1) When did you leave and get back?
I left thursday morning and got to Portland late afternoon. I left the hotel 3:30 am and got back home sunday evening.
2) How was the race itself?
I thought the race was fun with all the obstacles and stuff, but it was very hard. I was aiming to get top 20 then I was very quickley lost in the pack. A lot harder than i thought.
3) I've heard you're treated like royalty at NXN. Is this true?
Yes! Nike gives you free, all you can eat, food. They paid for the plane tckets and the stay at the really cool Embassy Suites Hotel in Potland. You are given so much free stuff it's not even funny such as shoes and warmups.
4) Who did you room with/hang out with?
I roomed with a guy named Arron from Hanover HS in Rhode Island. I hung out with the Southeast kids most of the time. Although i did meet some people from Los Angeles all the way to Chicago, all the way to New York! I also hung out with my family a bit too.
5) What was the coolest thing of the entire trip?
I really couldn't answer that because the whole trip was fun! I got to stay in a huge hotel, race in the national meet, meet several Olympic athletes, hangout at Nike Headquarters, see downtown Portland, ran inside a shopping mall nearby the hotel, and I got to visit the west coast!
6) I'm sure you are still coming off the "high", so please write anything else you want. Something you'd like others to know about the experience? the trip? the hanging out? Nike? etc.
Although I only got 90th out of 200 boys with a time of 16:15, I will keep in mind that I am only a junior and I never ran that hard of a course before. Next year I plan on doing a lot better, maybe placing top 20 to top 10! Overall the trip was the most fun xc meet of my life!
Photos: Courtesy of Chris Colo