Firstly I would like to thank Runnerstribe for the opportunity to contribute to the site. Since the trip to Spain for the World cross and the brief period of track training I had I’ve just been keeping the training consistent and building on my base work. I haven’t really done much else in terms of my running, now I’m almost at the end of the semester for uni, I’m having to spend a lot of time studying for my exams. It makes it hard to try and combine everything, but once you get the hang of it it gets a bit easier.


 
World Cross Country was an awesome experience, from when we arrived right up until we left I really enjoyed my time over there. Travelling there was tiring, and it seemed like we were going everywhere but where we needed to be, I flew over to Singapore then on to London, from there we went to Madrid, to Seville and then to Punta Umbria by bus (not to mention missing the flight from Madrid to Seville) we were travelling for something like almost 2 days. In the week leading up to the race all I did was easy running, apart from a light fartlek session on the course a couple of days out. When I was running around I new it would be a brilliant race, I loved the course and I was much more calm and approached it with more of a level head this year after having the experience of last years competition. It was surprising because I managed to acclimatise and rid myself of any jet lag really quickly once I was there, and got decent sleep all week long, even the night before the race. On race day my nerves were more excitement and anticipation rather than worry, I couldn’t wait to get out and see what I could do.

All they had for us to warm up on was a small football field, there wasn’t much room and there were quite a few people jogging around at the same time, we all did our own thing with the warm ups and it didn’t take me long to get in the zone and focus my energy. Once we actually got out to the start line I found that I was much more relaxed than the previous year as well, starting at the back of our gate didn’t phase me either – it was more of a blessing because I was forced to stop myself going out too hard, which is a massive killer. After the first lap I went through in 48^th, and I started to work my way up, eventually getting myself to 40^th the following lap which is pretty much where I stayed for the rest of the race. It was a tough course, the hills weren’t huge but they really take it out of you, especially when they are in quick succession. I finished quite strong as well just edging Glen Yarham, although just getting caught on the line by Brit Jonny Hay. At the end of it all I was stoked with my run, 40^th place and a huge improvement from last years finish of 83^rd.

Since finishing the domestic track season in Melbourne for the nationals, I’ve mainly just been running, with a few hit outs here and there, like the HBF run for a reason and the state short course cross country. Leonora looks good for the coming weekend, and there isn’t much after that before the national championships in Canberra which should shape up to be a really good competition.

Thanks,

Ethan

I never thought I would see people scalping tickets to an athletics meet, but that's now turning into a common occurrence here. And what's more, people are buying them. It seems people are really excited about having the World Championships in town!

In Berlin there are huge displays, events and installations set up in all the main areas across the city. Twenty metre tracks are set up around town for people to test their speed, sponsors have huge stands which resemble mobile shopping centres, and every open billboard is covered with promotion. And people are loving it. All the promotional events are packed out, there are queues for every stall, and people all over the city are getting into the spirit of athletics.

It's great to see people embracing the sport like this. Hosting the World Championships is a great chance to introduce people in that city and country to the sport, and it's good that Berlin is taking full advatange of this. The cheers that accompany every German athlete, whether the crowd has any idea who they are or not, are inspiring, and soon that athlete will be very well known around Germany.

Even more inspiring is seeing the people on the train coming to watch the meet. Most of them have bought the promotional apparel, talk excitedly about what they are about to see, and are visibly looking forward to what they consider a once in a lifetime opportunity.

This is the kind of passion that athletics needs more of. It's the passion that Usain Bolt and others are trying to inspire. It's the kind of passion that a World Championships or Olympics can bring.

And so far it has lived up to expectations. The stands may not yet be packed out, but the event is very well organised, and everything is being done to ensure that the hype will be justified.

 

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'Hills are speedword in disguise '
Frank Shorter