Blog #5 – Arizona

By Brenna Cohoon 

My team embarked on our journey to Casa Grande, Arizona last Thursday afternoon.  However, the mental part of our journey began long before we actually left for our destination. 

Early this summer, we decided as a team that we wanted to give the Nike Desert Twilight Festival a try.  It would be a new challenge for us in various aspects, such as having to compete well after a day of traveling and dealing with Arizona’s warm, dry air. 

We accepted this challenge eagerly, though.  We wanted to take advantage of the wonderful opportunity to race against some of the best runners from the Southwest and beyond.  It was a chance for us to expand our horizons and race outside of the Midwest.

 It was very difficult for us to contain our excitement in the week leading up to the race.  Before we knew it, the time came for us to pack up our cars and head to O’Hare for our flight.   

It wasn’t until we boarded the plane that what we were doing really settled in.  Slowly, the green terrain of Illinois faded into clouds. We watched movies throughout the flight to pass the time, since we were all too excited to sleep.  

As we began our descent into Phoenix, I was amazed by the sand and the mountainous scenery.  I was thrilled that we would actually get to race there. 

We enjoyed a pasta dinner at a local restaurant after our landing. We completed the day with a short shakeout run right outside of the course.  We were all exhausted from a long day of traveling but could not be more ecstatic to race the following evening. 

Friday morning was very laid back and allowed us to spend quality time together in our hotel rooms.  We ended up gathering all 10 girls into one room where we watched some cheesy television and rolled each other out.   

We piled into our rental van for a preview of the course.  We were greeted by the typical festivities of a cross country meet but amplified.  Food trucks, t-shirt stands, team tents, porta potties, and more filled the perimeter of the course.   

Once we got onto the course, though, we felt at peace, secluded from all of the chaos. 

The course itself was extremely flat, and I could tell immediately that there were going to be some fast times.  While running through it, we pointed out key places to surge and smart spots to make moves.  It was difficult for me to contain my excitement and save it for the race! 

Our course preview was followed by a “cactus preview,” since we begged our coach to pull over on the side of the road to take some pictures with cacti.  I’m sure we looked a bit ridiculous to the Arizona natives, but as girls who live in the suburbs of Chicago, seeing full-grown cacti in person was quite the experience. 

The remainder of the day passed quickly as we prepared everything we needed for our race later that evening.  As time went by, I got more and more amped up, but surprisingly, did not feel very nervous.  Of course, I still experienced some nerves, but I focused on channeling most of that energy into excitement.

 There was something that made me feel incredibly at ease as I anticipated the race, and I think it was trust. Trust in myself, trust in my coaches, trust in my teammates.  Deep inside of me, I had a good feeling about the race. 

That positivity was reinforced while watching two of my teammates, sophomores Sara Homberg and Madi Sisson, compete in one of the open races earlier in the evening.  They ran as a beautiful sunset was taking place, the orange and purple hues spread across the sky.  Both girls ran amazing races, placing 14th and 16th in a huge field of almost 500 runners.  It was inspiring to see them run together, moving up as a unit rather than individuals. 

A couple hours later came the “Sweepstakes Race” in which our top 8 girls were competing.  

After completing our warmup and receiving some words of encouragement from our coach, we headed over to the starting line to finish our preparation with some strides.  

We couldn’t help but laugh a bit when we noticed confused looks from the teams out west after explaining that we were from Illinois.  Some people may have been puzzled trying to comprehend why we chose to run so far from home, but the bunch of us knew exactly what our intentions were. 

The gun went off, and the first thing I told myself was, “Smile!”  I was already off to a solid start mentally.  I used the slight dip approximately 200 meters into the race to propel myself forward and move into an appropriate position. 

Approaching the first mile, I could already sense some girls trying to make moves and solidify their place.  I put in a few surges to stay within reach of them and noticed that I felt as though I had so much energy available to tap into.  I kept on smiling, taking in that wonderful, electric feeling from the crowd. 

Another mile down and only one (well, a little more than that) to go. 

I started to hone in with my focus.  I needed to make some serious moves and push forward, taking every place possible for my team.  I wanted to put everything out there and leave Arizona the following morning with no regrets.   

Sectioning off the last part of the race into more manageable portions, I kicked it in a little faster at each “checkpoint”.  I kept in mind what I have trained for and used that motivation while coming down the final straightaway. 

I finished, and after seeing my time, a huge grin swept across my face.  I heard a race volunteer say something along the lines of, “Oh my gosh, she’s smiling,” in a very surprised tone.  

Yes, my smile may come as a shock to some, but it’s what keeps me calm in racing situations.  It’s what helped me all throughout my junior year and what helped me run my best race of the season thus far.  My “racing smile” came back. 

What I really wanted to know after finishing were the results of the team performances.  We were initially disappointed in hearing that we finished third behind Niwot and Cherokee Trail, two incredible teams from Colorado.   

Once taking a step back and fully comprehending everything, though, we knew that we were still proud of how everyone raced.  It may not have been our best collective performance of the season, but it was nothing to hang our heads about.  

If anything, it provided us with the racing experience of a lifetime and some valuable lessons as runners and people.  We were so fortunate to have the opportunity to travel and race together, making memories that I know will far outlast our times and places. 

Photo Credit - Doug Plunkett, Downers Grove South HS