Setting the Pace for the Long Run

Georgia Gwinnett College men’s and women’s cross-country runners came away with several valuable lessons from their inaugural races that the Grizzlies will take into the University of North Georgia XC Invitational on Friday, September 18, in Oakwood, Georgia.

GGC placed third in the men’s team race and the women’s squad had a strong fourth-place finish while competing against three NCAA Division II institutions and a Division III school during the Young Harris Cross Country Invitational in northeast Georgia on September 4.

That’s commendable for runners that first tried out for the team on August 1 and soon thereafter began practicing for this first season, under direction of Interim Head Coach Kat Ihlenburg.

Each runner admitted after the first competition that they started the race at too fast of a pace, which proceeded to hurt their performances for the rest of the 5-kilometer races for both teams. 

This Friday evening’s races will be even more of a challenge, with the men covering eight kilometers and the women’s running six kilometers until crossing the finish line.

Freshman Vasili Khudoleyev remarks, “The first race humbled me in certain aspects. I had sustained an injury a couple weeks before the meet and I thought that I would pick up where I was in training for the race. But in cross country, if you miss more than a week, you lose that build-up to perform at your best.” 

Ihlenburg looks forward to the teams’ athletes achieving personal best times in their second races.

“The initial meets were triumphs – as teams and runners,” says the interim coach. “All of the athletes finished their races and that is a testament to their personal efforts. Now, heading into the North Georgia meet, we want to keep building and seeing personal-best performances. We have put a lot more work into training and the runners are more intentional in their personal efforts. I am looking forward to seeing the improvements between the first and second meets by all our runners.” 

Starting a program isn’t new to Ihlenburg. She has coached GGC’s softball program from its inception 14 seasons ago. It is now among the NAIA’s top programs, winning multiple conference championships and annually making national tournament appearances.

The women’s cross-country team was paced in the Young Harris meet by a top-15 individual finish from sophomore Sadie McGuinn. The excitement of competing in her first race for GGC is something she will always remember.

“It was exciting to be a part of the first cross country meet in school history. I had a goal going into the race and, unfortunately, I did not achieve that. However, I learned a lot about myself and will be determined to do better the next time,” remarks McGuinn.

Both programs are blessed to have assistant coaches in former NCAA All-American runner Amanda Rego and GGC alum Ben Hines providing guidance to the student-athletes.

“You see the most incredible snapshot of what GGC is in our community,” says Ihlenburg. “Having an All-American (Amanda Rego) coming back to her hometown and GGC alumnus (Ben Hines) contributing to our new program speaks volumes to what our athletic department is and means.”

Friday’s meet at North Georgia is the next step forward toward competing in the Continental Athletic Conference Championships on November 6 in Lawrence, Kansas.

“Our programs started quickly, but their athletes are talented. Our goal is to have a strong showing at the conference championships and set the standards moving forward for what these programs should develop into for the future,” said Ihlenburg.