Cross Country's Browning Strives for Team Success
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 | Cross Country
What started out as a natural talent for Charlotte Browning has evolved into a way of life. Junior Charlotte Browning, who is originally from Pulborough, West Sussex in England, said she ran only on pure talent and just happened to win races.
But Browning wasn't winning just any races. From 2001 to 2003, she was the United Kingdom Cross Country Champion for her division. It is to these successes and years of running that she attributes the tactics and training methods she uses to achieve victory for the University of Florida.
While the talent was always there, Browning wasn't always as motivated as she is now.
“It was when I came to America that I decided that I really wanted to run,” she said. “I wanted to put every single effort I possibly could into being a runner.”
Browning's college career began in 2007 at UNLV, but she transferred to Florida the following year due to its emphasis on team success. Although the first few weeks took some adjustment, Browning quickly adapted to the Gator way.
“It's great to have a team around me with the same goals in mind,” she said. “We all enjoy getting points for the team and making Nationals as a team.”
Even though Browning had an outstanding first cross country season with the Gators, including being named to the All-SEC and All-South teams in 2008 and having two top-10 finishes, she was always thinking about how her teammates performed.
Browning improved as the year went on, becoming Florida's first female indoor distance All-American since 1997. When asked about her success, the first thing Browning said was that she was sad teammate sophomore Genevieve LaCaze (Daisy Hill, Australia) didn't make it with her.
Browning also stressed the importance of a team effort when describing the Gators' team victory at the 2009 SEC Outdoor Championships.
“It was a great day for all of us,” she said. “We all came together as a team, the distance runners, the throwers, the sprinters, the hurdlers, and see how well we did?”
Browning has certainly been doing her part for the team so far in the 2009 cross country season, since her first-place finish at the Mountain Dew Invitational helped bolster the team to first place overall. The following weekend she finished ninth in the Notre Dame Invitational and set a new personal-best 5K time. She then helped the team notch a second-place victory at the highly competitive Pre-NCAA Invitational on Oct. 17 with an 18th-place finish.
For the rest of the season, Browning's goals are to not get ahead of herself and not train too hard too early. She wants to make sure she is at the peak of her performance level at the NCAA meets, which is where it counts.
Although Browning is proud to be a Gator, she hopes to be a part of another team in the near future. She has always wanted to run for the UK in the 2012 Olympics, especially since it is in London.
“With the games being held in London, it would be amazing just to be involved in any part of the Olympics,” she said. “It's still a goal of mine to compete, but it is very competitive.”
The Gators, currently ranked fifth in the nation, will look to bring home their first SEC Championship since 1997 as they take to the 6K course Saturday, Oct. 31 in Oxford, Miss.
