Carleen Jeffers '19 of the Brown women's cross country team was selected to represent the United States at the Great Edinburgh XC International Challenge. She chronicled the trip to Scotland through several journal entries and photos, which were posted on Brownbears.com.
Photo Gallery | Race Recap
1/6/16 - 1/7/16
Today has been one of the longest days of my life! I've been awake for over 30 hours straight in an attempt to get my body accustomed to Scotland time (5 hours ahead of EST). This morning I did my final workout before Saturday's race, packed my luggage, and rode to the airport with my parents. After getting through security, I met my Team USA coach, Melody Fairchild, for the first time at the flight gate. She was immediately friendly and reassuring, and made me feel much more comfortable. I flew to Scotland with her and some other members of the team. When we arrived, we were greeted by men in orange who took us back to the hotel where we'd be staying (the same hotel as Mo Farah!!). Although we were all exhausted, we decided to try to tough it out and avoid naps to try to beat the inevitable jetlag. We ate breakfast at the hotel and then went for a run around Scotland. The coaches basically turned us loose and allowed us to run wherever we wanted. The six of us on the junior women's team ran together along the bottom of a gigantic mountain range, where we were able to appreciate the view without having to run up too many hills. We also ran a couple of miles on the cobblestone streets of Edinburgh (and were almost hit by a car when we forgot that cars here drive on the left side of the road). As we ran, the rain picked up, and by the end we were trudging through the mud in true cross country fashion. After showering and grabbing a quick lunch, we went for a walk around the city. We walked the "Royal Mile" to get to the Edinburgh Castle, which overlooks the city of Edinburgh, and then did some shopping before retreating back to the hotel for warmth. To pass the time before our team meeting at 7:00pm, some of the other girls on the team and I hung out and played cards. At the team meeting, the USATF Director of Events and Event Coordinator both spoke to our team, as well as to the members of the Junior Men, Senior Men, and Senior Women teams. It was incredible to be in the company of professional athletes such as Emma Bates and Garrett Heath, and even more amazing to be racing for the same team as them. The team meeting fostered a sense of togetherness and belief in a common purpose amongst the runners, and got me excited and ready to represent the USA. After the meeting, we ate dinner and then went to get massages from the medical staff that Team USA brought along. Now it's time to get some much needed sleep - I don't think I've ever in my life felt this tired at 9:30pm!
1/8/16
Today we were able to preview the course as a team and take a bunch of team photos together. After getting breakfast and having some much needed relaxing time, the entire team (including the Junior Boys, Junior Girls, Senior Men, Senior Women, coaches, and USATF event coordinators and medics) gathered in the hotel lobby and headed over to the course as a unit. It all felt very official - it was the first time we were all in uniform for a team event. We did team photos and then took some time to survey the course. We observed the athletes' heated tent and the start/finish line, and then got to run on the course itself. The course was unlike any course I've ever raced on in the United States - there were two mini hills that were basically vertical, a river that we had to plow through, and, of course, mud EVERYWHERE! I also got to try out my spikes in the several inches of mud. I opted to go with 5/8 inch spikes, a much longer spike than I have ever used before. After a few strides, I headed back to the hotel to shower away the grime that had accumulated while perusing the course. At 5:30pm, we had a team meeting, once again including everyone involved in the entire Team USA operation. Melody Fairchild, women's coach, also held a combined gathering with the Junior and Senior women's teams. We were able to pick the brains of the older, more experienced senior racers and get to know them better. I had some great conversations with Emma Bates, Sarah Pagano, Amy Van Alstine, and others that really calmed my nerves. We then got dinner at the hotel and all retreated back to our rooms to prepare ourselves for race day.
1/9/16
Race day was by far the best day in Scotland. When we arrived at the site, we were ushered into the athletes' tent, where all of the athletes in the elite races were stored pre- and post-race. The race itself was intense - I was drenched in mud in the first fifteen seconds. It was a gutsy race, and quite different from typical U.S. cross country. After our race, we all had a mud fight as the rain started pouring down. The girls of Team USA gathered to watch Garrett Heath square off against Mo Farah, two time Olympic Champion. With a thrilling 200m kick, Garrett Heath was able to pull away and defeat Farah. The spectators were upset - we even got some glares from British fans when we jumped around and cheered in delight for our fellow Team USA member's victory. We then returned to the athletes' tent, where spectators were being restrained by security, desperate to get a picture with Mo Farah. Inside the tent, we got to spend some time with runners from the other teams and learn about their experiences racing cross country in Europe. After retreating back to the hotel and ferociously scrubbing the caked mud off of our skin, two other Junior women team members and I decided to go back out and climb the mountain that lay just across the street from where our race was held. We made it about halfway to the top until we had to turn around and go back to the hotel to attend our last team meeting at 5:30. In the meeting we recapped the races that had transpired and congratulated each other on good efforts. Then after dinner, the Junior Girls got tickets for a "Ghost Tour" that took us around Scotland and eventually to "haunted" underground dungeons that were created in the 19th century. After escaping the dungeons, we did some shopping around the town and stopped in a couple of cute cafes for hot chocolate and fudge. We decided to stay up all night together in an attempt to beat the jetlag that we would be sure to face when returning home (unfortunately, one by one everyone else gave in and went to bed). I stayed up the entire night in my hotel room in Scotland, trying to really appreciate the last few hours of the incredible experience. Before I knew it, it was 5:30am, and we were preparing to depart the hotel for the airport. It was tough to say goodbye to the girls who had been my teammates for just four short days, the coaches that had been incredibly supportive, and the rest of the USATF staff who had put so much effort into making sure that everything ran smoothly (no pun intended). Overall, the trip exceeded my expectations and served as a great introduction into the world of international racing.
