Three thousand miles would be a long distance to travel just to get in some sprints. So, for the men's and women's track and field teams, their trip to Europe became an opportunity both to compete and to enjoy new cultural experiences.
Teaming up with Dartmouth, the Brown squads spent a total of 12 days in Ireland and England last June. They had to forget about the Ivy League rivalry-at least for the time being-as the schools joined together to take on some of Western Europe's best track and field athletes.
The schools' players got to know each other a little earlier than they had hoped. With their flight on June 10 canceled, Brown and the Big Green spent the night together in Providence. But once they finally reached Europe, the players had to dash so that they could fit in all of their planned activities.
The Bears started the trip in Limerick, Ireland, the host city of the main competition. They were treated to "an overwhelming welcome" at the University of Limerick, said Head Coach Craig Lake.
On June 14, the Brown-Dartmouth team took on the University of Limerick in the trip's main event. Although the competition was just an exhibition, Brown's athletes took it very seriously and garnered five individual first-place finishes.
For the men's team, Reggie Cole '10 won the triple jump with 14.96 meters (49 feet, 1 inch).
On the women's running side, Smita Gupta '08 captured the 1500-meter race with a time of 4 minutes, 41.87 seconds, and Jenna Ridgway '10 ran a 10:17.29 to win the 3000-meter race.
On the field, the women's team earned wins from Akilah King '08 in the triple jump and Danielle Grunloh '10 in the shot put. King jumped 11.81 meters (38-9) while Grunloh threw for 13.02 meters (42-8 1/2).
The teams then headed to Dublin before spending a few days in England. The London competition was not as serious, so the players fit in as much sightseeing as possible.
Men's javelin thrower Sam Urlacher '09 had been to Dublin and London before, but he and his teammates still found plenty of new activities.
"We were given a lot of freedom, especially in London, to explore on our own," he said. "I finally made it to Stonehenge. That was probably the highlight of the whole thing."
The athletes broke up into several small groups to explore different parts of the city.
"The girls were gung-ho about going to see the shows in the theater district or the National Gallery or art museums, while the guys had different agendas," said women's hammer thrower Molly Hawksley '09.
Besides visiting the Tower of London, Parliament and Westminster Abbey, some of the athletes "went to a few pubs here and there," she said. They also spent time at the facilities of Brunel University, one of the host sites for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
One special experience for many of the athletes was the day trip to the universities of Cambridge and Oxford. At Oxford, the teams went to the track where Roger Bannister first broke the four-minute-mile barrier in 1954.
In addition to the many tourist attractions, the athletes said they appreciated spending time immersing themselves in the Irish and English cultures.
"It was just pretty cool talking to the athletes and finding out how their experiences differed and how they were similar to ours," Hawksley said.
Distance runner Ariel Wright '10, who blogged about the trip on brownbears.com, recalled the final meet, a rain-soaked event in London.
"Although the competition was far from fierce, we enjoyed one last day together as 'Brownmouth,' all reminiscing about the unbelievable sights we saw and experiences we had shared," she wrote.
It's an opportunity that, thanks to alumni donors, comes about every four years, Coach Lake said.
"I wouldn't have known what an amazing experience it was until I went on the trip," she said. "I think it will be the most memorable experience in their four years at Brown University."
Urlacher, who said he had anticipated the journey for four years said he also appreciated the time he spent getting to interact with his Ivy rivals from Hanover, N.H.
"(Typically), we don't actually get to know them," he said. "They're really cool people and we made friendships there. Maybe we'll cheer for them a little bit."
