St. Timothy Thunder cross-country star Josh Novak earned some valuable experience at the Cross Country National Championships in Kingston, Ont., on Nov. 24 and 25.
Novak raced with the University of Calgary Athletics Club (UCAC) and finished 127th out of 213 runners in the Youth Boys race with an overall time of 21:22. Novak wasn’t too pleased with the results, but said the chance to compete nationally was worth the trip.
“It was a whirlwind weekend. I’m thankful I had the opportunity to go out to Kingston, even if it wasn’t my best performance,” Novak said.
“It was just a bit frustrating because I know I can run better than that, I just didn’t push myself as hard as I needed to. But as I said, it was unbelievable to be able to participate in a race like that and if anything, it will just motivate me for the offseason.
Novak’s coach at St. Timothy, Travis Cummings, reiterated that the experience would bode well for his young runner in future races.
“I thought he got great experience and did about as well as he could given it was his first national experience,” Cummings said.
“It takes about three or four of them to actually figure out how to race at that level and it was great preparation for him moving into university competition.”
The young Cochrane runner also commented on the fact that it was strange he was competing, but wasn’t wearing Thunder colours.
“Honestly, it didn’t make a huge difference in such a big race, but with that being said, it did feel a little weird representing the purple and white,” Novak said.
“But I wouldn’t be where I am today without the coaches and training I’ve gotten from St. Timothy, so I really can’t thank them enough.”
Novak will now spend the next few months training and deciding which university he’ll compete for next fall.
“I’ve met with the coaches from the University of Victoria, Saskatchewan and Queens over the weekend. There are a few other schools that I’m considering, but if I want to keep running, those are the schools I’ve been in contact with so far,” Novak said.
“I had talked with those schools prior to nationals, but this was the first time I really have gotten to talk to the coaches personally,”
“As for training, I think the offseason will mainly be about putting the work in to give myself the best shot at making varsity next fall.”
