CREDIT: FANSHAWE ATHLETICS
Clint Smith crosses the finish line at the CCAA cross country championships. Smith won an individual silver medal and the team won a National Championship gold at Sainte-Foy, Quebec.

The Fanshawe men's cross country team can bask in gold glory once again. The team finished the CCAA National Championship race with all six of their members in the top 26 of 140 competitors, gaining a large margin of victory over Quebec's Sainte-Foy. Clint Smith earned individual silver for the second year in a row with a time of 25:41.

For Fanshawe's Josh Lumani, crossing the finish line was a moment he will never forget.

"It's a lot of weight off my shoulders, just finishing. Coming through the finishing line, it was one of the best experiences of my life, to finally get redemption after what happened last year. Everyone was really happy, I'm still really happy right now."

Last year, Fanshawe settled for silver after Lumani collapsed just 200 metres from the finish line. An unexplained injury left him in the hospital for three days and the team three points behind winning team Sainte-Foy.

This season, Lumani was back and stronger than ever.

"He came back with a force," said Smith. "He had the best season of his three seasons, and 10th at nationals is amazing."

Lumani was in top physical shape heading into the race, but faced a tough mental battle as painful memories of last year's race clouded his mind. "I was definitely thinking about last year during the race and thinking, 'Oh my god, what if this happens again to me?' I think my preparation leading up to this year gave me that opportunity to focus and run a really good race," he said.

After a gold medal win in 2010, the team was back with a vengeance. "The 'Unfinished Business' t-shirts we wore all season can be packed away now and never worn again because we finished it," said Smith.

The race was held at Champlain St-Lambert in Quebec, and wasn't an easy course. "Yeah, the course was tough, it was all sorts of terrain. There was fine gravel, wood chips and a pretty steep hill we had to hit three different times. So it didn't produce the fastest times, but in the end I think we won because everyone ran a smart race," said Lumani.

Smith said it was an all-around team effort. "Me and the boys had really good races all around, no one had a bad race, everybody raced at the top, which is pretty rare. In sports, there's always one guy on a team that seems to slack off or have a bad race, but this was perfect on all counts."

At the 3-km mark, Smith found himself neck and neck with winner Andrew Degroot (St. Claire) in the lead pack. Degroot pulled ahead, but Smith preserved his energy for a surge at the 7-km mark to ensure his victory over third-place finisher Alexandre Lavigne from Sainte- Foy. Smith finished with time to spare, 12 seconds ahead of Lavigne.

Smith admitted he played a safer race, but all for the benefit of the team. "Everything happens for the team, I couldn't sacrifice going harder than I did in case I died and ended up fifth and that would affect the team. I can't say I'm upset with silver, but the team gold was definitely what I wanted and we got it."

It's not just the physical strength and training that make this team a success, but, according to Smith, a tight bond between all team members. "I remember sitting down with Kyle McKellar and we both just said we can't believe how tight all of us are. We'd do anything for anyone on the team and that's amazing because we went from not knowing them to being their friend to now they're all my family and I'd do anything for them … that's the best part. That's one of the biggest keys to our success, we love each other and we'd do anything for each other and that keeps us happy all the time."

The players are looking forward to celebrating and having a few weeks off. "During season we sacrifice a lot, you put your team in front of anything you say no to parties you say no to all the other things that friends are doing in college, so we take this time to pick up those friendships that we left."

Lumani agreed, "We're pretty disciplined this season with no partying and stuff, so we're gonna have fun over the next few weeks."

Lumani said his running career at Fanshawe will end in April, but no matter what his next step is, running will always be a major part of his life. Smith will return to Fanshawe next season and start racing again in January, so his break won't be for long. "I'm gonna look for some solid off-season races, maybe hit the track and get some leg speed back, but still as long as I'm at college and as long as I'm running for John (Loney), my biggest concern is keeping that team gold medal where it's supposed to be: at Fanshawe."