Runner Ryan Outerbridge has reflected on his perfect start to the College Season after winning the 5K Ron Oullette Invitational in Maine at the weekend.

Outerbridge, who finished second to Lamont Marshall in a pulsating battle in the Bermuda Half-Marathon Derby this year, is back at Franklin Pierce University and delighted with his first cross-country race of the season, winning by a huge margin of 15 seconds.

“It was the first race of the season and it was only a 5K,” Outerbridge said.

“ The usual distance at Collegiate level is 8K and 10K when you get to the regional and national levels, so we don’t really run 5Ks that much.

“But it was good to open up with a 5K and get the legs moving with a victory. I also helped my team get the team victory too.”

The Collegiate track and field season follows the same schedule with the cross-country season leading into indoors competition through the winter before the new year heralds the start of action outdoors, and Outerbridge is aiming to excel in every discipline.

“I prefer track, more specifically outdoors is my favourite season but I do enjoy running cross country because you get to be part of a team and that team aspect can be exciting,” Outerbridge said.

“We have a pretty good team and we have qualified for nationals in the last two seasons, so I enjoy helping my team do big things.

“Right now my goal is just to get through cross-country season as I take it one season at a time. We have Conference championships at the end of October and then we’ll look to the regionals and hopefully I’ll help my team to finish in the top three to qualify for Nationals, which will be in Sacramento, California, in the middle of November.

“Once we get through that, then we’ll focus on indoors, where my plan will be to run a fast mile, 3K or 5K and compete for Conference titles. After that we’ll move outdoors and focus on the 1,500 metres and the 3K steeplechase.

Outerbridge is now something of a local celebrity after he took centre stage on May 24 but he remained grounded during the summer despite the extra attention.

“After the Half-Marathon Derby, I had a lot of people coming up to me and congratulating me on the race,” Outerbridge said.

“That was happening all summer. After the half-marathon Derby I took two weeks off and then I started to kick back in. My training plan was to get ready for cross country, so during the summer I was doing a lot of base work, building mileage with easy runs, tempos and hill workouts to get ready for this early part of the season.”

After his on-island heroics in May, there will surely be plenty of people hoping to watch Outerbridge compete again and they may get their chance in the Butterfield Mile in January.

“I’ll have to discuss that with my coach, so I’ll ask him what he thinks about it and then we’ll go from there, but I’d like to run,” Outerbridge said.