Hit The Trail
October 26, 2004 | Cross Country
Oct. 26, 2004
By Jenna Sampson. Texas Tech Media Relations
The beautiful Ngong Hills in the Nairobi region of Kenya are a far cry from the plains of West Texas. Just ask Texas Tech cross country runners Haron Lagat, Benson Cheserek and Irene Kimaiyo.
"Especially when you go to the Ngong Hills sometimes you come across wildlife when you're running. We don't go to where the lions are, but we encounter some animals," said Cheserek. According to Lagat, the most common animals passed on the trail are giraffes, zebras and gazelles.
The trio currently leads both the men and women's cross country teams. Lagat is poised to be the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, while Kimaiyo and Cheserek have a season of West Texas trails under their belt.
"(Haron Lagat) is what we've been looking for. That top runner to come in and set the bar high. I think Haron will be top five (in the Big 12). What Haron has done is gotten the men's team excited about how they're going to finish the conference, how much better they can be, and looking into the future," said head coach Burke Binning.
Lagat recently earned the Big 12 Cross Country Runner of the Week honors for his third-place finish at the Cowboy Jamboree and has been the top male performer for the past three weeks. His 23rd-place finish at the NCAA Pre-Nationals earlier this month in Terre Haute, Ind., almost ensures a trip to nationals.
Cheserek led the 2003 campaign as the top male performer in every race except one and has continued to produce good times this season as well. The junior was the top Tech finisher at the Lobo Invitational in early September.
"This time around I think the team is doing better than last year. I like the team spirit a lot this year," he said.
Part of that team spirit can be contributed to a strong showing from the women's side. The women were ranked 27th going into Pre-Nationals, led by Kimaiyo.
"Irene Kimaiyo, Bridgett Tidwell, Stef Calhoun, Brionne Yosten, Abby Shubert? those are my top five. Very solid group, they're our one through five gap. We started off the season over a minute (between the first and fifth finisher), now it's down to 40 seconds," Binning added.
"(Irene Kimaiyo) is obviously very talented. She goes out and gets the work done. Last year she learned a lot about racing. She came in and wanted to go out and lead every race and be with the leaders and she wasn't able to do that with some of the girls in our conference, especially Colorado. This year she's been a lot smarter about that. Especially that first race in New Mexico that she won, she was sitting ninth or tenth and Irene steadily caught (the leader) with a quarter to go," said Binning.
"Coming from Kenya, her philosophy was different. She's a good runner. Having someone that's on top that will perform helps you to want to do well too," added senior Brionne Yosten.
Kimaiyo has established herself as the leader on the women's side, but the sophomore failed to finish Pre-Nationals due to injury. Senior Bridget Tidwell led the Red Raiders with a 70th-place finish, accounting for an overall team finish of 21st place.
"We were doing really well in the beginning of the year, but two of our top five runners are hurt right now," said Tidwell, adding that both expect to be back for the Big 12 Championships.
Tidwell is a seasoned veteran and works hard at maintaining consistency and makes an effort to exemplify a tireless work ethic for the younger runners. She hails from Crawford, Texas, and spends countless hours training during the off-season at the local track.
"I've jogged by press conferences at our local coffee shop, and when they say on CNN, 'Hey we're in Crawford at Bush's ranch,' they actually film right by the track. So when I do workouts at the track they are usually out there filming, and I get to meet a bunch of people. One time the Japanese president was in town and I saw him," she said.
All of the cross country runners are also on the track team, so Binning carefully considers his training methods to avoid burnout.
"We've got an underwater treadmill which is an awesome thing. Three or four of them take advantage of that right now substituting that for morning runs or recovery days. It takes away from the pounding on the legs and it's a good workout. These kids won't ever take a day off, and you always teeter on the edge when you're at the D-I level. There's a delicate balance."
Those morning runs are three mile warm-ups to start the day, followed by afternoon team workouts consisting of eight to ten mile jaunts through the West Texas trail system.
"Over at Mackenzie Park there are a lot of single track trails and I have them get on those. It gets them off the street, gets them off the pavement, and it really simulates a lot of what we deal with in cross country - difficult terrain. There are a ton of little hills around there. Today we're going out to Yellow House Canyon and we'll head out there and do our long runs and hill training," said Binning.
Binning also works in tempo runs and intervals to focus on speed and leg strength.
"Being a distance runner takes a whole lot of discipline and self-motivation to get out there and do it every day. There are days when you're not going to be around your teammates to pull you along. Distance runners are intrinsically motivated, and that's the number one key I look for."
Yosten claims cross country requires a lot of hard work as well as toughness.
"It's a change from track. It's a totally different race because there are hills and hundreds of people in the same race. Every race there are always elbows thrown and you just have to fight for yourself," she said.
Several runners on the women's side have surpassed Binning's expectations and turned out good performances this season.
"Abby Shubert, this year she's been incredibly consistent. She got healthy, trained very well this summer. Brionna (Yosten) and Bridget (Tidwell), always in my top three, but I probably can't say enough about Stefanie Calhoun who season-in season-out continues to surprise me," he said.
The cross country team is working hard to prepare for the Big 12 Championships, so feel free to give them a honk and a wave if you pass by 'em.
"I notice everyone from Lubbock is really friendly. That's what I like about Lubbock. Wherever you go people wave and some people honk," said Cheserek.
And while the threat of running into a lion is obsolete in West Texas, there are a few risky encounters on the trails.
"On trails all we've ever had are snakes and skunks. Skunks are really bad. They'll stop in the middle of the trail and we have to turn around and go the other direction. The worst thing about running on trails are the branches that you miss and trip over. It gets a good laugh though," said Tidwell.
The cross country team competes at the Big 12 Championships on Oct. 30 at Kansas State. The NCAA Mountain Region Championships will be held Nov. 13 in Fort Collins, Colorado, and NCAA Championships follow on Nov. 20 in Terre Haute, Ind.
Players Mentioned
