11.13.2011

"We Needed a Miracle and We Got One"

I think it would be an understatement to say that this past week has been a hectic one for the UAA cross country family.  It seems like an eternity ago that we were all in Spokane, psyched up for the West Regional Championships that awaited us, yet it was only eight days ago.  It's hard to believe, but packed into those eight short days were the unpleasant emotions of anxiety, stress, fear, uncertainty, and restlessness coupled with the sensations of relief, joy, tranquility, comfort, and euphoria making for an emotional roller-coaster ride for all of us at UAA.

It all started on the race course Saturday morning.  Seven Seawolf men, and seven Seawolf women toed the line against the best runners in the west region for an opportunity to compete at the national championships in two weeks time.  The seawolf women ran strong races showing that they had something to prove.  Right from the beginning each one of them ran their race, as they dominated the field and finished the job off right with a big win!  The men had similar ambitions, and never gave up on a tight battle with Chico State.  It was honestly one of the most exhilarating races I've ever seen, where each of our top 5 runners ran the whole race within striking distance of at least one of Chico's top 5 runners.  With a few gutsy surges in the final mile, the Seawolves managed to pull off a 37-39 victory over Chico.  Two huge races were great measuring sticks for both our men and women teams, showing that we are fully prepared to take on the nation in Spokane on the 19th!

The rest of the weekend came and went as we all celebrated our victories in Washington, but by Monday morning, all of that changed.  After practice we found out that Marko Cheseto, one of the runners on our team had gone missing.  From that moment on, the minutes felt like hours, and the hours felt like days waiting to hear news on his whereabouts.  For two days, search groups all over Anchorage spent hours on end searching the snow-covered landscape, yet no signs of Marko appeared.  It was only until 3:15 AM on Wednesday morning that Marko was found and rushed to a hospital.  I think I can speak for the whole team when I say that waking up Wednesday morning was like Christmas.  We were all overcome with a huge sense of relief as we heard messages that Marko had been found and is recovering in the Hospital.

By now, everything seems to be settling down as we approach our final week of training before the NCAA championships.  The race will be held on the same course that we ran on at Regionals, so there will be no surprises on race day.  Both teams are ready to rock and roll, and there really isn't much else to say.  Off to the big dance we go!

1 comment:

  1. did you run regionals? you running nats?

    Lesson of the day: dont let Kenyans wonder around in Alaska

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