Denay Hering: "I came back a different person"

This article appeared originally on Edgewood.edu and is reproduced for our Eagle fans here. Enjoy!

Denay Hering, a senior Education major from Lake Mills, Wis., had a winter break that was decidedly short on snow. She travelled with a group from UW-Madison to Kenya, to work with the Jirani Project, a nonprofit organization designed to support and provide education for vulnerable Kenyan children. 

“On this trip, something that truly amazed me was how at home I felt in a place that I had never been before,” she says.  “I have never felt happier and more invested in my days than I did while in Kenya. This trip has had such an effect on me that I intend to return in order to pursue my dream of teaching in a different country.”

The group’s work consisted of facilitating a camp for children – much like summer camps anywhere around the globe. “Our job was to create activities from morning until night for the group of nineteen children for about 5 days,” she says. “We provided an array of activities for everyone throughout the camp which included both educational activities and physical games. Everyone had a great time with each other and no one was afraid to act goofy which made it all the more fun.”

Even half a world away, the track and cross country student-athlete felt right at home. “One thing the kids LOVED to do was to play capture the flag. They could have played that all day long. You think us student-athletes are competitive? Play capture the flag with these kids and you’ve never seen people at each others’ throats over a simple game. I was in my element to say the least.”

“At the camp, we all felt comfortable around each other very quickly. This allowed us to form deeper relationships with one another that I’m confident will remain strong for the rest of our lives,” she says. “The kids I met at this camp have left a permanent mark on me. I have never met such resilient and loving people in all of my life. All of the adults and children associated with the Jirani Project were such warm and kind-hearted people who helped to make it a life-changing experience for me.” 

“This experience has taught me so much about myself and has changed my perspective on life. I didn’t expect such drastic changes in the way I think, the way I reflect, and the way I view our society. To see people coming from virtually nothing, yet having such joy in their everyday lives puts the way we live here in perspective. It is astounding what the human spirit can do even in the most heart-wrenching of circumstances. It was truly inspiring for me to recognize that and it has caused me to sit down and think about the way I live my life here.  It is a lesson that everyone can and should learn from. Although I’ve been back for almost a week now, I’m confident that this trip will continue to have me reflecting on my life here and what I can do to make it more joyful like what I experienced in Kenya. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to have such an incredible experience in which I came back a different person that I am proud of.”

State Journal: Williams is the leader of the track at Edgewood

Enjoy this outstanding story about Edgewood College cross country and track athlete Josh Williams by  Tom Mulhern  of the  Wisconsin State Journal . Williams will run on Saturday evening in the NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships in Claremont, California.

College men's track: Williams is leader of the track at Edgewood (by Tom Mulhern, courtesy of the Wisconsin State Journal)

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Podcast: 2011 Cross Country season reviews with Bethany Brewster

Edgewood College men's and women's head cross country coach Bethany Brewster discusses her teams' performances during the 2011 season. Both the men's and women's teams placed second in the Northern Athletics Conference and Josh Williams qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championship meet.

Men:


Women:

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2010 Cross County Season recap

Head men's and women's cross country coach Bethany Brewster reviews the 2010 men's and women's cross country seasons in a pair of podcasts:

2010 Men's Cross Country recap:


2010 Women's Cross Country recap:

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Brewster wins Lighthouse four-mile run

Edgewood College head track and cross country coach Bethany Brewster won her second title in two tries in the four-mile event at the Lighthouse Run in Racine. She also won in 2008, but her time this year of 23:09 was the third fastest time since the four-mile event made it's debut in 1990. Be sure to read the story and watch the interview....

LIGHTHOUSE RUN FOUR-MILE RUN: Brewster practices what she preaches (by Peter Jackel courtesy of the Racine Journal Times

VIDEO: Interview with Bethany Brewster (courtesy of the Racine Journal Times)

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Dan Oryall: USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals #6

This is the final entry in Dan Oryall's blog at the USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals. Click here for part one, part two, part three, part four and part five.

