The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Gets a look at the big time
While the Colorado high school cross-country season came to a close two weeks ago, community school junior and cross-country stand-out Amber Scott wasn’t ready to hang up the shoes just yet.
Since her freshman year, Scott has dreamed of testing the waters outside of Colorado.
“There are two races that have been on our radar and she’s always had a dream to run in one of them,” says Crested Butte cross-country coach and Scott’s mom, Connie Hayden.
Both races are Nike regional championships, one held in Wisconsin and the other in Arizona, and with the onset of winter here in Crested Butte, the race in Arizona pulled Scott and Hayden south rather than east.
“The fact that there would be palm trees and grass and I get to wear shorts and a t-shirt all weekend,” says Scott.
“It was a no-brainer,” says Hayden.
With the help of Shari Sullivan Marshall and Duncan Callahan, Scott maintained her training regimen despite the weather to prepare for the Nike regional race. But it wasn’t easy.
“She had to do intervals on the treadmill,” explains Hayden.
“It was hard and lonely,” adds Scott.
After leading the pack in most of her Colorado races and running alone, Scott and Hayden hoped the Arizona race would give her a new perspective.
“She wanted to run in a pack, she really loves to pass people,” says Hayden.
In addition, Scott got a chance to race against some new faces.
“I really didn’t know what to expect,” says Scott.
Ultimately, the race didn’t quite play out as Scott hoped, as she found herself with the lead pack after the first 800 meters.
Scott stayed in fourth place for the first two miles and then climbed up two spots in the third mile, moving into second place on the home stretch.
Scott finished with a new personal record time of 19:12 for five kilometers, to take second place in her heat and seventh place overall.
“She ran a picture-perfect race,” says Hayden. “The neat thing is she felt really, really good.”
“It was a good race, fun and different,” adds Scott.
Scott hopes to return to the race next fall and bring a couple of teammates with her.
“I’m going to convince Forrest and Ian to go with me next year,” says Scott.
