What a weekend! Saturday morning the Gate River 15K Championships took place in Jacksonville, Florida. Kristin and I got to be there to watch the stacked race unfold, sharing updates and cheering on the fast birds of Oiselle Team. Yes, we were literally tweeting, running, 'gramming, sweating, and cheering at the same time. It was AWESOME.
Eight Oiselle women competed in the 15K Championships. The twist? Not in the rad pro kit, but instead in new Spring 15 threads seen on the runway at Nolcha Fashion Week! Huge highlight of the day: three of our gals placed in the top 30 elite women and we scored 5th as a team out of 8 teams. I'll spare you the 500+ photos I took this past weekend (seriously...) and dwindle it to our top pics. If you missed the action, we got you covered.
Highlights at Gate River 15K Championships
Race day morning was bea-u-ti-ful...and hotter than expected at a humid 70 degrees.
We hung with the birds from the hotel to the elite tent and then outside for their pre-race routine. Bibs on, quick shake out, warm up drills, and tatted up.
With 30 minutes until the gun, we followed the women's elite field to the start. The city began to wake up and calm set in as the women made their way to the starting line. Stride Short Minis out and about.
Since the Gate River course runs in a full circle, we knew if we watched the start we would miss prime cheering spots. We booked it to mile 1.5 where we would be able to cheer for our birds at two separate spots. Gun went off and soon after the lead pack came charging down the hill, Kara Foster (above in the Suspension Shimmel in Pop and Flyte Short) and Caitlin Comfort (above in the Verrazano Bra and Competition Brief) tucked in and looking smooth.
The race was stacked. There was vibrant energy, loud crowds, pump-up music, hot temps, sweat, tears and successes through it all. We watched and cheered, logging 3 miles oursevles with Volée runner Amy Upshaw and Dallas Henry. Pro cheering squad above :)
Hello #flystyle. Runway hit the raceday! Our eight gals looked powerful and strong and flew by in style.
With a few miles to go we beelined to the finish. First for us across the line was Kara Foster (52:17), placing in the top 10 elite women and podium! Following closely after: Caitlin Comfort (53:23) and Allison Maxson (54:16) who completed our team score. Andie Cozzarelli, Melissa Gacek, Kelsey Markham and Heidi Greenwood all finished strong.
The race happened in a flash. We celebrated at the finish and got to hear stories and race recaps. Talking with Kara post-race, "It was rough and then okay. Once I got to 10K I was able to settle and relax. Happy to be done!"
Flying across the country to a race would not be complete without meeting new birds. We got to meet Lindsay Finnegan (middle right with Holly Batchelder) and Sarah McCartan (top right with Kristin) from Oiselle Team - such a treat.
Congrats to all racers who completed the Gate last weekend. Big thank you to Holly Batchelder for letting us crash at your house and celebrate the "Year of Holly" for your 40th. We loved Jacksonville and can't wait to be back.
