Club Northwest 34:48.00 14 18 Palmquist, Robert 25 Seattle Running 34:53.00 15 19 Winegar, Brett 29 Club Northwest 35:04.00 20 Haber, Ben 33 Seattle Running 35:07.00 21 Hashimoto, Jeff 37 Club Northwest 35:08.00 22 Moroney, Andrew 28 Eastside Runners 35:19.00 16 23 Dill, Patrick 31 Seattle Running 35:21.00 24 Bailey, Michael 39 Club Northwest 35:26.00 25 Johnson, Kyle 18 West Unattached 35:46.00 26 Roach, James 23 Seattle Running 35:47.00 27 Thompson, Lance 34 Seattle Running 36:08.00 28 Bartholomy, Jake 32 Seattle Running 36:22.00 29 Tremonte, Chris 28 Eastside Runners 36:35.00 17 30 Jakobsen, Casper 18 West Unattached 36:40.00 31 Redding, Iain 23 Seattle Running 37:11.00 32 Gulley, Jason 28 Fairhaven Runners 37:28.00 33 Davies, Mark 37 Seattle Running 37:35.00 34 Drake, Wesley 18 West Unattached 37:43.00 35 Ladd, Aaron 23 Seattle Running 38:05.00 36 Kirkham, Jared 27 Unattached 38:09.00 37 Falen, Jansen 36 Run West 38:17.00 38 Spencer, David 19 West Unattached 38:25.00 39 Riley, Spencer 34 Eastside Runners 38:41.00 18 40 Adams, Travis 36 Eastside Runners 38:49.00 19 41 Grichel, Steve 34 Fairhaven Runners 39:30.00 42 Hawkes, Colin 35 Eastside Runners 40:03.00 20 43 Merrill, Garth 42 Unattached 40:28.00 44 DeLONG, Matt 33 Club Northwest 41:45.00 45 Wesley, Don 38 Eastside Runners 42:07.00 21 46 Mataya, Jeff 23 Eastside Runners 43:20.00 47 Boggs, Bill 61 Unattached 51:44.00 Team Scores =================================================================================Rank
Team Total 1 2 3 4 5 *6 *7 *8*9
================================================================================= 1 Club Northwest 22 1 2 5 6 8 12 14 Total Time: 2:44:23.00 Average: 32:52.60
2 Seattle Running Club 41 4 7 9 10 11 13 15 Total Time: 2:49:39.01 Average: 33:55.80
3 Eastside Runners 73 3 16 17 18 19 20 21 Total Time: 3:01:30.01 Average: 36:18.00
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