Sunseri was the first-ever 49er to compete in the World Cross Championships. |
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Sunseri Comments on World Cross Championship
April 22, 2005
Charlotte, N.C. - True freshman Nick Sunseri competed at the World Cross Country Championships in St. Galmier-St. Etienne, France, last month, the first-ever 49er athlete to compete at the event.
Sunseri recently commented on his experience for Charlotte49ers.com:
"Going to France to compete at World Cross made me both excited and nervous at the same time," Sunseri said. "I was real happy to be on the Canadian team for the first time, and I was looking forward to racing in my first real International race.
"I did get a little anxious at times, though. I was real sick around Christmas time and had to take quite a few days off, and I had the flu about a month before Worlds, so my fitness was a little off. Being sick really disrupted my training.
"I really wasn't in the best shape to be racing against such fast individuals," the true freshman continued. "Trying to put some of these thoughts behind me while I was there, I made an effort to make the best of the trip.
"Maybe my favorite aspect was being able to meet such incredibly established runners. To stay busy, I played alot of cards with the guys on the team. The older Senior-team guys were open to letting us Junior guys play with them. I liked being able to have an open casual conversation with some of the fastest runners in Canada. It's not everyday that you can just hang out with guys like Kevin Sullivan (5th in the 1,500 at the Sydney Olympics) and Matt Kerr (Two-time NCAA Steeplechase Champion).
"Though my race didn't go too well at Worlds, I got one really important thing out of it: Experience. Many times I have gone into races and have been told that it will give me good experience for other races like it in the future. No race I have ever run is more experience-oriented than Worlds.
"If I were to run it again, I would do it completely differently than I did. I'm not too fast yet, but I'm trying to get to that point where I can make more teams that go to races like World Cross. When I can do this, that is where the experience I've gained will continue to grow and help me run better."
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