On Saturday, I woke up and it was again raining, which was nothing new. The temp outside was fairly chilly (low 60's) but I figured it would heat up as the day progressed. I threw a few more dry long items into my bag in case it didn't get warmer. When we arrived at the park there was already a long line of cars waiting to park and unload. We finally got parked and I started to unload, constantly checking my watch to make sure I was still on time.

I started walking down the road towards transition when I saw a large group of athletes starting to pile up. As I walked closer I noticed that the water in the lake had risen high enough to overflow the road that lead to the transition area. Athletes had to take off their shoes, roll up their pants, and brave the cold water to get across with their bike on their back. I waded across the frigid water and started towards the transition area. When I arrived there, announcers where saying that water temps were 54 degrees. In USAT speak, this meant that wetsuits were mandatory, and no one would be allowed to swim without one. Also, they said that the swim would be cut in half. I had mixed emotions about that. First, I excel at the swim portion and I make up a bit of time there and second, once I get wet I don't really want to get out. I set up my transition area and added a few extra warm items that I would never really consider wearing in the summer.

I warmed up like normal, and with emotions on high I donned my wetsuit, cap, and goggles and headed for the beach. The start was simple, run from the beach, into the water and get to the turn bouy fast. Usually I would be one of the top swimmers to the bouy, but I had to contend with collegiate swimmers. The gun went off and we rushed into the water. The natural washing machine effect took hold of me (this is a feeling that triathletes feel when they start a mass swim start.) With many arms, legs, and bodies thrashing around it feels like you are trapped in a washing machine and can't get out. I struggled to get into my groove being trapped in the middle of the pack. The wind was blowing waves in my mouth disrupting my breathing and being stuck in the pack wasn't helping. I finally got into open space and started to move. By the time I saw the swim exit I could tell that my feet and hands were cold. Dreading getting out I braced for the impact of the rocky swim exit.

I got out of the water and stumbled to my transition area with cold feet. I arrived there with many other athletes all who were putting on necessary cold gear. The wind by this time was gusting from 20-30 mph. I grabbed my bike and talked to the big man upstairs asking him to keep me upright and safe for the next 25 miles. The wind was so bad I didn't have the opportunity to take my hands off the handlebars for fear of tipping over. I passed and was passed by many. At the halfway point I was sick of the wind, and had to go the next 6 miles with it hitting me in the face. At one point I could have ran faster than I was biking. I finally finished the bike and with numb feet started my run.

My body was so sore from struggling and gripping my bike so tight for the last 40K that my run felt more like a hang on and finish. At this point I was focused on one thing...finishing. My body ached and it screamed to my brain to stop. Cold, tired, and way beyond sore I pushed on until I came across the finish line. My goal for this was sub (under) 2 hours 20 minutes (2:20:00). I came in at 2 hours 16 minutes. Even though I swam half the distance I would have normally, I was happy that I had achieved my goal.

With all of this being said, I am proud that I represented Edgewood College well at the event. I was 217th overall out of over 600 athletes, and 156th out of 380 total undergraduate males.

Thanks,
Dan
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Dan Oryall: USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals #5

Part five of Dan Oryall's blog at the USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals. Click here for part one, part two, part three and part four.

UPDATE: Dan is also metioned in this article on USATriathlon.org. Excellent read!

Another "wonderful" day in Lubbock. I woke up to another day on rain, and increased winds. I stuck to my normal race day routine and went out for a short 20 minute run. Again the roads were filled with water, and not just a little water...6 lane roads were filled. I got into my car in the late morning and decided to go and drive to the transition area. When I got there the park was filled with many teams already. The wind had picked up so much out in the courtry that there were white caps on the water. Good thing I have my wetsuit...I won't drown or freeze.

