Madeline Yungblut, 18, is heading to the Cross Country World Championships in Poland in March 2013. Yungblut won silver in the Canadian XC Championships on Nov. 24 in Vancouver. (Andrea Connell)

GUELPH – Guelph Gryphon Madeline Yungblut is heading to the IIAF World Cross-Country Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland this March.

Yungblut earned a spot on the under-20 Canadian team by winning silver in a time of 17:23 in the five-kilometre race at the Canadian cross-country championships held in Vancouver on Nov. 24. The 18-year-old native of Wroxeter, Ont., reached a personal goal at the championships but medaling in the race came as a bit of a surprise to her.

“It went well (the race), it was definitely an experience. I was trying get in the top six, trying to make the world team. It was an optimistic goal. I led the race for part of it and I definitely wasn’t expecting to be leading the race at all, that was a bit of a shock. It wasn’t in my race plan I am not going to lie, but I was afraid to slow down my pace at all; I wanted to secure my spot and I knew I could keep up my pace, I decided to take the lead halfway through the race I made the choice.”

The University of Guelph applied human nutrition student has had a very busy semester. Yungblut is part of the dominant varsity cross-country team, coached by Dave Scott-Thomas. The women’s team won its eighth straight CIS championships in November, the men their seventh.

Being a student and an athlete has its challenges; it is hard finding a balance between the two Yungblut said. Training takes up a lot of her time. During high volume training weeks she will run approximately 115 kilometres in practice, in lower volume weeks she will cover between 50-70 kilometres. Add classes and studying on top and there is not a lot of room for other activities.

“If you want to be in a varsity sport you kind of have to manage your time, I don’t have too much of a social life, my social life right now consists of people on the team,” said Yungblut.

To prepare for the upcoming world championships she will do speed work on the new indoor track at the University and outdoor runs with the team. Mental preparation and trying to stay relaxed are is also part of the athlete’s plan.

Between now and March of next year she will participate in some indoor track races and compete on the Canadian team in Jamaica for the NACAC XC Championships on Jan. 26, 2013. Her plan for the Worlds is straightforward.

“I’m going concentrate on my own race. I honestly don’ t know how it will go, it depends on where I am fitness wise.”

(Published in the Guelph Review, Dec. 7, 2012. Andrea Connell)