GRP Run Competes at USATF National Club Cross Country Championships
On a warm December Saturday in Tallahassee, six Green Racing Project runners lined up on the starting line of the USATF Club Cross Country Championships. This championship race, which takes place once a year, gathers the top club running teams in the nation to compete in cross country. Cross country races are rarely put on for post-collegiate runners and it is even more unusual to have events with team scoring and prize money. The Cedar Sprigs were fondly reminded of their days competing on high school and college teams and looked forward to racing hard for each other.
This was a particularly special opportunity for GRP Run as it was the first time many of the members had met in person. Since they train in various regions of the country, they had been in touch on virtual platforms, but never met off-screen. The team clicked almost immediately, spending the first evening running the course and then enjoying a dinner together at a classic Italian restaurant.
Katie, Annmarie and Caroline previewing the course.
The next morning, the GRP runners arrived at Apalachee Regional Park where the races were to be held. The fields were electric with runners from all over the country jogging around, doing drills, and tying up their spikes. The women’s 6K race took off at noon as a sea of 200 runners flooded the course. Annmarie Tuxbury and Caroline Williams went out with the top pack, competed strong, and ultimately finished an impressive 17th and 29th. Annmarie commented: “there aren't many opportunities to race as a team post collegiately and it meant a lot to have the opportunity to line up with some teammates. It was so much fun knowing I had 4 team members that all had the same goals of competing hard and putting out a great team showing and were going to be right around me in the race.” Jessica Scheriff and Katie Kellner worked together the majority of the race, gradually moved up the field, and finished within 10 seconds of each other in 38th and 44th. Natalie Cizmas, a stellar track runner who was testing her abilities at a longer distance, competed well for 90th.
The women unofficially placed 5th as a team but could not officially score due to rule technicalities. (USATF requires all members of scoring teams at Club Nationals to physically live in the same region as their club, which is challenging for a remote-based team model like GRP Run.) Coach Jamie Norton reports the Craftsbury athletes “ran well, fed off of each other in positive ways, put ourselves in the mix and showed we can compete with many of the best clubs in the country.”
Shortly after the conclusion of the women’s race, Andrew Tario competed in the Men’s 10K. Even though he didn’t have any Sprigs to run with, he said his “spirits were buoyed by the cheers of his teammates who kept him in the race when the going got tough.” The women, who were jogging their post-race cool down, had a blast taking intermittent breaks to cheer Andrew on. Unfortunately, Andrew suffered from a side stitch after the first 1k which prevented him from having the performance he was hoping for. He still finished a respectable 123rd out of almost 300 runners.
The Sprigs were generally happy with their races, but agreed that it was a challenging day. The humid conditions were tough, especially since each of them train in cooler regions of the country. Coach Norton also explains: “the race wasn't a huge emphasis training wise for everyone in the group with some people either coming off of busy fall racing seasons or building up for track, but it was cool to see us run strong despite that.”
GRP Run at Club Nationals: Natalie Cizmas, Caroline Williams, Katie Kellner, Annmarie Tuxbury, Jessica Scheriff and Andrew Tario.
After the race, the team celebrated with dinner and drinks in downtown Tallahassee. While savoring the time they had left together, they schemed on strategies to win the USATF Club Cross Country Championships in 2022. The Cedar Sprigs will be back for more!
Results can be found here.