I got on my bike and tried riding one of the 4 very technical hills on the course. Going up the hill was not a problem, and I climbed it with a small amount of huffing and puffing. After climbing I turned around and braved going down it. Normally I would fly down this hill with lightly tapping my brakes, today was another story. I clamped down hard on my brakes and rode down the hill like a scared two year old. Once finished I turned around and did it again. 2nd time was the charm, I didn't need to grip the brakes as much. The wind pushed me around a bit, and coupled with the rain I found my bike to be leaning to the side, with my body frantically trying to tug it back under my body. Hopefully tomorrow will bring lighter winds and a small sprinkle not gale force winds and pounding rain.

I went to the required meetings later in the afternoon. They are changin the run course becasue the water is soo high it is causing flooding on the run course. The bike course is also flooded in areas, so there are some major changes to how anyone would ride. There are 3 areas where the water is crossing the road and it is mandatory for riders to get off their bike, cross the water, and get back on. Talk about a mental break in the race. This could really hinder a lot of riders. So hopefully Texas can take a page out of the Wisconsin weather's playbook and we can see just a drier day.

Tomorrow is race day...

Thanks,
Dan

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Dan Oryall: USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals #4

Part four of Dan Oryall's blog at the USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals. Click here for part one, part two and part three.

Another day down, another day closer to race day. Today has been filled with a few ups and downs. Like I said in my earlier blog, the morning's bike ride was fairly decent, and I feel more comfortable on my bike and wheels. I went to the local Wal-mart to get some spoons and knives so that I could eat the food I brought with me for lunch. I looked at my bike and noticed that my back tire was flat. I tried pumping it up, and I could hear the sound no bike rider wants to hear, the hiss of air leaving my tube. I had my momentary freak out, and took the tire off and checked the tube. I found a piece of broken glass from a beer bottle stuck in my tire. I raced over to a local bike shop and fixed my tire. Problem solved. I am having mixed feelings about the rain, since it rained all day and the roundabout outside the hotel got collectively deeper and deeper as the day went on. I went for a quick run in the late afternoon and had to channel all the steeplechase skills that I possessed. While runnining and driving around Lubbock I noticed there isn't really much to this town. No offense to anyone who loves the Red Raiders or anything, but unless you are on the campus there isn't much to this place. Maybe I am just off on the wrong side of town, but outside of rundown businesses and open space there isn't much but the campus.

I drove the bike course later, pretty decent there are three very big hills that I will hate climbing but love going down. Well, I would love going down them if there wasn't water on the road, and rain creating large puddles on them. I feel my streak of going crash free has the possibility of coming to an abrupt end. After the course, I got my packet and picked up all the free stuff they gave me. I am in the first wave of males, number 58. I shopped around for a little while with the few vendors that were there. Then, a USA Triathlon gentleman asked me if I was a first time athlete, I said I was. He asked if he could interview me because he was doing a story on first time athletes and wanted to know my story. I answered his questions about creating a club at Edgewood, and why I wanted to come to nationals. After a quick interview I headed out to the Olive Garden for dinner.

Now, I am sitting in my room, getting my race gear together. Tomorrow is going to be a busy and emotional day so I figure I should get as much done now while I am clam. Until tomrrow...

Thanks,
Dan

Dan Oryall: USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals #3

Here is Dan Oryall's third entry as he prepares for Saturday's USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals in Lubbock, Texas. You can also read #1 and #2 here.

Today is my first day in Lubbock. I rolled over in my amazingly comfortable bed and was tempted to never get out. As I peeled back the curtains I saw the one thing that I didn't want to see...rain. The rain was fairly light, but the wind was pushing it around pretty steady. I again braved the cold rain and went out for another short bike ride to get my legs under me. I figured that if it rains on Saturday I will have to be prepared for the worst. Again, my little side note is that race wheels aren't really too big of fans of the rain. I saddled up and launched into the rain just as a pack of USA Triathlon officials were coming out of the hotel. They passed and wished me luck on my ride, while passing I noticed a nice patch on the back of their backpacks. Beijing 2008, USA Triathlete. So a little giddy that I was wished luck by what I assumed was part of the USA Olympic Triathlon team, or their entourage, I pushed off into the rain. Outside of the coldness factor and the fact that the rain smeared the lenses of my sunglasses, the rain didn't really suck too much. My wheels behaved, and I was back before you knew it.

