Jay Donawa said his first World Cross Country Championships were an ?invaluable? lesson which have given him a new zest for running.

The Bermudian, who placed 121st out of 146 starters in France last Sunday, ranked the chance to compete alongside the world?s best in the discipline ?among the top-three in my best sporting experiences?.

?To be among such a great field of athletes was tremendous. I knew that I was not in peak shape and I just ran as best I could on the day and did not allow myself to get caught up in the moment. I didn?t have any expectations in terms of time and place,? said Donawa who clocked 41.22 minutes over the 12km course in Saint Galmier.

?Next year it?s in Japan and, if I?m offered the opportunity to go, I would go into it with much more experience and having some idea what to expect.?

Added to that, he was thrilled to meet the highly-touted Ethiopians, including winner and four-time champion Kenenisa Bekele, as he stayed at the same hotel as the African athletes.

Apart from lining up against cross-country?s top guns, the 32-year-old?s greatest challenge was the course itself which proved a tough prospect though he jogged the circuit to familiarise himself with it beforehand.

?I have a wealth of experience in cross country but I have never run on terrain like that ? jumping over logs and all that. It was nothing like a manicured golf course that I?m used to running in North America and even when I train at Port Royal.

?The logs weren?t that high but after a few laps they felt like high hurdles and then we had to run through 50 metres of mud which was like horse slop. It was like running at Spicelands Riding School. That was something I?ve never experienced. It was very interesting to have to run through that six times.?

Still, the lithely-built runner never felt he would succumb to the fate of 17 other competitors who failed to complete the race.

?Oh no, I never felt out of my realm and I never allowed myself to become a spectator within the race. Because of how the course was set, it was easy to see where the leaders were as the course was winding in and out and you could have gotten caught up in watching those at the front,? he continued.

?But I stayed focused and, though I was on the starting blocks with the Ethiopians, I did my own thing because I knew they weren?t worried about me. I just ran my race.?

Having tasted the big league now, he is confident of performing better at that level in the future.

?I can improve from where I finished on Sunday. I only had about five weeks to get ready ? that?s not an excuse at all ? but if I knew six months beforehand, I could definitely prepare better and maybe go to Europe and run some races in advance.

?How far up I could move would depend on who is competing. It?s not like here where you could be two minutes behind somebody and only lose one or two places. If you?re a minute behind in an event like that, that?s 30, 40 or 50 places.?

Returning to the Island on Monday night, this fireman was back on the job early yesterday and suffering some jetlag and fatigue. However, his spirit was soaring as he talked about the immediate future and his athletic aspirations.

?This has brought a new spark to me. Once I get over this jetlag, in the next couple days, I?m going to start serious training again,? he continued.

?I?m trying to line up a few track meets overseas. I made contact with people on this trip and they have offered me opportunities to compete. Now it?s just a matter of acting on it.?

Donawa is looking forward to the coming months as he combines track and road running. One goal is to qualify to run the 10,000 metres at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Senior Championships in July.

There?s also the not-so-small matter of the May 24 Marathon Derby which the perennial runner-up is yet to conquer.