Pictured: Former Mansfield athlete Megan Rose runs a recent race for her Southeastern Oklahoma State cross country team
Three races into her final year of college cross country, former Mansfield product Megan Rose is now stepping up the pace. After a solid start to open the season, the 4-time high school district champion set a personal record for the 5K distance in her second race of the 2021 season for Southeastern Oklahoma State.
“I started this season with my fastest season opener ever with a 20:48,” explained Rose via a text message. “Then I hit my PR on my second race with a 19:44.”
Rose ran that new personal best in Grand Prairie, TX on September 11. Her pace over the 5K distance was cranking out 1 mile every 6:19 minutes. Her overall place was 29th among a large field of runners. She was second best on her team as the unit finished in 6th place.
“Our coach is really pushing us to run in a pack,” continued the former Lady Tiger cross country specialist. “It’s going to be key to scoring well this season. We need to close the gap between our first and fifth runner.”
Rose took on the challenge of a longer 6.2K race a week later. At the ACU Naimadu Classic in Abilene, TX on September 18, she muscled out a solid 26:06.5 time. That was the 42nd place among another large group of racers from across Oklahoma and Texas.
“I didn’t run my best yesterday (September 18) at the 6K, but I’m not going to beat myself up about it,” announced the runner. “Our coach says once we finish our race, everything we do after that including our cooldown is in preparation for the next race.”
With the ups and downs of college racing, Rose quickly said she was looking forward to another 5K race.
“So, I’m looking forward to Emporia, Kansas,” confessed Rose. “I’ll be running another 5K race. This year I’m focusing on just enjoying my final season.”