When I returned to my hotel room, I had to remove my wheels to emtpy all of the water that had collected in the wheel. It has been raining so much here that the roundabout outside my hotel is almost under water. I plan on doing some homework for the remainder of the day, and hanging out. I will pick up my packet later tonight, this will tell me what wave I will be in, and all the other raceday goodies.

until tonight...

Thanks,
Dan
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Dan Oryall: USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals #2

Edgewood College senior Dan Oryall is in Lubbock, Texas to compete in the USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals, which will be run on Saturday. He is blogging about his experience for the Eagle Blog. His first entry can be found with this link.

I have finally arrived in Texas! The trip took me the expected 18 hours and I traveled the 1186.3 miles that I had to go. I didn't write yesterday because I got kind of a later start than I originally intended. I had always heard that Iowa was fairly flat, however I found it to be filled with rolling hills. I ventured into Missouri for a short time and was into Kansas before I knew it. I stayed overnight in Emporia, Kansas at the Holiday Inn Express. The commericals were right; it was a great room and the bed was very comfortable. I left Emporia at about 8 a.m. this morning and drove another 9 hours and made it into Lubbock around 5:30. The weather had been great the entire trip, although it was fairly windy. About an hour outside Lubbock it started to rain. Upset that my bike was getting poured on I pressed into Lubbock and frantically unloaded my car. As I was moving the bag into my room the rain let up...go figure. I am staying at the Overton Hotel, which is where all the event information is being held. Again, the room was amazing and I look right across the street to Texas Tech University.

Since the rain had let up, and I didn't get a workout in yesterday I scrambled into my bike clothes eager to go out and explore Lubbock and the Texas Tech Campus. Little side note: my little racing bike tires don't like rain...or standing water for that matter. I got out on the road and realized there was NO bike lane. Obviously the students at TTU don't bike too much on the roads. I crossed the road and started to bike around the campus. Every building was intriging and interesting, but they were all the same color and shape. So about 10 minutes in I found myself all turned around, searching for the massive height of my hotel from across the street. I rode back to the hotel and kind of chalked it up as a bust. Tomorrow it is suppossed to be warmer and dryer so I hope I can get a better indication of what riding will be like.

For dinner I went to Ruby Tequila's Mexican Kitchen, which turned out to be the college hang out...so there was Texas Tech shirts and hats galore. I walked in with my Wisconsin gear and definately stood out like a sore thumb. After a excellent dinner I headed home to clean up my bike, stretch, and call back home.

until tomorrow...

Thanks,
Dan

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Dan Oryall: USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals #1

Edgewood College senior Dan Oryall (Madison, Wis./Verona Area HS) has dedicated much of his senior year to training for the USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals to be held on Saturday, April 17 in Lubbock, Texas. The race consists of a 1,500 meter swim, a 40 km bike ride and a 10 km run. Dan has been instrumental in establishing the Edgewood College Triathlon Club and gaining membership in the Midwest Collegiate Triathlon Conference, so that Edgewood College could be represented at this event.

Dan will be submitting journal entries to the Eagle Blog, so we can all follow his progress at Nationals. His first entry is below...

As I sit here with my car packed up I am filled with mixed emotions. Just 18 hours down the road awaits Lubbock, Texas where I will soon be competing with the top 1,200 Collegiate triathletes in the USA. My head tells my body that I have worked hard enough and my stomach is filled with anxiety and anticipation. This whole process has been a big waiting game. It's funny to say, but it's almost movie worthy. It always seems cliche and cooler when it happens to someone else, but it is downplayed in your own life. I was able to gain a spot over the summer for this elite triathlon, but while out on a victory shake out run the next day I tripped in a pothole while it was raining. With a small tear in my meniscus I wasn't able to recover quickly enough and join my teammates on the cross country team. I regret not being able to help them out all season, but it appears that they didn't need it, and I was a spectator to the first men's cross country conference championship in school history. Next I decided I would forgo my track season to train completely for this triathlon. The months dragged by as I swam, biked and ran. Now that the race is less than a week away, I am finally ready. Ready to show my teammates what made me absent, ready to prove to myself I trained hard enough and ready to show the rest of the triathlon world what an Edgewood College athlete can do.

