We decided to bring the whole family to Erin's XC National Championship race in Paris Kentucky on 12/11/21. Besides the race there were 2 other attractions. We had cleared KY of NPS sites in 2017 but then in 2020 Senator Mitch brought home some pork and established 2 new ones. One of them, Camp Nelson, is less than an hour from Paris and the other one, Mill Springs Battlefield, is a further hour. We had actually been to Mill Springs with Heather's Grandma Aggie, always a booster of Kentucky history, who claimed that the 1862 battle was one of the most pivotal of the Civil War. Not sure about that, but Heather's Aunt Sue and Uncle Bob live in Kentucky and after the race we squeezed in visits to them both.
Here's a refresher in US Geo: Cincinnati is in the southwest corner of OH, and its airport is across the border in Covington, KY. Last December we reached the southern terminus of I-75 following Alligator Alley to Miami and this summer we were 50 miles from its northern end in Sault Ste. Marie. This trip from Covington to Lexington we followed I-75's Kentucky Fried, biscuits'n'gravy filled, nanner nanner pudding-loving center.
I noticed this sign in the CVG airport on the way home. Nobody thinks of tornados in December, right? The night before the race, we knew that strong storms were coming through overnight
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and we were awoken by 2 waves of thunder, lightning, and torrential rain
12/11/21, Tessie's palindromic 9th birthday. She kept saying that it would be her worst birthday ever, having to go to National Park sites and watch Erin's race. At the hotel after the race Tessie had a grand time running around with all the girls, playing games, and watching movies. The whole team, even the boys, sang her Happy Birthday. I think she'll remember this one and it wasn't a yad poopday.
Before the race we went Camp Nelson, where it was 60 degrees and there was rolling farmland to explore
The site's role in the Civil War was minor, but one of its stories is about recruitment of slaves to fight on the Union side. Kentucky was a Union slave state and Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation didn't apply to Union border states. But as the need for more troops increased later in the war, slaves were promised freedom if they joined the army. Camp Nelson was a major recruitment point for Black regiments, many of whom brought their families. After an initial expulsion of the families in winter that
tragically killed over a hundred women and children, the families were allowed to settle within the camp, and over the years a thriving Black community developed.
In 1860 less than 1% of the Massachusetts population were free Negroes. In Georgia 44% of the population were slaves.
After the race we met Aunt Sue for dinner in Berea. That's a Daniel Boone-inspired Santa
Her 2nd ice cream of the day
The day after the race we visited with Bob and Dottie, who buy and sell racehorses. They board their horses in Paris and we were educated in horse evaluations by the farm owner. This brood mare has nice hocks and withers and was claimed by Bob in order to be bulked up for sale in the spring. As an expert in equine economics, Bob knows that the safer way to make money on thoroughbreds is to own them for as short as possible.
We toured the Kentucky Horse Park, a monument to the racehorse breeding capital of the world in eastern Kentucky
The young racer and an old one. That's 21 year-old Funny Cide, the 2003 Kentucky Derby winner. His favorite snack are peppermint candies, which apparently are universally loved by horses. Guess they haven't had my COVID side-effect - peppermint still tastes wrong to me with a chemically varnish-like flavor.
Thoroughbreds all trace their lineage to 3 founding stallions imported to England and bred in the 1600s and 1700s. Arabian horses were specialized for speed and were used historically by desert tribes for raiding.
Maybe someday Tessie will compete in Ride and Tie races, where 2 people and 1 horse take turns running and riding over a 20-100 mile course. The rider takes off and eventually dismounts, ties the horse up, and starts running. When the chase runner reaches the horse, she jumps on, overtakes the 1st runner, and repeats.
Now for the XC race, held at the Bourbon County Cross Country course, sponsored by ALE81 (a late-one), a local soda brand. This picture was taken the day before the race when the course was indeed bluegrass.
Waltham Track sent 10 runners for the girls 13-14 race and 20 runners in total. Only 8 runners score per race and Erin was not on the scoring team.
Right before the race, a final band of storms came through just as the team was exiting their rental vans. The course and grounds were wet from the overnight rain and now became pure mud. There were team tents for refuge but most girls got soaked on the way in. The winds were so strong that many feared another tornado was coming. Tears were shed. The vans became stuck in the mud and later required extrication by locals with chains. The 13-14 girls race was postponed and then reset and more panic ensued as the racers taped on their shoes and hustled to the start with minutes to spare.
332 runners on the start line, with temperatures now in the 40s and 20 mile-per-hour winds
All the Northeast teams were crammed into one starting zone, two or three runners deep
Erin's in the red shorts and white shirt on the right
Much of the course was a mudbath, but hey this is cross country and each runner was on equal footing, or lack thereof
Erin finished in 18:55, #196 and achieving her coach's goal of landing in the top 200
The team placed #5, one of their best finishes ever as a club at Nationals. The winning team were not surprisingly from Kentucky, the home of thoroughbred breeding.
Seven of Erin's teammates could return next year, including her two 8th grade friends from Lexington. The high school season overlaps with the Junior Olympics and we don't know how many girls will return.
For a more detailed description of the race, check out Coach Dave's blog post
Look at those angry dark clouds
The race grounds
That's Coach Dave pushing on the van
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