Track and Field Blogs - Leonel Manzano

Hey everyone,

I am in Europe on my first European track circuit. We arrived to London (Ryan Ponsonby, Shannon Rowbury and I) about two weeks ago. We are staying south of London in a nice house in Teddington next to Bushy Park. It is a great location especially for a runner. Bushy Park has about 7miles of trail and connects to Holmes park, which is where Hampton Court Palace is located. Since our arrival we've been training and preparing for Heusdon, London, Stockholm and my main focus, the World Championships in Berlin.

I kicked off my first competition in Heusdon, Belgium with an 800m. Except for the wind, it was a great race and I ended up 3rd with a 1:46.20. Two Kenyans finished ahead of me. It was great fun competing on the international scene. I cant wait to get more of these types of races in my system. The atmosphere compares with nothing I've ever experienced, when the gun went off thirteen thousand fans immediately erupted, I wish you all could experience that adrenaline rush.

From my Belgium experience, i've determined track and field could be the second biggest sport in Europe. The track was surrounded by fans and had VIP tables just off the track. But most impressive were the variety of fans young and old, business people, families, dates... all were simply enjoying their saturday at the races, track races that is. They were served various types food and drink (including alcohol). Certainly a first class experience at the track. One of my best experiences in Track and field...

We will see what our next race has in store for us..

Till next time

Leo

www.leomanzano.com