We were so very pleased to learn that Everett Braden, who qualified in state and regional competitions, would be running in the USATF Junior Olympic Cross Country
Championships at Shelbyville, Indiana.
USATF stands for USA Track & Field. It is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running, and racewalking. Everett, who just turned 13 on October 12th, would be running in the 13-14 year old boys' competition. (Since a boy with a birthday of January 1, 2010 could be running in this age group, it should be noted that Everett would be competing with some other runners who would be 21 months older than him.)
The competitions were held at the Blue River Memorial Park, a nice facility that also hosts soccer, baseball, and softball competitions. Young men and women from all across the USA came to compete in the Junior Olympics cross country competition.
The race distances are based on the age group. Everett's age group race distance was 4 kilometers (about 2.5 miles).
Everett began racing cross country meets in _____. He learned that a runner could register individually, but that most runners were part of a team. So he created a team: The Wild Beast Track Club. He recruited some team members and designed a team tee shirt.
Everett and his family drove from LaGrange to the national competition, stopping at Nashville to pick up Josh Beam, who had flown in from Texas at his own expense. Josh was a graduate of Point University in West Point, Georgia, and had been on the university's cross country team. While at Point, Josh had agreed to coach the Wild Beasts, and he was a key figure in developing the cross country running skills of Everett and the other team members because he understood cross country running strategies and techniques. He also knew of good warm up drills and how to create an individual race plan based on each particular course. (Josh is currently attending Abilene Christian University in Texas studying for a Masters of Arts in Christian Ministry, and his current intent is to serve in prison ministries.)
After arriving in Shelbyville around 3:30 on the day before the race, Josh and Everett walked/ran the course for familiarization and to help develop Everett's strategy for the run.
Next stop was Richard's Brick Oven Pizza restaurant, a unique and family owned restaurant in nearby Franklin. There Jay - plus Tom and Ellen - met up with Robert and his family (less Benjamin who had activities in LaGrange) but plus Josh. Jay had flown in from Tampa to see Everett run, and Ellen and Tom wanted to be part of this prestigious running event. The place had a distinct charm, the food and the service was very good, and Everett got his pre-race carbs.
The next day everyone met at the course in Shelbyville around noon; Everett's race was scheduled for 1:45. This day Tom remained at home, but Robert's cousin Carrie and her daughter Nora attended with Jay and Ellen.