*To the tune of Land Down Under by Men At Work:
I come back from the land down under,
Nostalgic memories of amazement and wonder,
Couldn't think of anything funner,
So glad to call myself a runner.
Sorry, that was me being stupid.
Weeks have passed since I've returned from an unimaginably fun, almost surreal trip to Australia with Down Under Sports, and not a day has passed when I haven't looked back on the once-in-a-lifetime journey. I know it sounds cliche, but really the whole trip was like a dream it was so incredible. People asked me once I got back how the trip went, and I would almost be ashamed to answer because I knew my response would not serve justice to my experiences because the amount of enjoyment I had on that trip, the new friendships that had been made, and the overall bewilderment of being in an entirely different culture with all its foreign customs is completely inconceivable. Trust me, you will never know exactly how great the Down Under experience is until you go through it for yourself.
I can't think of a single moment of that trip that I didn't enjoy. Of course there were the long layovers and trans-Pacific flights, but even those had their own small enjoyments. Once in Australia though, the fun never stopped. First of all, the place that you stay in is unbelievable. Famed as the tallest building in Australia, the Q1 tower is probably the nicest place I have ever stayed and it's right in the middle of all of Surfer's Paradise's attractions, plus seconds away from the beach. (Though the water looks cold, I highly recommend going in).
Besides the running--which was actually really nice because we'd run right along side the beach and through Surfer's Paradise, not to mention the weather was a cool 60 and not in the 90's which we had been used to running in--all the other activities were pretty awesome. As for the races, those were pretty cool as well. The first one we did was a giant road race with thousands of competitors. It was a great first race to have because although it was your first sense of competition, it was still not extremely serious and you get a t-shirt and medal souvenir. The second race was specifically for cross country and it was all the DownUnder kids against each other plus some New Zealand athletes.
Besides running we went to DreamWorld which is perhaps the most fabled amusement park in all of Australia where we got to ride this great motorcycle ride, Wipeout, and best of all Tower of Terror. We also visited Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary where you get to see all the native Australian species up close and personal. And when I say up close and personal I really mean it because you can choose to have your picture taken with the cute furry koalas and pet kangaroos. There is also a free day where you can choose what activity you'd like to go to. All of the choices are great and there is really no room to go wrong when you get to pick between horseback riding, snorkeling and kayaking, four wheeling, scuba diving, an eco-tour, and with permission, skydiving. The best part of all of these activities are the wonderful guides and chauffeurs who not only make sure you get to where you need to go safely but are also extremely friendly and ensure that you are in great company.
One of the most comforting facets of the trip was the everlasting friendships that you make. All of the day trips--while a blast in their own respect--come and go, but the new relationships you make with your teammates stay with you. I can still remember vividly the first time we all met. We were all standing together in line in the airport early in the morning. Everyone seemed a little timid and anxious in anticipation but as soon as we left the sides of our parents at the commencement of our epic journey, the awkwardness soon faded away. No one could've guessed how much further our friendships would grow. Day after day we hardly ever left each other sides. Whether this meant playing our own form of rugby on the beach, strolling through the shops and streets of the city, or simply playing cards in the lounge of the hotel before going to bed at night, we all became best friends over time and I'm sure well into the future we will still keep in touch. Who knows, maybe someday we can finally get this reunion planned that we've been working on since we last said our goodbyes.
For those of us who dared to go on our final run at 4:15 am the last morning, we all went around and named the highs and lows of the trip that we just couldn't believe was coming to a close. The game proved difficult because there really were no low points except for maybe the crying baby on the 15 hour plane ride from LA to Sydney or when we got separated and all of DownUnder sports missed the plane due to the inefficiency of Sydney Customs and the highs were too enumerated among the twelve days of absolute bliss to pick out only three. I left that trip with so many great memories and I cannot say how blessed I feel that I was able to go on that trip. I can go on all day writing about every joyful experience but really any attempt to express how great of a trip Australia was will just be in vain, so please, go experience it for yourself.
- Steven Starr, Team NC athlete
Nostalgic memories of amazement and wonder,
Couldn't think of anything funner,
So glad to call myself a runner.
Sorry, that was me being stupid.
