#TheJourneytoCompete: Episode 3, featuring Watzata Girls XC Team, the winners of the 2026 NIKE Cross Nationals, Girls Team!

#TheJourneytoCompete, the story of the Wayzata XC Club and their path to gold at the 2026 NIKE Cross Country Nationals, held on December 6, 2026.

RunBlogRun and NIKE present

Mujinga Kambundji joins sister Ditaji Kambundji on brand On’s global athletics roster!

NIKE presents #TheJourneytoCompete, A NIKE Track & Field newsletter, celebrating cross-country, and Indoor Track & Field, Issues, 1-19, Back Issues, Winter 2026

Deji’s Doodles: Cole Hocker, Faith Kipyegon, and Yulimar Rojas shine across continents

The Journey To Compete,

Episode 3

Featuring members of the Wayzata Girls XC Team and head coach

Maddie Gullickson

Jazleen Malherek-Osorio

Head Coach – Kalsey Beach

What are the secrets to success in the sport of cross-country? How does a school from Minnesota, with a strong cross-country history, take the title for the best Girls’ high school cross-country in the nation? Well, RunBlogRun spoke with Wayzata Head Coach, Kalsey Beach, and two of the Wayzata team mates, Maddie Gullickson and Jazellen Mahlherek-Osorio about the journey to Glendoveer Golf Course, the decade plus home for the NIKE Cross Nationals.

Jazleen Malherek-Osorio, photo by Mike Deering/The Shoe Addicts

The story is inspiring, and lots of lessons to learn for coaches and athletes alike. The biggest lesson: No secret plans, just lots of focus, hard work and tenacity. Wayzata XC Club put it all together, on the right day and at the right time!

Kalsey Beach, Osario HS Coach, artwork by Mike Deering /The Shoe Addicts

The Journey to Compete is about building team culture, team programs and fitness. In the interviews we curate, we are trying to provide our readers with examples of Coaches and athletes who overcome the unexpected. For example, a Wayzata athlete collapsed near the finish (she is fine, exhaustion), and another athlete took the challenge and ran the race of her career so far! Great stories in the Wayzata interview, and we thank them for sharing!

Maddie Gullickson, Wayzata, photo by Mike Deering/The Shoe Addicts

Thanks to the Wayzata XC Club team, in its entirety, for such an inspiring story!

Find all of our Socialing The Distance interview series here: https://bit.ly/34czL0e

Find all of our Athletics Chat episodes here: https://bit.ly/2GkVoDD

Find all of our Conversations with Larry here: https://bit.ly/30io2vY

#SocialingTheDistance #RunBlogRun #theshoeaddict

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Special thanks to Mike Deering, original member of The Shoe Addicts, who edits, clips, manages and produces the podcast for Fortius Media Group, LLC and RunBlogRun.com.

Special thanks to Grant Fisher for this thought-provoking interview. Special thanks to NIKE Sports Marketing for their kind support. NIKE Sports Marketing and NIKE running believes that we build the sport, one athlete and one coach at a time.

To learn more about NIKE Running, please go to www.nikerunning.com We highly recommend the NIKE Vomero Premium and the NIKE Pegasus PLUS ! (And the new NIKE Structure PLUS!)

Author

Larry Eder

Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys.

Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."

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