Physically I did okay, the small injury in my hamstring didn’t affect me much. I felt both strong in the long distance and sprint, and the 3000m test showed that I’m within the top runners in the team. Technically only the middle distance was satisfying. Maybe due to some lack of self-confidence, maybe I was not used to the continental terrain anymore. Anyway it showed me, that there is still a lot of work to do until I can run in full flow through the forest. And I will get a chance to show that I can do better. I am selected for the long distance at the European Champs (EOC). For almost every other race (World Cup in Poland, EOC middle and relay) I am a reserve.
Of course this was a bad start to the 2016 season. But my hope is to be able to show, that I can match the best runners at an international competition – the EOC in this case. There is time left until the WOC test races in Sweden and they will be held in quite different conditions and terrains, compared to the first races in Switzerland. But; I will have to work hard on improving my skills if I want to succeed there.
© 2016 Raffael Huber