European CC Champs (held in Slovenia): Tomaz Plibersek writes

The European Cross Country Championship are now over. The organization was excellent, and I tasted what it is to be a high performance athlete for the first time. It was my first race representing the Slovenian national team, which added an extra boost at the start.

I was very inspired by the crowd and the level of competition. I went into the race the smart way, being aware of the quality of the field. My goal was to run under 33 minutes, which was exceeded by 20 seconds, which was enough to finish 67th out of the 76 starters. As a team we finished 9th. I was very pleased with my performance, especially as I was only 55 seconds behind our 2:16 marathon runner and ran 1.5 minutes faster than 3 weeks ago on the exact same course. It was really beneficial to run cross countries in the UK where conditions are usually much tougher.

It was a real privilege to be part of the Slovenian team, and I am motivated to try to qualify for the 2012 Euro XC Championships in Budapest. Before that, my goal is to lower my PB in the steeplechase to below 9 minutes next summer. I am looking forward to coming back to the UK and running and scoring points for our club in the London City Runner Met League and to helping the team to win the trophy.