It was another great weekend of running for Shocker Track Club Elite members Tonya Nero and Danielle Chapman. Nero placed 27th at the World Half Marathon Championships in Bulgaria while Chapman won another road race in Wichita.
Nero ran a new career best of 1:15:13, which was also a new national record. She was representing her home country of Trinidad and Tobago and avoided potentially disastrous travel issues. You can watch the race here.
Said Nero of her race and experience in Bulgaria, “My travel was rough because when I arrived in Bulgaria, they said that the visa, which was recommended, cannot work for us to enter the country. Sending us back home was an option for them. Thankfully, they decided to give us new visas right there at the airport. God was in control. Its a nice place and the people that I have met have been very friendly so my experience has been wonderful above anything so far.”
Nero continued, “The race was 4 x 5k loops, the last loop being longer to make up the 21.097494 K (half marathon). I do feel like I ran well because I was able to run a personal record. My goal, when I started, was to run a 1:13-1:14 but by the time I reached the 10k mark, I realized that my time was off and that I would have had to pick up the speed to make that time. However, since my body felt like it was already going at its maximum, I quickly switched my goal to getting a personal record and new national record for my country. That I accomplished. One thing I have learned as distance athlete is that if one thing doesn’t work, try another, and if that doesn’t work, just finish the race. We have enough time in a race to switch a game plan, but thinking too much can also wear you out 
The weather was about 68 degrees with 90% humidity and 10 mph winds. Too me that was a little warm for a long race but I still appreciated it.”
Chapman won the Rosstoberfest 5k in a time of 18:11. The race was run at College Hill Park in Wichita.
Said Chapman of the victory, “The race was pretty fun, it made a nice change to have a hillier course than the others I’ve ran. It was a lot colder than I anticipated. But besides the cold the weather was great, no wind or rain. Overall the event had a great atmosphere.”
Chapman plans to run the Prairie Fire 5k next weekend in Wichita while Nero’s next race will be another Half Marathon on October 28th in Trinidad and Tobago.