a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TOUhSNfKrPI/AAAAAAAAFUQ/CmfG_4pjjE0/s1600/Issy_NEChamps_2010.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TOUhSNfKrPI/AAAAAAAAFUQ/CmfG_4pjjE0/s400/Issy_NEChamps_2010.jpg” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540871513291009266″ //abr / Last weekend was another beautiful fall weekend in Vermont and it also happened to be the weekend of New England Cross Country Championships. 255 girls and 264 boys showed up to race the 5k course. The race was different from any other I have run at Thetford. For one, the field of girls I ran with in the mass-start was much larger then ever before, not to mention faster. Recalling my feelings on the starting line: on one hand I was excited for the race, but on the other, I was having second thoughts about whether coming to this event had been a good idea. My starting lane number was 19, which was the lane reserved for the “ independent” runners from VT…a.k.a. the lane for the loners who were there without a team. The start of the race was unlike the VT State Meet and “Woods Run” (the two other races SMS ran at Thetford this year). The difference was that this was a race that you had to qualify for in order to run, and as a result, everyone running it was fast. So… instead of the crowd of runners thinning as the race progressed, it was a race that you had to work your way up through in order to improve your place. The course was challenging, as always at Thetford. However, on the brighter side of things, it was one of my least muddy Thetford encounters. Although I did not set a personal course record, I had a good experience racing against some fast, seasoned runners from throughout New England.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-2753616464077032868?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div
