Cross country teams set to compete in Half Marathon Championships Tuesday
The Eastern Florida State College men and women's cross country teams will compete in the NJCAA Men's and Women's Half Marathon Championships on Tuesday morning.
The women's race will begin at 9 a.m. at Dorey Park with the men's race starting at 9:15 a.m.
"It is in a large park and is out and back on a 10-foot wide bike path. It is mostly flat but has a couple of rolling hills. Weather should be perfect with a light wind. They are nervous but excited," Eastern Florida State College cross country coach Doug Butler said.
It will be the first time that many of the runners have competed in a half marathon after competing in the NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships on Saturday.
A couple of the women's runners competed in the event last year, so they know what to expect on Tuesday.
Isabella Narvaez and Marlie Gonzalez both ran under one hour, 40-minute races and Amelia Shephard was behind them, finishing in 1:41:33.6.
"We went to the course yesterday and ran six miles of it and did an easy four mile shake out run this morning. A 21K is a whole new ball game but they have gone 10-14 in training so they should be ready," Butler said. "The key is to take it easy to mile 10 then race the last 5K."
The women's team finished seventh overall last year with the men finishing 10th overall in the race.