9th at Nike Team Nationals

The girls TEAM finished 9th in Portland at the Nike Team Nationals last Saturday. 22 of the best teams in the country were at the race. Going into the race we were ranked 14th in the country with a goal of top 10. They ran a tough and gutsy race through the mud and cold weather.
The entire weekend was full of fun and excitement. They were able to meet and hang out with some of the best distance runners in the United States, they were given some sweet Nike gear, and they made some great memories as a TEAM.
At the Airport in Salt Lake

Arriving in Portland This is the first Nike official we saw at the airport. He later got upset at the girls for trying to dangle a long chain of glow sticks over the balcony of the 8th floor late Saturday night. The shuttle bus ride over to the hotel. We were quickly established as the team with the most enthusiasm and excitement to be there. Look at that tongue!!! It is hard to see, but they are pointing to the banner that says 'Davis XC Club' they are going to send us that banner. It will be hanging in my classroom. This is at the beginning of the run on the Nike Campus. It was amazing. They have trails running all over the campus (through the "Tiger Woods"). That is one lucky statue :) A much needed stop at the RonJon. Guess who's inside? All 8 of them are inside. Amazing that we get any running done. This is the most incredible track ever. It is surrounded by forest, and the inside of the track is also forest. We are thinking about filling in the football field at home with trees. Still working on our running forms. We learned this weekend that Meghan is an amazing leaper.
This was painted on a large grass field outside the Tiger Woods Center Arriving at the Tiger Woods Center to pick up all of the gear. Natalie - trying on one of the Nike shirts. When we got there they gave each of the girls backpacks with warm-ups, a uniform, socks, and a long sleeve running shirt. They gave us this shirt when we told them there was a kid on the team who went by "Guts". That is one sethtastic, gutzeriffic cross country shirt. They all received a free pair of trainers and a free pair of cross country spikes. This is the fella that helped them pick out their shoes. After decorating the TEAM van. It is supposed to be the face of a cow on the front ??? I think our van may have had the most random decorating. This is in the grandstands of the horse track before we previewed the course on Friday. The entire course was 2 1/2 laps in the center of the horse track.
Before getting on the bus they made the girls put on these 'booties' to keep the mud out.
This is right after we arrived at the race.
Right after Kelsey's race. She ran awesome in the open race (8th runner race). And finished in 6th place out of all the teams' 8th runners. 21:12.
That's working as a TEAM - they are pinning on the race numbers on each other's backs.


Race Results:
16 Natalie Haws 19:40
29 Candace Eddy 20:01
62 Julianne Wirthlin 20:41
83 Loren Storey 20:58
91 Emily Hansen 21:03
116 Meghan Hedquist 21:42
142 Katie Swanson 22:33
Team Scores
1. 83 Manlius, NY
2. 171 Newhall, CA
3. 194 Kinetic, NY
4. 206 Hanover, NH
5. 209 Burnt Hills, NY
6. 215 Caution, AL
7. 241 Fort Collins, CO
8. 250 Wicked, MA
9. 281 Davis, UT
10. 295 Rose City, OR

That's Loren' bloody leg

Natalie stole these Nike flaggings after the race.

Here are the girls with Caleb, Seth, and Josh - thanks for the support!
Here are the girls with some of the moms that made the trip: Joan Hansen and Jill Hedquist. Thanks to all the parents who support us. It makes a huge difference.

Here are the girls with their friends from Kenya - ask Loren and Kelsey about these boys.
Here they are with Abdi Abdirahman after he ate dinner with us. One of the highlights of the trip was when Julianne actually asked him if he had ever tasted deer head (or deer eyeball). I don't think he thought we were weird at all.

Here they are eating dinner with Adam Goucher. Julianne tried to steal his watch as a souvenir.

Here are the girls with Dathan Ritzenheim. Julianne asked if he had ever peed his pants during a race. (The answer was no - in case you are wondering). Some of the other pro Nike athletes were: Alan Webb, Kara Goucher, Shalane Flanagan, Alan Culpepper, Bernard Lagat, Danny Lincoln, Chris Solinsky, and Lauren Fleshman.

What an amazing TEAM and an incredible trip. I felt lucky to be with them and lucky to have Coach Richardson along as well. Thanks for the memories. We all agreed that we were lucky to have theTEAM that was supporting us back home - both the girls and the boys.