Justin Rose at Pasco

Justin Rose 2A Champ 16:02

At first glance the 2A race at Sun Willows Golf Course, Nov 3 2007, did not appear to offer a showcase of Justine Rose or provide an example of what a top performer he has worked to become.

The race started off with Justine in an unremarkable 6th place, he stayed behind the action until well into the race.  
If fact ,it was not until the 2 mile mark when he decided to make a claim on the race, and the title.

The race crowd include a list of able competitors, whom Justine has done battle with repeatedly over the past seasons.

Abdi Giire of Foster, Dan Lindstrum of Anacortes, Richard Keroack of West Vally(SP),Quinton Decker of Port Townsend and Josh Simpson, the spearhead  of the Burlington-Edison machine.

Any one of these runners entered this race with the desire, skill and determination, and proven record to win this thing.

Justin was not hanging back because he was tired, or scared or not ready, he was watching and planning.  The past years of training, racing and commitment, honed a keen racer’s instinct in him.  He was now using that skill and instinct in the race that mattered.

Near the 2 mile mark, Justin felt good and strong, bearly winded he wasin control of his race.  What he did notice was the guys around him, he heard runners working on breathing, sensed athletes waiting to move and hoping they could do the job.  

With this he decided to push the envelope for himself and the others.  In a gutsy move he sprinted ahead of the pack and locked in the 17 sec lead which held until the end of the race.  The lead held in spite of a wrong turn made at 2.5 miles.  

This mistake , for a split second almost resulted in Justin giving up his lead, figuring that a mistake like this against these guys would surely be his downfall.

In form true to his character, Justin ran so fast to the point he was confident that the mistake was fully recovered from.  The several seconds off course actually cut seconds from his final time in compensating speed.

At the finish line the realization of what played out ,hit Justin.  He turned around not to find the pack on him but 17 to 30 seconds still behind.

I found Justin in the winners tent in a state of pure joy.  He was genuinely thrilled to death of what he set out to do and what he was able to do.
Justin soon found that the dedication and drive he laid down also was embraced by his team.
 The Colville squad , with the youngest lineup in the league posted a solid 3rd palce behind the BE and Sehome power houses.


Justin found himself an average runner on the Colville XC squad.  He found himself posting good times at the past 3 State meets, although on a steady track of improvement.

After his 16:32 post last year, Justin made a choice to do what was needed to forge himself to the next contender of the title.

He looked at what he was doing, reassessed his position and role on the team, worked with his coach Dean Fischer and got to work.

He used the summer to rack up over 500 miles, he became the guy on the team to make sure the other members got in shape, he followed his coaches plans for his development.

In the end, Justin Roseentered the 2007 XC Season , strong, confident and ready.

In the end Justin Rose finished the 2007 XC  Season, the champion he set out to become.