Milesplit California Cross Country Journals
We begin our cross country season athlete journals with Harvard Westlake senior Cami Chapus. Cami returns this season as one of the top distance runners in California. In 2010 Cami finished the Cross Country season with a Division 4 State Title and a PR of 17:45 over the difficult 5k course. Her success didn't end there as she made her mark in the mile during the 2011 outdoor season. With another state title in the 1600 and a PR of 4:40.88 Cami moved into the US#1 spot. One week later she hit the oval again against the countries best milers - taking home the gold in the dream mile and cementing her US#1 spot.
Keep checking back as we follow Cami during his final high school cross country season.
Cami Chapus(Sr., Harvard Westlake)
Journal Entry #1 (September 12, 2011)
(Photo left: Victor Sailor/Photorun)
Hey everyone! I am Cami Chapus, and I am about to start my senior year at Harvard-Westlake School. I live in LA and have had an awesome summer running, surfing, traveling, and hanging out with friends.
Here’s a little bit of background about myself. I began cross-country in 9th grade. I had tons of fun with the team; however, I wasn’t as excited about the running part. Over the years, I have really grown to love the sport. I am very excited about the XC and track teams this year! For XC, we have our first dual meet coming up this Thursday at Crescenta Valley Park; it’s a small cluster meet, but everyone is antsy to start the season. The first invitational I’m really focusing on is Woodbridge Invitational. Every year, we look forward to Woodbridge because it’s at night, and our team gets super pumped up to run on a flat course.
Well, most of you probably know that I run, but what you probably don’t know is that I don’t just run; I truly love being an all-around athlete. During the winter, in California, I play soccer. Soccer had always been my main sport until sophomore year when my running began to improve, and I became a lot more motivated to perform equally as well in cross-country and track. I’ve been playing since I was 7 years old, and this year will be my last as I plan to commit to track and cross-country in college. I enjoy playing on the field too much to give it up throughout all of high-school. My team has won CIF and Regionals in previous years, and we look to end on a strong note with a talented senior class.
At all these sporting events, I have 5 younger siblings who support me. They are all so entertaining, and our house is never quiet. Carli is 14, Claire is 12, Nico is 10, Christian is 8, and Elodie is the 2-year-old. I hope I didn’t forget any….All of them keep me light-hearted and laughing 24/7.
I feel like this summer has been a year long, so it is going to be so weird coming back to school. Traveling from New York (Dream Mile), to North Carolina (New Balance Nationals), to Oregon (Nike Track Nationals), to South Carolina (World Youth Trials), to Lille, France (World Youth Championships), then back to Oregon (Nike Elite Camp—SO FUN!)….wow I feel as if I really have been gone forever.
Summer training is always the best because it’s the time I get to spend with my teammates and friends. I clear my mind and look forward to a new school year. I am just starting to boost up my mileage because my track season ended so late (Mid July). Cross-Country training began for me up at Nike Elite Camp. However, I was not in the first week of training alone; my friend, Maddie Meyers (an amazingly fast runner and fun person with whom I’ve spent most of my travels), also was in her first week of training. After Nike Elite Camp, I headed up to Big Bear for a training camp with my team. First day, as we were running on a narrow trail with plenty of roots, I saw a man standing in the middle of a grass field making bird calls! It was crazy. I was staring at him, as we were running, clearly distracted, and, of course, tripped and ate dirt. My knee was all bloody, and it was bad. But we continued the run and saw some pretty views, then took care of my injury later. The team pulled plenty of pranks, and ultimately we won the prank war with the boys. What can I say; girls are just better J.
Anyway, with summer coming to a close, I will spend my last day at the beach soaking in the sun until I am locked up in my room until no end; just kidding, after practice and my studying, I’ll be in the ocean!
~Cami~