Track and Field Blogs - Scott Bauhs

Two races in two straight weekends and my final Collegiate Cross-Country regular season is over. I will not be racing again until conference and that is the start of the post season. Two wins isn't a bad way to do it either.

Stanford was the first of the two and it was a great way to start the season. This was the 8th time that I had run the Stanford Invite and in that span I have only run the same course twice. Each year the course has gotten flatter but as we learned this year, that doesn't necessarily mean easier. Stanford was a bit harder this year than it was last year and the times show it.

Either way I came into the race knowing that Aron Rono was going to be my main competition. I didn't take for granted that Stanford, Cal, or Arkansas could have someone vastly improved from last year but I knew that Aron was fit and was going to be running fast from the start. Since this was my first race I was reluctant to go out screaming fast through the first two miles so I knew I would be playing catch-up. I've been told that the announcer announced that Aron had 15 seconds on me at one point; I don’t know when he had his biggest gap but I certainly had my work cut out for me. In the last two miles I made every effort I could to get my legs moving faster and I could see the space between us fading a touch but not fast enough if I actually wanted to get him. With about 1000 meters to go there was a 20 meter downhill and I decided that it was my last chance to make up ground so I charged down the hill as fast as I could and used the momentum to catch up as fast as possible.

Any worries that I had about Aron holding on and out kicking me at the end disappeared after I caught him as I imagine he used all of his energy trying to stay clear of me and didn't save much for a final kick. Aron must have been feeling Deja Vu from last year when I passed him with less than a mile to go as well. The last two Stanford Cross-Country Invites have been some of my hardest fought races of my life and I am proud to have come out on top of Aron both times since he is an amazing runner in his own right.

Yesterday's race was a different experience. The Charles Bowles Invitational hosted by Willamette was our opportunity to race anyone on our team that isn't injured or sick and since we have a lot of people on the team, this was a big trip. We had 3 full 12 passenger vans and a few cars full of more athletes and our red shirts caravanning from Chico to Salem. This means that any bathroom stop is guaranteed to be at least a half hour and that we were going to be taking over some motels.

We stopped in Eugene on the way up and I got to run on some woodchips for the first time since the trials. We went to Nike town, Pre's rock and did strides on Hayward field which was really cool for some of the younger runners as well as a chance for me to return for my home away from home for the next few years considering the 09', 11’, 12’ USA Champs/Trials will be there. Then we made our way up to Salem to jog the course and get ready for the race.

I knew that there was a good chance that I wouldn't be challenged too much for the Individual title at Willamette but I still wanted to run a fast time. In the past the Willamette course has run very fast because the hills aren't too tough and the surfaces are pretty good for running but this year the course was really damp and the times were a bit slower. I got out really fast but settled into a bit slower pace and actually ran one of my slower 8k's in the past few years. The team had mixed results but we were able to sweep the Men's and Women's D2/D3/NAIA races pretty easily and bring home a few backpacks and water bottles. We also had some red shirts and youngsters do very well and I am confident that Chico will continue to be successful long after I'm gone.

I was beat up from Stanford and I didn't have anyone to push me to a fast time but I also think I'm behind in fitness from where I want to be. The rest of the guys team might be a little bit as well. Luckily we have quite a few weeks before nationals to continue building our mileage and getting in some good workouts. In the past I have felt like our teams have been phenomenal in our early Invites and then Stagnant through the season but hopefully this year we can continue building through the finish. I am excited to run some more double days and for the weather to start cooling down. The regular season may have ended but it feels like cross-country is just getting started.