College has been treating me well thus far. I've learned a lot and become more disciplined in many areas, but I've also been blessed to be able to continue participating in the sport that I love so very much.
Yes, I'm running cross-country for Gordon College!
Cross-country wasn't something that I was expecting to continue after high school, but it started to enter my mind as a possibility when I heard David Walczak ('16), my longtime teammate who also attends Gordon, was running on the team. After committing to Gordon and exchanging a few emails, I found myself with a spot on the roster.
My new coach, Justin Wikerd, is fantastic. He's been an excellent source of encouragement to the entire team all season. He's currently in his second season at Gordon, coaching both the XC and Track and Field teams.
As for how my season has been going personally, it's been challenging, but it's also been a wonderful experience. I'm training harder than I ever have before, and I honestly think I'm in the best shape of my life.
College XC distances are slightly longer. The first meet of the season is a 5K race to allow us to ease back into race pace, but after that, the men's distance bumps up to 8K (just barely under five miles). For the women, the 5K distance remains the same until the Conference Championship and Regional Finals races, where an extra kilometer is added and the distance becomes 6K.
I dealt with some foot soreness in the offseason, so I came into the year slightly undertrained. I ran the 5K race in 21:36, certainly not a bad time, but quite a bit slower than that of what I am capable. Adjusting to the 8K distance has taken some time; in my first 8K, my mile pace increased slightly as I ran a 35:21.6. Over the season, I've been able to drop nearly a minute off my time, and just last Saturday, I completed the CCC Championship race in 34:27.9, setting a new personal best for the 8K distance.
The team's final meet, the NCAA New England Regionals, is next Saturday, November 11. The rules are slightly different for this meet as each team is only permitted to run seven team members, though an additional three can serve as alternates, standing by to compete in the case of unforeseen circumstances. I am one of the alternates, so I will be travelling with the team, but I am unlikely to actually participate in the race.
Once the season ends, I'll have some downtime, but I think I have decided to give Track and Field a try as well. Tall Oaks only had a track team my sophomore year, which was a really enjoyable experience. Most Gordon runners do both XC and track, and while I orignally was intending on taking the spring season off, I've been feeling called to participate in track as well. Just this week, the XC team practiced on the track to do some interval work, and I had an absolute blast, running my fastest interval splits of the season. I am still a bit concerned about having enough time in my schedule, but I am trusting that if God wants me to run track, He will find a way to make it work.
With that, I bid you farewell as both our teams approach the end of our respective seasons. Go Lions and Scots!
Benjamin
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