Hi everyone! My name is Ann Herman and I am a senior at Pennsbury High School. This cross country season has been an exhilarating whirlwind and it was an awesome way to end my high school cross country career.
Repeat AAA PA Champions, Pennsbury. Ann Herman, who finished 3rd in the race, is third from the right -
Photo by Megan Zeller
This year, our team had our sites set on a second state title and it was what drove us throughout the season. For us, November 5 (the day of states) was the greatest day of the season. We were thrilled to win our second state title! All of the girls ran amazingly well and outdid themselves. The whole weekend was so much fun spending time with the team. I was very happy with the team’s performance as well as my own performance at states and I couldn’t have hoped for anything better.
Because it was my senior year, I decided to run the Nike Cross Country Nationals Northeast Regional race on November 26. (Photo to left by Patty Morgan) I figured that I had nothing to lose. Going up to Wappingers Falls, New York made for a fun weekend. My family and I drove up the day after Thanksgiving so that we could look at the course and get settled in before the race the next day. The course at Bowdoin Park was intimidating at first because the first half of the race was all uphill! However, because of the practice I have had running hills at Hershey, the course was way more enjoyable than I had expected. The next morning was the race and I was super nervous. I had no idea how fast the girls I would be running against would be. Fortunately, the race ended well. I placed fifth and was the last spot to qualify to go to Nationals the next weekend in Portland, Oregon!
I flew out of the Philadelphia Airport at 6:30 AM that Thursday. My mom, dad, and brother came with me to Oregon. My coach wasn’t able to come up, but he helped me with my training leading up to regionals and nationals and he was supportive and motivating, even though he was over a thousand miles away in Pennsylvania.
The plane trip was long, but I was excited for all of the activities that Nike had planned for us to do. When I arrived at the Portland Airport, a Nike chaperone was there to bring me to the hotel. The hotel was completely decked out in Nike Cross Country Nationals Décor. There were banners all over the hotel that said the name of every team that qualified and the names of all the individuals that qualified as well. I checked into my room and I met my roommate, Junior Marisa Ruskan from New Jersey. She was extremely nice and I had a great time with her the whole weekend. We were then brought to the Nike headquarters where we were to meet with the other Northeast individual qualifiers and get our gear! When we got to the Nike headquarters all of the Northeast individual girls met up and we went for a short run around the Nike campus. The campus had trails running throughout and it was beautiful. When we got back from our run, we were unfortunately told that we wouldn’t be able to get our gear until tomorrow, but hey, at least we were getting awesome stuff eventually! That night after dinner was the opening ceremonies. The ceremonies welcomed us all to Portland for Nationals and got us ready for an awesome weekend and race on Saturday!
The next day, in the morning, we were all taken over to the see the course at Portland Meadows. I was excited to see the course and I had no idea what to expect. The course was different than any course I have ever run before in my life. It was situated inside the racehorse track at Portland Meadows. The course was two-and-a-half loops and hay bales were placed at different spots on the course as were the infamous “whoop-de-doos”, low hills made from dirt piles in the middle of the course. I ran the course with another Northeast qualifier, Senior Dana Giordano from New Jersey. She was hilarious and she was such a fun person to be around. I was happy to see the course, but I was nervous at the same time! It seemed pretty flat, but the hay bales made me worry because I am not what you would call a jumper!
Over the Whoop-de-doos at NXN - Photo by Patrick Bendzick MA Milesplit.com
After we saw the course we went back to the hotel to get ready to head to the Nike headquarters. That afternoon the other Northeast girls and I were going to get our uniforms and gear! Getting the gear was way more of a production than I had imagined. We all walked into the “product room” and our names were announced and each of our sets of gear was displayed for us. Everything was so cool! Nike was so generous and gave us so much nice stuff. After receiving our gear we were able to hang out in the athlete hospitality before dinner. The athlete hospitality was where all of the athletes were able to hang out, play the Wii and the Kinect, play Ping-Pong, and play a running video game created by Nike where you could “race” an opponent on the Portland Meadows course! That night we had a delicious pasta dinner and we were brought back to the hotel early so that we could all prepare for the race and get a good night’s sleep. I couldn’t believe that the race was the next day!
That morning I was so nervous for the race. I would be racing against some of the best high school runners in the nation! The boy’s race went off before us and was really exciting to watch. It was weird to think that I would be doing the exact same thing in less than an hour. Before the race, all of the teams and individuals were announced and we all headed out to the starting line.
Finishing in 42nd, and running 3rd for the Northeast.
The gun went off and the start was fast! I got a little caught up in the beginning, but I was able to move up and I ended up placing 42nd overall. The course was a little muddy and the hay bales were more tiring than I expected. The “whoop-de-doos” offered a different racing experience as well, but it was such a great day. I was especially proud of all of the Northeast individuals, both boys and girls. They all ran their hardest and they all had great races. I was happy that my brother and my parents were there to support me and my family, friends, and coaches were all supportive and caring as well.
The rest of the day we were able to relax at the Nike headquarters. That night was the closing ceremonies. It was sad to think that I would be flying back to Pennsylvania the next day. The closing ceremonies were fun and they showed us clips from our race, which was really cool to watch! We all looked so muddy and cold! I was sad to leave but the experience I had at Nationals is one that I will never forget. All of the Northeast individuals were fun to be with and I had a great time with them over the course of the weekend.
Nike provided us with amazing amenities, gear, and activities. The race was interesting and exciting and I don’t think I will ever run on as unique a cross country course as the Portland Meadows course. I am so thankful for my experience at Nationals and for my whole cross country season this year, for they were both great ways to end my senior cross country season.
