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Brooke Ferguson wasn’t supposed to run well on Saturday. At least that’s what her dad told her.
His theory was that a week-long trip to Eugene, Ore., to watch the U.S. Olympic track and field trials, followed by a long trip home Friday evening, wouldn’t lead to a memorable performance at Saturday’s Chileda Classic.
“He said, ‘You won’t run very good with all the jet-lag and all the stuff you’ve been doing,’” Ferguson said. “I thought to myself, ‘Whatever, I’ll show you.’
“Now, I have to find him.”
Twelve hours after completing a long plane ride from Eugene to Madison and drive from Madison to La Crosse, Ferguson won the women’s overall 10K championship with a time of 38 minutes, 37.4 seconds.
“(Friday) was weird because we went through all those time zones,” said Ferguson, whose flight landed in Madison around 5:30 p.m. after a stop in Detroit. “It’s not like we got back late, but I was still on Pacific time.”
Ferguson’s time on Saturday was officially the best, but two female runners led her around the course.
One was disqualified and the other wasn’t registered, making a confused but proud Ferguson the overall champion.
“There was a (disqualified) Kenyan lady up ahead and another runner right in front of me, too,” said Ferguson, a La Crosse resident. “The (unregistered) one in front of me pulled off (the course) right before the finish line.
“I wondered if she saw the finish line right in front of her. I didn’t know what was going on, but I was pretty happy.”
Ferguson wasn’t just happy because she won. She was happy because she ran a better race than even she expected.
Ferguson, 25, was shooting for a finish among the top three runners and a time of 40 minutes.
“I guess I’m in better shape than I thought,” said Ferguson, who made herself a contender with a strong final mile-and-a-half.
It was a good way to end a week that began with a seven-day trip to Eugene. Ferguson and two friends boarded an airplane on June 27 and returned to La Crosse around 7:45 p.m. Friday.
While in Eugene, Ferguson and her friends watched the trials and enjoyed their late nights away from home on a random trip.
“I’m a big track and field fan,” said Ferguson, who planned to spend Saturday afternoon watching the trials she taped while traveling on Friday. “We were just enjoying ourselves on vacation.”
But she didn’t know until Saturday morning if that little vacation would stop her from proving her dad wrong.
“I didn’t know how I’d do after all the traveling,” Ferguson said, “but I’m really pleased with how it all went.”
Todd Sommerfeldt can be reached at (608) 791-8208 or todd.sommerfeldt@lee.net
