September 22nd, Fredericton Fall Classic

    And yet another exciting day for the 2013 UNB Cross Country team as they had four of their current members, along with team alumni run in the Fredericton Fall Classic. The weather was great and the attendance was high as everyone was ready to start to run one of the three available races. (5KM, 10KM, and Half Marathon).

      Leading the 10km race with ease was cross country member and captain James Murphy, finishing in an impressive time of 33:27. Not far behind was third year runner Taylor Lamarche finishing in a proud second with a 10km personal best of 35:34. But the VREDS action didn't stop there, alumni Rob Jackson gave the younger boys a run for their money finishing in third with a time of 38:26. Representing the women's Cross Country team in the 10km race was Priya Bhutani finishing strong in a time of 49:21.

     Ryan Hamilton UNB Cross Country Team alumni, sport psychologist, and positive training partner ran an extremely hard half marathon race. Ryan, who always tells us to fight through the pain, mental distractions, and reach for your goals ran a proud personal best today in a time of 1:27:46 (finishing in 12th place). Way to go Ryan!... Jenn Seguin, our number one fan and wife to coach Chris Gairns ran an extremely hard half marathon finishing in an impressive time of 1:38:40. Hannah Connon current member of the Women's Cross Country team also ran a great half, finishing hard with a time of 1:45:51!

     Great results from those who ran in both races this weekend, and for those who went out to the hard morning workout in Odell yesterday! Keep up the hard training, good nutrition, and positivity!

 

Sept 21st, 2013. StFX Invitational

             After a long hard week of training the men and women’s UNB Cross Country team was off to St Fx to run in their second meet. With only six boys and six girls traveling to Antigonish the two teams dug deep and all ran extremely impressive races. With the female race bumping up to 6km as opposed to the comfortable 5km that they were all used to, the girls ran hard and made it look like it was no problem at all. This meet was a bit bigger than the UNB invitational as Acadia and Memorial University were both present.

            The ladies lined up on the start line at 12:00pm sharp and were ready to run hard despite the wind and extra kilometer they had ahead of them. Captain Sarah Myatt, (who says she hates anything longer then 5km) ran the race extremely hard, and had enough kick in her at the end to pass two of her opponents finishing the race in 6^th place. Katie Robinson, Nathalie Cecire, Kelsey Hogan, and Caroline MacIsaac all made the extra kilometer look easy and finished the race with great times! As a team the girls walked away with another third place overall.

            The boys were off at the sound of the whistle running proud in their red and white singlets. With only six boys UNB ran a hard eight kilometers. Leading the pack was first year runner Jonathan Bunn running his first university race coming off an ankle injury. Following Jon were Colby Craig (who ran a 8km personal best), Brent McCumber, Chris McNamara, and Clayton Holteen. As a team the boys finished sixth despite the absence of some of their top runners.

            The team is back in Fredericton and ready for another tough week of hills, millage, gym workouts, and fun. Stay tuned for the results from the Fredericton Fall Classic where UNB has four of their runners competing in either the 10km or half marathon races on Sunday September 22^nd.

The next race for the UNB VREDs is October 5^th at Dalhousie University.

Results from todays race:

http://www.atlanticuniversitysport.com/sports/wxc/2013-14/files/2013-09-21_StFX_INV.pdf

UNB/STU Invitational Sept 14th, 2013

The UNB Cross Country team tore up some dirt this past Saturday as they ran hard in the first AUS meet of the season. The race was held at Odell Park, as it was a combined invitational for both UNB and St. Thomas. The course was very wet and muddy but that did not stop the UNB runners from stirring up some conversation.  Coach, Tim Randall mentioned that he had a number of the other coaches come up to him during both the Male and Female races commenting on how good of a team UNB had this season. Both teams fought hard and this was shown both on the result sheets and the mud that each runner had splattered from head to toe.

The excitement started with the girl’s 5km race at noon. With twelve girls lined up at the start line, UNB was looking fierce. Captain Sarah Myatt led the UNB pack finishing in a strong sixth place with a time of 19:52. Not far behind the team had a “Katie duo” consisting of first year runner Katie Robinson finishing 8^th with a time of 20:08, and returner Katie Wallace finishing 12^th with a time of 20:34. Returner Nathalie Cecire also looked strong as she crossed the finish line with a time of 21:27 taking 19^th. Kelsey Hogan, Priya Bhutani, Hannah Connon, Courtney Barbour, Laura Clark, Ally Pickard-Tattrie, Kelsey Tucker, and Ashley Gallagher all ran extremely hard and finished in outstanding times! As a team the girls did not only finish third, but also gave the St.FX and Dal teams something to watch out for!

After cheering the girls on, the boys were ready to start their 8km race. As soon as the clock struck 12:45, the gun fired and the UNB boys were ready to get dirty. The boys ran the race with only nine strong runners as they have Jonathan Bunn, Chris Farnham, and Nevan Tait out with injuries. Leading the race for the boys was captain James Murphy running a 27:18 and finishing 8^th overall! Following James was returner Chris McNamara who has been running absolutely amazing since returning after the summer! Chris finished the race in 29:26, with returner Taylor Lamarche running hard and right on his tail! Brent McCumber and Colby Craig also looked strong as the two of them sprinted to the finish! Kyle Lefort, Clayton Holteen, Mark Manuel and Michael Yitayew also all ran outstanding races! The boy’s team went home with a third overall, and a sense of determination to steal that second place spot.

UNB’s team coaches Jason Reindl, Tim Randall, and Chris Gairns are all extremely excited for what this year has in store. With such a strong team this early into the season, the coaches are confident that UNB will finish amongst the top! The UNB team is not just out to run this year, they are out to win and to make a name for themselves in not only the AUS, but also the CIS!

Here are the results for todays race:

http://www.anb.ca/documents/uploads/UNBSTUXC2013.pdf

             Such an excellent race would not have been possible without the countless volunteers who prepared the course (some even arriving at 6am!), the STU Cross Country team (our co-hosts for the event) and all of the spectators who came out to cheer!  And speaking of the spectators, it was wonderful to see UNB President Eddy Campbell cheering us on!  We are lucky to have such strong community support in both Fredericton and Saint John.  Now we just have to keep giving them something to cheer about!

Stay tuned for the next Cross Country Update! Go VREDS!