End of the Year

My injuries this term eventually forced me to give up on any ambitions I might have had on the distance side of things. In the end I just didn’t have enough time to get anywhere with it before the end of the academic year – I’ll have to rebuild once I get home. Instead, the past six weeks or so has seen me convert into something of a middle-distance man. Going into the spring term I would never have predicted such a turn of events. The last time I seriously trained and competed in the 800 – 1500 bracket would have been year 10, which was about five years ago now! Anyway, I focused on speedwork going into the final few races, and was able to produce a few decent performances. I broke two minutes in the 800, which is something that I thought I’d never do. And I ran 4.06 in the 1500. That time isn’t all that great, since it probably represents what I could have run at the start of the season had I been uninjured, but I guess I’ll have to take it.

The Conference Meet 

The past six weeks have been pretty frantic. Most of my classes have had several assessed pieces of work due at the end of the term. Most have followed the same basic pattern: an individual presentation of about 10 – 15 minutes, followed by a final paper and a final exam. It was pretty strenuous, but not altogether terrible. In my history classes especially, I enjoyed writing the papers and making the presentations, though I wouldn’t ever go so far to say that the exams were enjoyable, that would be a bit much, I think. Anyhow there’s also been plenty of college events to close out the year. The ‘Threshpys’ was the stand out event. It’s basically the Oscars for Bethel’s sports teams. I was nominated for freshman of the year, and made it too the final three alongside my roommate Isaiah, who really should have won given that he was Bethel’s first ever freshman all – American. Unfortunately, neither of us won, but no matter.

The Threshpys

Yet the highlight of this term has undoubtedly been this past week. Though I didn’t qualify for nationals (though we were pretty darn close in the 4x800), Bethel still allowed me to travel to watch an NAIA legend compete – that legend being Emily Kearney. The venue was pretty classy: Gulf Shores, Alabama. Its right on the Caribbean Sea, though it did take a 16-hour drive to get there! We stayed in a beach house, ten yards from the most enormous beach I’ve ever seen. We had some qualifiers in the 400, 200, 100 and 4x100. Our Chilean Mauro also qualified in the 1500, but was unfortunately unable to travel. The highlight for me was undoubtedly my sister. One who’s college career began in anonymity ended complete dominance; she won both the 5000 and 10,000 meters (running the two races – including a 5k prelim - over three days) and set new NAIA records in both. It was a real honour to witness her final race, which was the capping performance to a most remarkable five years.

Emily and her Coach

Thus concludes my first year in America. This second term has felt really long at time – I’ve been out here for about 5 and a half months! However, looking back the time has really flown by. It’s seems like only yesterday that I first arrived in Wichita airport, and now a whole academic year has passed. It’s been thoroughly enjoyable in the most part, though there has certainly been ups and downs. My team has been incredible, and its only set to grow this coming year. Let’s hope that I can stay injury free once I get home! I’m pretty tired, both mentally and physically, and I’m looking forward to recuperating back at 11 Lorne Road, away from the heat of the Kansas summer and nasty American cheese.

The sprinters!

I’m also very much looking forward to watching the club get back to some proper competitions! This lockdown looks like its final abating, and WEP needs to make up for lost time. There’s going to be some really special performances this year (though of course there’s been some unbelievable ones already), and I’m glad that I’ll be there to witness some of them. Yet my happiness has been tempered somewhat by the passing of our President Norman Waterson. It’s very difficult to find the words to express what an enormous loss the club has sustained. He was an ever-present fixture of life at Wirral AC – a man who had faithfully served the club both as an athlete and a coach for over half a century. The massive upheaval in the clubs recent past, which threatened the very future of Wirral AC itself, could not have been overcome had it not been for Norman, who was for many years the single unifying figure within the club. Yet we have come through all that now, and the happy and flourishing state of Wirral AC today is a fitting legacy for that great man.