Weeks have passed since I've returned from an unimaginably fun, almost surreal trip to Australia with Down Under Sports, and not a day has passed when I haven't looked back on the once-in-a-lifetime journey. I know it sounds cliche, but really the whole trip was like a dream it was so incredible. People asked me once I got back how the trip went, and I would almost be ashamed to answer because I knew my response would not serve justice to my experiences because the amount of enjoyment I had on that trip, the new friendships that had been made, and the overall bewilderment of being in an entirely different culture with all its foreign customs is completely inconceivable. Trust me, you will never know exactly how great the Down Under experience is until you go through it for yourself.
I can't think of a single moment of that trip that I didn't enjoy. Of course there were the long layovers and trans-Pacific flights, but even those had their own small enjoyments. Once in Australia though, the fun never stopped. First of all, the place that you stay in is unbelievable. Famed as the tallest building in Australia, the Q1 tower is probably the nicest place I have ever stayed and it's right in the middle of all of Surfer's Paradise's attractions, plus seconds away from the beach. (Though the water looks cold, I highly recommend going in).
Besides the running--which was actually really nice because we'd run right along side the beach and through Surfer's Paradise, not to mention the weather was a cool 60 and not in the 90's which we had been used to running in--all the other activities were pretty awesome. As for the races, those were pretty cool as well. The first one we did was a giant road race with thousands of competitors. It was a great first race to have because although it was your first sense of competition, it was still not extremely serious and you get a t-shirt and medal souvenir. The second race was specifically for cross country and it was all the DownUnder kids against each other plus some New Zealand athletes.
Besides running we went to DreamWorld which is perhaps the most fabled amusement park in all of Australia where we got to ride this great motorcycle ride, Wipeout, and best of all Tower of Terror. We also visited Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary where you get to see all the native Australian species up close and personal. And when I say up close and personal I really mean it because you can choose to have your picture taken with the cute furry koalas and pet kangaroos. There is also a free day where you can choose what activity you'd like to go to. All of the choices are great and there is really no room to go wrong when you get to pick between horseback riding, snorkeling and kayaking, four wheeling, scuba diving, an eco-tour, and with permission, skydiving. The best part of all of these activities are the wonderful guides and chauffeurs who not only make sure you get to where you need to go safely but are also extremely friendly and ensure that you are in great company.
One of the most comforting facets of the trip was the everlasting friendships that you make. All of the day trips--while a blast in their own respect--come and go, but the new relationships you make with your teammates stay with you. I can still remember vividly the first time we all met. We were all standing together in line in the airport early in the morning. Everyone seemed a little timid and anxious in anticipation but as soon as we left the sides of our parents at the commencement of our epic journey, the awkwardness soon faded away. No one could've guessed how much further our friendships would grow. Day after day we hardly ever left each other sides. Whether this meant playing our own form of rugby on the beach, strolling through the shops and streets of the city, or simply playing cards in the lounge of the hotel before going to bed at night, we all became best friends over time and I'm sure well into the future we will still keep in touch. Who knows, maybe someday we can finally get this reunion planned that we've been working on since we last said our goodbyes.
For those of us who dared to go on our final run at 4:15 am the last morning, we all went around and named the highs and lows of the trip that we just couldn't believe was coming to a close. The game proved difficult because there really were no low points except for maybe the crying baby on the 15 hour plane ride from LA to Sydney or when we got separated and all of DownUnder sports missed the plane due to the inefficiency of Sydney Customs and the highs were too enumerated among the twelve days of absolute bliss to pick out only three. I left that trip with so many great memories and I cannot say how blessed I feel that I was able to go on that trip. I can go on all day writing about every joyful experience but really any attempt to express how great of a trip Australia was will just be in vain, so please, go experience it for yourself.
- Steven Starr, Team NC athlete
Team North Carolina was highly successful once again on the trip to Australia & Hawaii.
The boys team won the team title, led by West Johnston's Chris Garrett. Chris was the top American in both races!
The girls were led by Carol Blankenship of East Wilkes who was the top American at the road race and was the #2 American in the XC race.
Results: Gold Coast Airport Marathon 5k | Down Under All-American meet
The tall building is the Q1, our hotel in Australia!