TRURO, N.S. (Oct. 30, 2021) - The ACAA's Return to Play for the 2021-22 season has brought about an entirely new set of trailblazers on the cross country circuit.
Today, they'll be taking on Victoria Park in Truro for the 2021 ACAA Cross Country Championships; the women's race will follow a six-kilometre route, while the men's race will be contested over eight kilometres.
Mount Allison University has been dominant on both sides from the team perspective, and for Mounties runner Kiona Osterlin, who has won two of the three women's races this season (Sainte-Anne and Crandall University), the team dynamic has helped everyone improve.
"There are a lot of strong runners on our team this year and everyone is very positive and supportive of one another, which has made the season all the more fun," Osterlin said. "I think it has made me a better runner because during practices and workouts, there is often a pack of us who run together and push one another to get outside our comfort zone a bit."
Osterlin has always found running to be a positive outlet to help navigate through life, especially in the times of the ongoing pandemic.
"Running has been a constant in my life for years, whether I've been training for racing or just going for a jog occasionally in the off-season and I think that has helped my overall consistency this season," she said.
Similar to Osterlin, Sean Finnigan has been the standout runner on the men's side with victories at the season-opening meet at Holland College, as well as at Universite Sainte-Anne.
For Finnigan, a former Canadian Military Athlete of the Year and the son of an Afghanistan War veteran, cross country running was originally part of his training regimen as a boxer before enrolling at Crandall.
"When Brandon (LeBlanc, Crandall's cross country running coach) approached my girlfriend back in March about joining the team I tagged along with her," Finnigan said. "After seeing me run, Brandon mentioned that I had potential, of course being a competitive guy like I am I told him 'I want to win.' So I put my trust into my coach and listened to his advice, and so far, we have been getting the results we wanted."
The Chargers have put forth a strong effort this season, with two team silver medals and a bronze as they established themselves as the lead pursuer to Mount Allison.
"Knowing we are just behind Mount A in the team rankings has really motivated the team and I to push ourselves harder in our training and competitions," Finnigan said. "We've put in the hard work, and Coach has set up a game plan for us. We just need to stick to our plan Saturday, and the results will come."
Going into this weekend, Finnigan believes his military discipline and competitiveness are the most important keys to his success.
"In the last few kilometres of a race, if you are not competitive, you will not push yourself to pass the competitor ahead of you," he said. "If you are competitive enough to pass that competitor, that is when discipline comes into play. You must be disciplined enough to keep that pace up no matter how bad it hurts."
Meanwhile, despite her success this season, Osterlin remains focused on the task at hand.
"I try not to go into a competition with a whole lot of expectations but I'm looking forward to racing with everyone, running hard, enjoying the fall weather, and hopefully having some fun along the way," she said.
The women's race will begin at 1 p.m., with the men's race to follow at 2 p.m., and the awards ceremony to come at Langille Athletic Centre at 4 p.m.
To follow along with live timing for the race, please visit this link.