Matt McClintock's Footlocker Blog

Hey everyone,

So I guess this will be my last blog of my cross country career. First off I again I want to say thank you to my coaches, our bus driver Mike Crane, my family, and everyone who has supported me through this crazy journey. Now onto my reason for writing this blog. To recap my journey from the small town of Athens, ME to the big city of San Diego, CA to compete in the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships.

DAY 1

So we got up early, way too early, 3AM early to get to TF Greene airport in Providence, RI to make our 7AM flight. There I met up with Abbey Leonardi and her family, as this was my first trip ever on a plane I was glad to have someone show me what in the world I was doing. I ended up seated next to an Airforce pilot for the 6 hour flight to Las Vegas, this came in handy because SURPRISE I get nauseous flying! We landed in Vegas and sat on the runway for a half hour and then continued on our way to San Diego, once there we were shown to a bus which took us to the Hotel Del Coronado. This hotel is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. The hotel is literally the size on in town Athens! There we gathered up all of our new Foot Locker and Saucony gear and then after lunch I headed up to my room where I met my roommates Nathan Weitz and Sean McGorty. We hung out for a while and then headed down stairs to go for a group run with the other athletes. We ended up going about 5 miles, slightly longer and slightly faster than I had planned on running. After the run we went to dinner and then the scavenger hunt commenced. The scavenger hunt was so much fun. We basically sprinted for an hour through this very high class hotel, getting many weird looks along the way. After that it was time for some much needed rest.

DAY 2

Up for a little breakfast, and then off to go see the course. We did a quick run through of the introductions, and then went off and jogged the course. I heard a lot of people talking about how difficult it was, but being from Maine it seemed to compare pretty well to the Twinbrook course, nothing too extreme. After the jog I went and did a couple light strides up the steep uphill to see how my spikes would hold up. They passed. We then got back to the hotel and had lunch and then spent the rest of the day at our leisure. I sat in my room with Sean and Nathan and watched some movies. Afterwards was the pasta dinner which was delicious! And then we had our QA with the pro athletes. Afterwards there was an autograph session and I got my bib number signed by Ben True J. Then it was time for an early night to get prepared for the race

DAY 3 (Race Day)

I woke up at about 5AM PST. The time change made it so easy to get up in the mornings since it was 8AM in the East. I called my coaches and parents and got a few last words of advice and encouragement and then headed down to breakfast. We had about 2 hours until the gun of the boy’s championship when we arrived at Balboa Park. Lots of time to settle the nerves and to warm up and stretch. When they called us over for introductions everything got real! We had plenty of time after the Northeast was introduced to do some final strides and then they called us to the line. Surprisingly, I wasn’t very nervous, just ready. Bang and we were off. I got out quickly to the front of the pack, but the pace quickly slowed and I got stuck behind a large pack of South kids. We went through the mile in a very easy 4:54, and then attacked the hill for the first time, my legs felt good going up it, and the pack started to thin up so I was able to work my way into a little bit better position. Coming through the 2 mile in 9:58 I was beginning to feel it a little, I felt myself losing focus. I glanced to the side and saw Mr. Leonardi shouting at me to keep digging and after taking a bad angle through one of the turns I yelled at myself to keep pushing and stay focused, less than a mile left. I caught sight of Connor Rog just ahead of me and made it my mission to catch him. Going up the hill for the second time, my legs were on fire, but at the top I began to start my kick from a thousand meters out, just like me and my coach had planned. I was running with Dustin Watson of PA and my roommate Sean for much of the last kilometer. Until I finally pulled away, I got caught by 3 people in the last tenth of a mile, but I was lucky enough that I had been running in 12^th and was able to hang on for 15^th, good for the final All-American spot!

Day 4

We were on the plane all day. It felt so good to cross the bridge into Maine and even better when I set foot in my own home.

So there it is the recap of the climax of my high school cross country career. Congratulations to Abbey Leonardi for her 4^th place finish. I wish I was able to see more of her race. I hope you all enjoyed reading my blogs this year, and I hope that my career if nothing else was able to inspire some of you to either pick up running later in life, start running as a junior high student, or further pursue it as a high school student. Again thanks to everyone and I hope I can keep in touch with all of you wherever I go to school next year.

Bye Everyone!