Sure I’ve been to state and I’ve been to large meets, but so far the conference championship has been the most stressful rave I’ve been in.

I specifically remember the first day of moving in to West Hall. It feels like yesterday that we were practicing at Eden Seminary for our first practice of camp week. I remember the sweat droplets forming around my eyes so vividly. Now we’re bundling up to run in 30 degree weather.

The bus ride never gets any better, but at least it wasn’t as long as the ride to Wisconsin. The power of music comes in handy for long bus rides.

Olive Garden has never been a restaurant of choice for me, but as the season has progressed, I have found that the pasta quality is not the greatest, but every dinner has its own experience. What I mean is, every dinner I have sat next to someone new, and the memories have always turned out differently.

Race morning is always questionable. 6 am or 7 am and we are outside doing our shakeout run before we get to the meet, Think of it as a warmup before the warmup run when we get to the course and set up our tent.

The race itself was small but the competition showed up and showed out. Tom Sawyer Park was the nationals course for 2017. Legends such as Edward Cheserek, Sam Parsons, Morgan McDonald, and Grant Fisher have all set foot on this course.

The pace was quick and the competition stranded out slowly. One could start with a pack and end up running by himself by the first two miles into a 5 mile race.

When the results were tallied, I ended up placing 22nd but the team placed 3rd overall. We raced well, but the competition had a better day. As Eliud Kipchoge says, “100 percent of me is nothing compared to 1 percent of my team.”

Next and final stop is Oshkosh, WI for the NCAA DIII Midwest Regional meet. This time it’ll be a tad colder and probably some ice on the ground.