By: Sharlane MacLeod
Truro, NS - Cross-country running is not for the faint of heart - it's a team sport whose athletes, in contrast, spend hundreds of kilometers running solo between practices and where finish lines are never truly the finish. It's a sport that pushes its athletes to overcome their limits and to question what they thought was possible. A continual internal dialogue of "just one more kilometer" - but one kilometer becomes two, then three, and before long one small piece of the training is complete. In time the consistent building of these seemingly small pieces come together to create something truly special.
This past Remembrance Day, November 11, 2023, two of Centennial's own Varsity Cross-Country athletes, Skye Pinto and Irvin Omere had the honor of realizing that 'something truly special'. Their months of dedication included - sacrificing the comfort of their couches to run in extreme heat, bitter cold, high wind, rain and snow, and ultimately lead them to compete at the height of college running, the Canadian College Athletic Association National Cross-Country Championships.
Every year hundreds of male and female runners from across Canada strive to race at The CCAA National XC Championships - of those hundreds of runners only a small group of the most talented qualify to race at this high level event.
For Pinto and Omere this was their first ever-National XC Championship, and to make it even more exciting, this year's championship race was hosted by The Dalhousie Agricultural College at the beautiful Victoria Park, in Truro, Nova Scotia.
The event kicked off at 12:15PM on Saturday with ninety-nine of the fastest women from the CCAA toeing the line in the women's 6km race. The race was ultra-competitive from the gun as Skye Pinto found herself battling a flurry of elbows while navigating the course's tight turns and narrow pathways. Though the scenery of Truro's Victoria Park was idyllic, the terrain underfoot was anything but - with rocks, hills and mud making the course truly challenging for those fortunate enough to compete. After two hard-fought laps of the difficult course, Pinto crossed the finish line in a strong time of 26:37, in 65th position. Post-race, Pinto commented that she felt motivated and has her sights firmly set on Nationals 2024.
As the women caught their breath, it was time for their male counterparts to go elbow to elbow on the line for the men's 8km race. Eighty-nine talented men stepped up and took off to a perfect start. Irvin Omere found himself in great position from the gun but was soon shuffled back while navigating the narrowest part of the course. Unphased, Omere continually worked his way through the field moving up from 54th position to finish in an amazing 33rd position with a very fast time of 26:57. Speaking with Irvin and his competitors post-race it was apparent how difficult the course had been- several runners rolled up their pant legs to reveal gashes given to them unintentionally from the spikes of their fellow competitors, with other's dropping out completely, unable to finish the race due to minor injury. Despite the bumps and bruises there was a consensus amongst athletes that the beautiful scenery of the thickly wooded Victoria Park and energy from the enthusiastic crowds made their Nationals experience truly enjoyable and memorable.
A huge thanks to The Dalhousie Agricultural College along with their dedicated staff and volunteers for hosting such a competitive, fun and highly energetic event.
Congratulations to all competitors who raced at this year's 2023 CCAA National Championships. We look forward to next year!