Pre-World Championships

(Kamnik)

The World Mountain Running Championships were a few days away and I was as nervous as ever. The last two years have been great experiences. The first year I was part of a team that made history, winning the first ever men's team medal (Bronze)! Now that the World Championship has become IAAF sanctioned, African countries have joined in on the pain and raised the bar even higher. In years past, you may have seen one or two Africans, now there are countries from Africa packed with talent as in most running related sports.


(Opening Ceremony)

To get my mind off the race I spent some time at two of the biggest attractions here in Slovenia, Bled and Bohinj! Both spots were amazing to say the least. Many will tell you Bled looks like a page straight from a fairytale, and I can attest to this. After a short stroll through Bled we headed toward the "less touristic" Bohinj Lake. Its known to be a little more wild, rugged, less tourists and they forgot to mention, REMOTE. Its worth the drive, very peaceful, nice trails throughout the surroundings and plenty of views of the mountains hovering over the crisp lake. Keep in mind Slovenia is not that big, so anything "remote" is probably no more than a hop and a skip away. You can travel from one end of Slovenia to the other in 2 hours I've heard.


(Bled)

Spending time in the Kamnik and Julian Alps has been quite a different experience in regards to other alps that I have training/visited. The Alps in Slovenia have valleys that are less defined than say, Sion or Sierre. The terrain is definitely more technical in Slovenia and the mountains are covered in green pastures even at pretty high elevations. The Opening ceremony was pretty good as well. Its great to see the city of Kamnik put together such a great Championship. The speakers, the singers, superb! Bravo to the city of Kamnik.


(Bled)

The whole team finally made it in, everybody ready to compete. I was anxious to get on the starting line and challenge myself on the course. The runners would see a little bit of everything, steep, technical, flat, some downhill even, and the top would give send a few chills down your back with the wind breeze along with the sweat you've accumulated throughout the covered sections of the course. Updates on the World Championship with pictures coming soon......


(My buddy Sebastjan from Kamnik and I after a run in Kaminška Bistrica )