Walt Disney World Meet 2012

I was really excited for this season of XC. But what I looked forward to the most was the Disney meet. My school did not participate in Disney last year, or the year before, and it was my first time running the course. I figured it would be a good idea to jog the course as I always do before a meet, and I quickly figured out that everyone in this race had signed up for a mud bath spa treatment. I am on the understanding that last year was ALOT worse! I have to give props to Disney though, they definitely know how to host a really fun meet and have a great course to run! Unfortunately, I have had a bit of a head cold and congestion for a couple weeks now. I ran with one at the FLRunners invite and now at Disney. So I wasn't completely at my best, but I still ran as hard as I could.

From what I understand, the weather for Friday's 1A and 2A races was not racer friendly, causing races for that day to be rescheduled to Saturday. To make this work they grouped the 1A/2A together and the 3A/4A together. The weather for Saturday was ridiculously humid, and I think all the runners were happy that the sun was covered by the clouds.

The start of the 3A/4A race was pretty crowded; I think almost 300 runners ran in it. When we lined up for the race the start line was really cramped. I felt kind of like a sardine.

I decided I would take off a little slower than I did the week before at FlRunners invite, and go out with a 5:10 mile. I knew I wanted to stay somewhat back of the lead pack in the first 1.5, but not lose sight of them, while also being careful that my first mile split would not be too fast for me to sustain. Apparently, my legs and brain were not on the same page, because I ended up running a 5:05 mile. That was just a little faster than I was planning, and maybe too fast for this tough course.

Then came the mud... and lots of it. After the mud there was nice grass to run on but before I knew what happened I took a turn and hit several hills. “Mickey Mountain” sounds cute, but it isn't, trust me. I do not know if the maker of this course was mad at us runners, but the creator definitely wanted to punish us. (at least those of us used to running the flat southern Florida courses we are spoiled by) Those hills were not easy for me.

    (I am just having fun about the course planners, because the truth is I do love a challenge and I have always enjoyed the tougher courses. I also don't mind getting a little muddy, like running in the rain, it adds an interesting twist to a race.)

    After the hills there was the two mile mark. I decided it would be a good idea to kick it in and try to pick people off but I couldn't tell who was running harder, me or my nose. I finished the race with a 17:07. I couldn't complain with a time like that on this course, in the humid conditions. Of course, I was hoping to do better.

I was quite impressed at how good and fast my competition was. They were amazing! They ran through that mud and over hills as if it was never there. It really was impressive.

Overall it was an awesome race, and I had a good time running with some great competition! ESPN/HS Sports did a fantastic job hosting with unique Mickey trophies, plenty of water, and even towels to wipe the mud off. I hope this race still goes on next year, because I can't wait to try it again next season!

    Next weekend I will be running the Manasota Track Club Invite. I am hoping for a little better weather and a much better nose.

Canaan Post-Race Interview at FLRunners 13

FOLLOW CANAAN ON RUNNERSPACE HERE:

Canaan's PR's:

800 2:10.21

1600 4:30.68

3200 10:07.28

5K 16:06.50