AISG Cross Country Bangkok

The AISG Cross Country team went to Bangkok, Thailand during September 13 – 17. We competed against 12 international schools located all around in Asia in the ISB (International School of Bangkok) Cross Country Invitational.

Bangkok is during the middle of the season and was a great way for us to get a feeling of where we were at and how much we needed to prepare for the future. Schools arrived in Bangkok on Thursday afternoon and took a peaceful night to settle in. The next day we made our way to the resort which was near the race course. We ran a slow 5k jog, made sure to fuel up with carbs and got an early night rest for the Saturday. The morning of the race, we made our way towards the course at 6:30. The race was scheduled to start at 7:30 for the girls and 8:15 for the boys.

The course was the same as last year, but due to the rain, half of it was very muddy and slippery. The our team helped each other out in completing the challenge. Advice from Senior Michael L. helped Evan T. finish his race, which was to “finish strong and leave it on all on the course so you don’t have any regret after.” Also, Sophomore Cheryl Z. shared advice that pushed Alice J.  to finish in the top 30, which was “Don’t give up, running is a mental sport. Take it one step at a time!”

Overall, this race was successful. Since we are a young team, this helped us gain experience: this was our 2nd race of the season. Michael L. said, “Although this course was challenging due to it being slippery, it taught our runners to adapt, which will help in other race courses as they will get better at knowing when to speed up and slow down.” Junior Cindy W said, “I am really proud of the team’s efforts. They all pushed themselves to the limit and tried to hit personal records.”