Racing with Corrina O'Brien

Flying a 5-K with Corrina O'Brien

By Corrina O'Brien

Last October during the cross-country season, my ‘golden moment' was earning second place at the 5K Vandal Cross Country Jamboree in Moscow, Idaho. We were two weeks away from the West Coast Conference championships, and Coach Tyson was telling us how this race would be great preparation. He told us that it was going to be hilly and have some great competition. I had come off some great workouts, was getting plenty of sleep and was feeling great about this race, but nervous as always. The race was on a golf course, which is always great because the grass is perfect for running. It was also perfect temperature, about 40 degrees and sunny. Warming up, we were all a little nervous because the course, which consisted of two loops, was not marked that well, and we were confused in spots in the direction we were supposed to go. After we warmed up as a team we did some drills to loosen our muscles and stretched. Then we put on our racing spikes. Putting spikes always makes me the most nervous. For some reason I feel like they are going to start the race without me. I always feel like my socks don't feel just right or I tied one of my spikes a little tighter. My heart starts pumping a little faster at this moment. (Even typing this makes my heart go faster.) Then as a team, we jogged over to the starting line. We did a couple strides from the starting line. They are like 100-meter sprints to get your legs ready to go faster and to practice the start. After we do our strides, we pray as a team. Since I am one of the team captains, I usually lead the prayer. You can hear everyone breathing fast as we all quiet down and pray for God to watch over us as we race. 

Now, it is time to race. The marshall stands in front of the line and says, "Runners to your mark" and then fires the gun. I am pretty sure my heart stops for a few seconds at first, and then I am off! This race we started on a slight downhill, so we went out really fast. I knew I needed to stay in the top 15 from the beginning in order to do well. One girl from Calgary took off, and the rest of us were in a pack together. I could hear some of my teammates breathing behind me and I knew we all wanted to push the pace. As we continue along and settled into the first half mile, I was in the second pack of runners, with about four or five of us, with four girls ahead in the first pack. The course was well marked so far with cones about every 25 meters, but when we got to a little 'S' curve in the golf course, the first pack of girls cut the corner. I'm not sure if they did not notice the slight turn, but regardless, I decided to be the first girl to run the course the right way. That moment gave me a lot of confidence because I knew my coach would be proud that I did that. 

We continued along up the hilliest part of the run and two girls had now dropped back. By the first mile, I was now in a pack with just two other girls, one from Idaho and one from Calgary. The other girl from Calgary remained in front. I was really surprised at this moment because I am not usually the fastest one from Gonzaga and I was in the top half of the race. I think this is what motivated me to keep going, I knew that I could do it. The three of us continued running together; we passed the starting line. There were a ton of fans, we actually had quite a few parents in town for the race and a bunch of GU students drove down too. I remember hearing my parents cheer for me and it was exciting to know they made it down. I was beginning to feel a little weaker, but knew I wanted to break away from these two girls. 

During the second loop, the three of us continued to run together. We came to a slight downhill and looped around to the uphill. We were about 1,000 meters from the finish. I knew I had to make my move on the hill in order to get away from the girls. On the hill, the Idaho girl dropped and it was now the second Calgary girl and me. The first Calgary girl was still in front of us, but we were catching her. At the top of the hill, I surged a little bit to try to gain distance on the girl ahead, which I did. When we got to the top, I was probably 10 meters ahead of her, but definitely was getting tired. The second Calgary girl started to catch me and pass me. We were on another slight downhill and the Calgary girl was using it to her advantage. With 600 meters to go, I knew I needed to start my final kick to pass the girl. I could hear the men's team cheering for me and Coach Tyson was there, too. I started to sprint and eventually lost the second Calgary girl. With 200 meters to go, I was coming really close to catching the first leader. I got on my toes and started sprinting faster, but she finished about five seconds before me. I was excited because I had never finished second in a race before.

I walked through the chute where the officials take your numbers and then got some water. All I wanted to do was take off my shoes - my feet felt like they were burning. I watched as my teammates came in, and overall as a team we did amazingly well. My parents came over and were extremely excited. My dad had timed the race and had me at 17:59. I had never been under 18 minutes for a 5K, so I joked with him that he started his timer about 45 seconds too late, but then my assistant coach came over and verified the time. I was really excited after that. My goal for the season was to run under 18:30, and I did not know I could run under 18 minutes.