Now all that awaits me is the starting gun...

Thanks,

Dan

Wish Dan luck on his Facebook page

USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals promotional video

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Williams at USA Cross Country Championships #2

This is the second entry by Josh Williams as he prepares for the USA Cross Country Championships in Spokane, Washington.

Day 2, didn’t have the pleasure of waking up as early! But considering we are still on Wisconsin time, Coach B and I woke up around 9:00 (7:00am Pacific time) and walked down to breakfast. The food was awesome!!! They had a pancake maker that make a pancake in 17 seconds! Also with breakfast we had eggs, bagels, yogurt and fruit.

After that we got in the car and went to Idaho. The sun was out and the clouds seemed to be waiting to invade until a later time. Coach Brewster and I got out of the car walking towards the trail head of a park when we saw a statue of a moose with a mouse on one of its horns. I decided that we needed to have Tato (a stuffed penguin of Alex’s) in a picture with these creatures. I took the picture and a lady walked up to us and made Coach and I take a picture of a moose with both of us in the shot. (I’ll post the pictures later). Once we got up the trail we had a wonderful view of Lake Coeur d’ Alene and the mountain range behind it. It was a very relaxing (and short because we didn’t want to waste too much energy) hike and kept my mind off of the race.

We drove back to Spokane listening to Jazz music (great stuff) and went to Gonzaga University to check out the campus. I figured the campus was going to be similar to Notre Dame with their newer buildings and great landscape, but I was wrong. It looked decent and the environment was pretty relaxed for the students. We walked over to the Athletic center to look at the basketball court. Compared to the Kohl Center, it was small, but they still get the job done.

After visiting the campus we traveled to the Riverfront Park and had lunch. Lunch consisted of Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches, an apple, banana, and water (my usual routine). Following that Coach and I hopped on the Skyride that took us in the air kind of like a ski lift over the waterfall that was on the river (very pretty). We got off and went into the Spokane City Hall to go to the bathroom and we got stopped at the front desk. The receptionist made us sign in to use the restrooms even though we were 2 feet from them. It probably took us longer to sign in then actually use the bathroom (they even gave us a visitor’s pass for a 3 min. pit stop…).

We drove back to the hotel for some down time and then around 4:00 went to run the course. The course was nice and flat but squishy from all the rain in the northwest. Luckily it wasn’t as wet as the National Course but it is still soggy. It was raining while we ran the course but the sun came out and we got to see a double rainbow! By that time it was 5:30. Dinner time!!!! We went to the mall where a Boston Pizza place was located. Coach looked on the map and it showed we were on the wrong side of the mall. Thinking that the restaurant was IN the mall, I said “oh let’s just walk over and leave the car for when we get back.” Bad choice…. It turns out that we had to cross a street to get to the Restaurant. Luckily Coach and I were still in our running cloths, so we started jogging there (2 min Jog…Do we get to subtract those 2 minutes from tomorrow’s morning run Coach B??)).

A quick stop back at the hotel to change and then we were off again to the hotel headquarters. Coach thought we should listen to the guest speaker for the night…Billy Mills. Perhaps everyone would think that I would/should know who that is or had at least heard of him but I had no clue. To my surprise he was the 10,000 meter champion at the Olympic Games in 1964, the first and only (so far) USA Olympic champion at that event. His presentation was awesome and I feel I had a connection with him that is hard to put into words. There is a movie and a book about him so I think I may take a look at the movie sometime in the near future. His main point was that life is really about the journey and not the destination. He had a dream back during his junior year in college that he wanted to be an Olympic Champion and he wrote that down along with the words BELIEVE three times. He said he never really cared about most of the races he ran but he always knew when it was the right time to run hard and fast. So tomorrow I’m going to enjoy the experience and go along for the ride. I’m going to focus on the present race and the opportunity I have in front of me. I’ll let you know the results….

