Colorado University Athletics
Verdon, CU Women Set For Pre-Nationals
October 15, 2015 | Cross Country
Blake Theroux is a three-time All-American for the CU cross country team, and ran on each of the last two men's national championship teams. He recently spent a morning on a run with current CU standout Carrie Verdon and provided this account.
BOULDER — It's early in the morning and the sun has just begun to rise. The temperature is uncharacteristically warm for an autumn Saturday in Boulder, but Carrie Verdon is undeterred. It's routine. Whereas many 21-year-old college students spend their Saturday mornings recovering from the previous night's festivities, Verdon has made a habit of getting her work for the day done early.
After a brief stretch, she's out the door. For such an early rise Verdon is cheerful, bouncing with each step. It's less than a quarter of a mile from her house in south Boulder to the Buffalo Ranch, home course for the Colorado cross country team and starting point for her day's run.
The previous Saturday saw the Colorado women blaze the Ranch in dominating fashion at the Rocky Mountain Shootout, winning with a perfect score of 15 — a feat accomplished without Verdon. At the behest of coaches Mark Wetmore and Heather Burroughs, the Colorado junior opted for the Roadrunner Invitational in Denver. The Denver race at Washington Park offered softer footing than the harsh Buffalo Ranch, and she used the opportunity to run to a win, finishing the 6K course in 21:40.
“The course (in Denver) was a little different than courses I've previously run on,” she says. “It had a lot of hairpin turns and the grass was a little longer than normal. When the gun went off though, none of that mattered. It was just fun to be back in it.”
Verdon runs across her home course for nearly a mile and connects to the Bobolink trailhead, one of her favorite places to run for an easy day from home. It's not long before her attention turns to her next competition.
Saturday, the second-ranked CU women will suit up for the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Louisville, Ky., a race that will field a handful of top ranked teams.
“I'm pretty excited, but nervous,” says Verdon, who took a redshirt year last season after an injury. “It's been over a year since I ran in a big cross country race against good teams. Literally it's been over 365 days.”.
Verdon reaches the turnaround point of 2 ½ miles, stops, cracks her back and begin to head back toward home. Despite her pre-race jitters, she's brimming with confidence in reflection of the team's newfound depth. If the Rocky Mountain Shootout is any indication, women from every class are contributing to the team's chemistry.
“For the first time since I've been here it feels like there are a lot of us training together. It's a confidence booster,” she said. “When I was younger there was a big gap between the older girls and the younger ones. Emma (Coburn) and Shalaya (Kipp) would be much farther ahead in workouts. But now it feels like we're a lot closer as a group. We're becoming faster as a team.”
After about 35 minutes, Verdon is back at home, done for the day. After some foam rolling, a cup of coffee and a quick shower, she's ready to head out the door again. I inquire where she's going and she responds, “The farmers market. The great part about living in Boulder is that everyone is so active. The community as a whole gets up early Saturday morning, does their bike ride, run, climbing, or whatever it may be, and then relaxes outside at places like the farmers market for the rest of the day. It's a cool place to go and be with other members of the community who are so similar to you."
With a wave and a smile, she's out the door again.
