Five Things Kai Wilmot Did Right At NXN

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

 
Kai Wilmot's victory at NXN on Saturday caught some people by surprise.

Why wouldn't it? Was he even the best guy on his own team?

Yet even before the North Central (Spokane) senior crossed the finish line, you got the sense that he had been plotting this all along.

There was a trail of evidence. As a sophomore, Wilmot ran 8:57.66 at the Shoreline Invitational in Washington. That was the third-best sophomore time in the nation in 2012, behind Blake Haney and fellow Washingtonian Joe Hardy. Clearly the talent was there.

There have been a slew of injuries the past couple of years, punctuated by successes like the cross country win at Richland in 2012 (14:44 for three miles).

Would you believe that in the 2013 cross country season Wilmot won two of his 12 races prior to NXN? One was a dual meet against Shadle Park. The other was the Bob Firman Invitational. Look back on that race now and see that four Foot Locker finalists were in that race, plus Gig Harbor. SEPTEMBER FEATURE ON WILMOT

Wilmot packed his lower legs in ice after that win at Bob Firman to fight off the pain in his shins. And there were times when he had to go and receive physical therapy sessions for his hip.

But at his fourth NXN appearance, Wilmot was the cagey veteran. His experience and his understanding of the event were huge advantages.

Five Lessons Kai Wilmot Taught To All Future NXNers:

1. If it's really cold outside, stay inside. On Saturday morning, in the couple of hours prior to the race, anxious athletes fanned out all over the course. They were jogging, preparing. Not North Central. Those guys were on the bottom floor of Portland Meadows grandstand, seated at a table, relaxing.

"There's no reason to be out there getting cold," Wilmot said. "You just want to be staying warm and getting ready for the race you've got coming up."

North Central knows what cold is. Wilmot didn't expose himself to it any longer than necessary. If you do go outside to warm up, have a purpose to what you are doing.

2. Don't lose sight of where you are going. If you watch the webcast, you'll see Wilmot buzzing around the lead group like a bumblebee. Sometimes he's running wide of everyone. Sometimes he's ducked behind someone for wind protection. He's never boxed. He's always free. He's choosing his line.

"It was mostly just wanting to see where my foot steps were going," Wilmot said. "I didn't want to step on a divot, or not be able to see something that was coming up ahead."

Think of all those guys – maybe 60 – that got caught in an accordion-style pileup before the first pass of the whoop-de-doos. In a meet like this, it's hard to avoid trafic, but it's important to try.

3. Share the energy with a teammate. Having Tanner Anderson up front was a huge advantage for Wilmot. Together, they were part of something bigger than themselves. Other guys were counting on them. (Wilmot was the first member of a team to win the race since Connor Reed of The Woodlands in 2008). POST-RACE INTERVIEW WITH WILMOT AND ANDERSON

"We've been running workouts together for quite a while," Wilmot said. "I just knew that if I'm up here, he can be up here. If Tanner's up here, I can be there, too. Having a teammate there is like a shoulder to lean on."

That's a fairly unique situation at the front of a national race like NXN, but that point carries a lot of meaning for runners further back.

4. Motivation is a great tool to stay positive. The night before the championship meet, every member of the North Central team opened a letter written specifically for them. Wilmot's letter was written by Isaac Kitzan, a former teammate and friend who graduated last spring.

"(The letter) told me that now was the time to race, now was the time to do it. I can run with those (top) guys. He told me to run the way I had at Tracy Walters and Richland (wins from 2012)," Wilmot said. "I was focusing on being confident."

Whether it was the encouraging words in black ink on Alexa Efraimson's calf or the words of someone respected in a letter, one last shot of something profound and simple is good to think about.

5. Have a plan. Wilmot didn't go to the starting line merely to race. He came to win. One of the last big workouts he had done was a set of 1,000-meter repeats. On the NXN course, Wilmot figured out where the thousand-meters-to-go spot was. From that spot forward, he knew the speed and duration would be like one of those workout intervals.

"I remember going by that point and figuring I could go at that (interval) effort," Wilmot said. "At that point I was thinking 'Well you've got this far. It would be a shame to fade now.'"

Wilmot didn't win his state meet and didn't win his NXN regional meet. He didn't win at BorderClash. And he only won once in four Greater Spokane League meets.

But he also knew that the meet on Dec. 7 in Portland Meadows was unlike any of those other things. And he knew how to make it his day.

Of course, there were never any guarantees. Wilmot's last five weeks of training were his best, and healthiest, of the entire season – perhaps of the entire year.

On the ground again in Spokane on Sunday, Wilmot said he was still getting used to the idea of being national champion.

"It hasn't sunk in yet," he said.