Williams at USA Cross Country Championships #1

Edgewood College freshman Josh Williams is in Spokane, Washington preparing to compete at the USA Cross Country Championships on Saturday. This is his first blog entry on the experience of competing with some of the nation's top under-20 runners.

This morning I woke up at 5:03. It was very early and my bags were over by the door while I waited for Coach B to pick me up. She got there around 5:37 and we left my house for Milwaukee Airport. I think I stayed up for an hour then crashed when we got to Milwaukee. (what a great passenger I am…)

We got through security with only a small problem…. I brought my massage stick and they had to rescan it 3 times! After we cleared security, we got to our gate then boarded the plane. I’ve never flown Southwest before. Pretty much you got a ticket and the seats were a free for all. We flew into Las Vegas and had a 2 hour lay-over. I wanted to get a picture of coach playing the slot machines but she refused. We ate lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen… real pricey (don’t do it). After lunch we sat down by our gate and didn’t realize that they were boarding us until half the plane was full. We sat down next to a girl from California who was very nice… unfortunately I didn’t get her name but we talked a fair amount during the 2 hour flight! (real smooth Josh…)

We arrived 40 min. early to Spokane, Wash. and picked up our rental car. The second I got outside I noticed that it was rainy. I guess the Northwestern part of the US does that from time to time. Looks like the course may be a giant pile of slop. Can’t wait! We got to the hotel and went for a quick jog (less rainy). Then we traveled over to the Safeway Grocery Store and acquired some food! We made baked potatoes, green beans and a Rotisserie Chicken. Yum.

I talked with my family and wished Connor Boushon a happy birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!) and Coach called E-Train (Coach B’s husband).

Tomorrow we are going exploring!!!! We are probably going to Idaho and perhaps Montana. I will keep you posted on what we find and what our adventures entail.

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Regional Cross Country Video

This is the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Regional Championship highlight video, first shown at the 2009 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship banquet. Keep your eyes open for some Edgewood College Eagles in there. Very cool!

Men's Cross Country Recap: Bethany Brewster

Head cross country coach Bethany Brewster talks to David Petroff about the 2009 men's cross country season. The Eagles claimed their first ever conference title and freshman Josh Williams qualified for the NCAA Championships.

Video: NCAA Cross Country Championships

Josh Williams' NCAA Championship journal #3

Saturday: I woke up at 8:30 and blended my usual breakfast beverage. After that I went down to the breakfast area where all my friends, family and coaches were and talked with them for a little while. I went back to my room and gathered my racing gear. At 10:15 I hopped in the van and off to the course we go! Once we got there the parking lot the crew told us that the lot was full and had to park down the street even though we saw open parking spots in the upper parking lot.

The course was filled with tons of runners and a lot more spectators. It felt like state cross country last year because there were mobs of people from different teams wearing little clothes but a lot of paint and screaming at the top of their lungs trying to be the top cheering teams. But since there were more racers, more spectators were there.

After the womens race started, I went on my warm-up and inspected the new and beaten up course. The mud seemed to have gotten muddier and the possible sloppy areas turned in to definite sloppy areas where you could see racers feet sink in around their ankles. I got back to the big heated tent and Coach B helped me put my bibs (4 bibs, 16 safety pins and 2 chip timers) I think they went a little overboard with the chips and hip numbers/bibs.

I started doing a few strides before the race and was watching everyone from both starting lines. The idea of a double starting line is crazy because everyone crashes into each other about 400 meters into the race but I really enjoyed it!

