#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
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.
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!
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!
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:
Find all of our Conversations with Larry here:
#SocialingTheDistance #RunBlogRun #theshoeaddict
******************************************************************
Subscribe to our channel and visit us at: www.RunBlogRun.com
RunBlogRun on Facebook: 
/ runblogrun
RunBlogRun on Instagram: 
/ runblogrun
RunBlogRun on Twitter: 
/ runblogrun
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!)
