Ashley Cross!

Cross being the running event of cross-country, of course. Yes, they do call it "Cross" here, as opposed to another event at this time of year, "Indoor".

This was Ashley's first race with the squad, and she had to run it all alone because the others her age were injured, sick, skiing, or otherwise unavailable.


Ashley with Matteo, her coach:



And after she noticed I was snapping photos:



The start, which as you might guess from the big sign also doubled as the finish:



1 km and a long hill later:



2 km!






Getting stronger as she nears the 3 km finish:



Coming down the home stretch:



Full sprint to the line!



And with her second place medal on the podium:



If you are really lucky Ashley will add her own comments to this.

Michael