2016 World Mountain Running Championships

 Before I jump into my experience with Bulgarian yogurt, Gold medals and the Bulgarian Alps, I wanted to share a very special piece. Doug S. of Elevation Outdoors Magazine set up an in depth article interview which also featured a photo of me on the cover, shot by the amazing photographer David Clifford! In this article we chat about my life outside of running a little, near death experiences, how I became the first and only African American to make the USA National Mountain Running Team, how racism looks in our sport and many other topics. Feel free to grab a copy from their website or if you wish, check out the online version here..Enjoy!

I headed to Bulgaria a few days early to check out some of the beauty I've heard about in their alps. I also had a very important question I needed answered before race day. In China, Chinese food is simply food. I wondered, if in Bulgaria, was Bulgarian yogurt 'simply' yogurt? Upon arrival I skipped the yogurt and dived straight into the local chocolate and set off to explore some of the peaks residing above the resort town of Borovets, about 90 minutes outside of Sofia. My expectations after only 3 hours in the country were exceeded far beyond what I had hypothesized. Many times we allow TV shows or books to influence our views of a country without even experiencing the country firsthand. Typically I avoid this, however I must admit, I had somewhat negative views of the country before even arriving.

Alps of Bulgaria below Musala Peak

Bulgaria left me in awe after only one day. After a quick jaunt to some of the high peaks of the country such as Yastrebetz and Musala, I quickly forgot about the thoughts in my head that "Bulgaria didn't have big mountains". One could gain 2,000+ meters of altitude in no time with the steep terrain Bulgaria offered. The trails were pristine. Even during high tourist season, I rarely found or noticed trash along the trails! I eventually made my way to a few restaurants to order 'Bulgarian Yogurt'. I asked a few locals what it was exactly. What I concluded was, in Bulgaria, Bulgarian yogurt is still in fact branded "Bulgarian Yogurt". Any Bulgarian will tell you that its the only real yogurt and that Greek yogurt is in fact not as healthy as Bulgarian yogurt. After some research and of course taste testing I couldn't agree more!

Valleys below Yastrabetz Mountain
Slowly I made my way to the race venue for the 2016 World Mountain Running Championships, Sapareyva Banya! Quite an old, rustic looking town with mountains galore and cobbled street paths around town. After running the course with teammate David F. I quickly started to put together a team strategy for the attempt at doing something Team USA had never done at this Championship. I have been on the Team for 9 consecutive World Championships and part of the team each time we made history as a team winning our first medal ever 2008 (Bronze), then Silver in 2010. All that was missing from the puzzle was Gold. From this years National Championships where we picked our National Team, I knew we had something special. After seeing the course I knew we had the shot at doing something nobody expected. Our team was filled with talented guys, all with experience at major events across the charts and not to mention, every guy on the team had proved at the National Championships that they could CLIMB.

Race Day

Fast forward to the Team meeting. We came up with a plan, everyone was healthy and fit, all that was left to do was line up and get the job done. One thing I've learned in my career is that nothing you have accomplished matters before the gun goes off. You have to handle business on race day. The plan was for our team to be aggressive and make this race hurt for everyone, leaving the strongest team for the day atop the podium. Individually I had plans of course. I was asked numerous times what I thought I could do, if I could medal, if I could win? The only thing that mattered to me was putting myself in the best position to give my team a chance for a Gold medal. Winning would give my team the best score I as an individual could provide to the team....so. After team prayer, I could feel it in the air, there was something I could see in each of my teammates' eyes. We were all ready. Jokes about racing each other lightened the mood before the battle was to take place. Once the gun went off I had one goal, get to the top of that mountain as fast as I could. After about a mile in, I glanced back after taking the lead and noticed Team USA had all 6 of our runners right behind me. Nothing more encouraging than seeing your team looking strong.

Once I had the lead I was joined by teammate Hayden H. We pushed together and began separating from the lead pack before he fell back, passed by top Mexican athlete. As the pressed on, I went back and forth with the Mexican athlete before gaining a significant lead as we headed toward the 9k mark. As we headed toward the steepest portions of the course I was caught by a Ugandan athlete briefly. Just before 1900 meters to go I had again dropped him and the taste of victory was close. I took a glance back as I was pulling away and notice another athlete running behind the athlete pushing him on his back aiding him up the steep portion of the course below the chair lift. Initially I thought, "no problem, I'm gonna win this". Had he just helped him for a few seconds and then left, I would have had no issue. I look back again as we hit the steep double track section and notice the athlete is now pacing the Ugandan athlete. Again, if this was just a quick 5 seconds, no worries. He ran with him for minutes on in and now he had caught me. There were athletes and coaches along the course with video and photos of what was going on thankfully. We hit 400 to go and I passed him again, but the energy he conserved thanks to his mate helping him up the hill was sufficient enough for him to push past me and open up a 5 second gap as we hit the last bit. I was of course upset at the line. I told him, "you can not get paced or pushed up a hill during a Championship"! Thankfully other teams had protested before Team USA needed to. Rightfully, I was given the Gold medal. I had only dreamed of winning this Championship and now that it had happened, I was in shock and putting that moment into words would be impossible. As I stood at the finish, awaiting my teammates I was trying to add up the team score to see if we had won. 4, 5, 6, 7... OH NO, I said to myself, "we just lost it". Little did I know, a few athletes slipped in front of the top Italian athlete that I hadn't noticed. This gave him a higher score than I initially counted. Thus, I was given the news, albeit late, that TEAM USA WON GOLD..by 1 point!!! I was going to be flying back to the USA with 2 Gold medals. So many years of hard work, blood left on trails, sweat, tears from disappointing moments and now this, years accumulating to an explosion of emotion as I was about to stand atop a podium signifying that I had won a World Championship. An epic battle with Italy as always, but this time around we got the job done. It doesn't get any closer than a 1 point victory.

2016 World Championships Results

To make the moment even more special, Team USA won a Gold on a very iconic day in US history, September 11. As I stood on the podium with my Teammates, I thought about those that lost their lives on September 11, 2001, I thought about the fact that I was celebrating a Gold medal with Team USA staff that had been there on the day of my first World Championship team 9 years ago and how it had been a long ride that ended with Gold today. My mind was filled with thoughts of gratefulness, sorrow and happiness all at the same time. What a feeling!

Thank you to Ellen Miller, Paul Kirsch, Richard Bolt and Nancy Hobbs for the fun memories and all that you do for USA Mountain Running!

USA Track and Field Recap:
http://www.usatf.org/News/Joe-Gray-leads-men-to-top-of-podium-at-World-Mount.aspx#.V9dLmikLiSI.twitter

Trailrunner Magazine Recap:
http://trailrunner.com/trail-news/three-medals-for-team-usa-at-the-world-mountain-running-championship/

Some behind the scenes moments I captured from my point of view at the awards ceremony!



Important Gear that lead to the performance: Merrell All out Crush Shoes, Electrobites pre-race snack, Mio Global Fuse Strapless Heart Rate Monitor to keep an eye on my effort for the 12.7 miles uphill.