Race started and everyone sprinted off to the front, trying to claim the lead and getting into a good position for the next 4.8 miles. I got out ok and my first mile was where it was at regionals last week. My mind was going all over the place because the spectators were screaming soooooo loud and the mud was just incredible! Every 400 meters or so my feet would sink into the muddy slop that would murder any momentum that I had to really make moves at crucial parts of the race. I got a cramp in the middle of the race that effected me a little bit but I finished kind of strong even though my time was a lot slower than my recent times. Oh well, I went into this race going for the experience and having fun. And even though I didn’t think I raced too well I had a blast!

Once I passed the finish line, I found Coach Chris and we talked to the Lynchburg coach who’s male individual won the race. We congratulated him and I talked to the two women from their team who I met at the banquet before asking how they raced and such. We got back to the tent and met up with Andrew, Connor, Alex and Annie who cheered me on the whole race. Following my cool down I went to lunch with them and they were on their way for the long trip back to Madison.

I got back to my room, threw on my swim suit and walked over to the hot-tub! I met a girl from New Jersey who was very nice. She was a spectator for her sister who was next to her. They left the hot tub and I talked with the parents of the winner of the men’s race which was funny because I didn’t know who he was until like 10 min. into our conversation.

For dinner we went to a really good pizza restaurant that my mom and sister looked up and we all went to it. The pizza was amazing! I ate a ton and was stuffed! We drove back to the hotel and I packed my things, checked my email, and played some computer games then went to sleep.

Its morning now and I’m in the car over half way home! I can’t wait to get home!

Side note: when I was looking at the course on Friday I had the biggest blond moment ever! I was walking back to the car with Coach Chris when I saw an Ohio license plate. Right there I said “OH LOOK! An Ohio license plate!!!” and Coach Chris then informed me that we were in Ohio.

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Josh Williams NCAA Championship journal #2

Well the beds are extremely comfortable here. I tried to get to sleep around 10:30 here but stayed awake a bit longer because of the time change. Coach Brewster said we would meet for breakfast between 8:30 and 9:30. Coach Chris and I got there at 8:30 and had a great breakfast. Made to order breakfast…omelets, bacon, scrambled eggs, sausage, fruit…everything you could want in a breakfast.

Afterwards I chilled in my room for a while and then we decided to go to the course at 11:00. The course is less than 2 miles from our hotel so it was a quick drive. My thoughts on the course: hilly, wet, a bit muddy…it should be a great day tomorrow to run. Hopefully it won’t be so windy though. Usually the course is marked by two solid white lines. This course is lined (literally) by thousands of tiny BW (Baldwin-Wallace) flags (kind of like those orange electrical flags) one after another about 2 feet apart (souvenir anyone??).

I stayed in my room for the rest of the day mostly, just trying to stay relaxed. We did go to the student athlete banquet last night. Although we got there right before it started we got the best seat in the banquet hall, the table that was first to the food line. Great pick Coach Brewster! Oh yeah, and right before we got inside the banquet hall we saw this great big dog named Conner (check out the picture). All in all it was a great night.

A bunch of family (my mom and sister) and friends (Garvey, Connor, Alex, and Annie) drove all the way from Madison to see me run tomorrow. I’m excited to race tomorrow. I’m just going to take it all in and enjoy the experience. I’ll keep you posted on the results! Race is in less than 3 hours!!!!

Josh Williams' NCAA Championship journal #1

Edgewood College's Josh Williams is keeping a journal of his trip to the NCAA Men's Cross Country Championships in Cleveland, Ohio. Here is his first entry upon arrival:

Thursday: Got in the car at 8:30 and arived at 5:30 pm at Cleveland, Ohio. The trip was very long and boring due to the fact that my laptop ran out of batteries in mid-movie. I watched Transformers 2 and looked at a few running magazines/books. Slept for about and hour in the car. We went out to Red Robin once we arived at the hotel. The hotel is amazing!! Very large with a king size bed and the layout of the hotel is very nice. After dinner I hung out in my room for a little bit before going to bed.

Interview with Josh Williams

Freshman Josh Williams talks about qualifying for the NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Championships. Williams will run for the national title this Saturday in Cleveland, Ohio.