Raleigh Brazier Finishes In Top 15 Overall And In Men's Race At Downtown Dash During Edwardsville Rotary Criterium

EDWARDSVILLE - Raleigh Brazer, a former runner for the Edwardsville High cross country team, did well in the Downtown Dash foot race as part of the BuseyBank Edwardsville Rotary Criterium on Saturday evening in the downtown Edwardsville area, finishing 12th in the men's race and 15th overall with a time of 9:08 for the two-lap run on the new course that was also used for the bicycle races during the Criterium.

During a post-race interview. Brazier felt he did well and immensely enjoyed running in his hometown before a crowd of enthusiastic supporters.

"I think I did pretty good," Brazier said. "It's nice just to come in here and running in my hometown. It felt pretty great."

The event was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and Brazier and the other runners felt grateful and blessed to be back running and also enjoying the community's support during the race.

"Yeah, it was really nice seeing how many people that are here at the Criterium," Brazier said. "it felt really good running here."

Brazier's pre-race strategy was very simple and straightforward.

"Honestly, just have fun, have fun with it," Brazier said, "don't stress too much about it and just have a smile while running."

It was Brazier's first race since the 2019 Criterium, and he felt that everything went well and enjoyed being back.

"I think it went really good," Brazier said. "It was my first race since the last Criterium, so it felt really good to run it again."

As with the other runners, supporters and organizers of the event, Brazier felt disappointed about having the 2020 Criterium canceled.

"Yeah, it was a big bummer not being able to run again," Brazier said, "because this is a great area to run in. I hope to keep running it every year."

Brazier, along with the entire area running community, is very grateful to be back to live racing after having competed in virtual events for the past year, being reunited with friends and fellow competitors, many of whom he ran with during his high school days.

"I feel really great," Brazier said. "It was really nice seeing a bunch of former runners running in today's race."

To see many Tigers' alumni runners competing in the race says very much positive things about the Edwardsville High program.

"I think it's really huge," Brazier said, "and it shows that there's a great big passion for the running community here in Edwardsville."

As for goals for the remainder of the year, Brazier hopes to keep improving and work hard on getting faster times.

"To just improve and get better," Brazier said, "and work on form and get a faster time."

But just returning to the Criterium and the community support the event receives, along with the support the local running community gets, is a very good thing for Brazier.

"Yes, it's really big," Brazier said. "it feels great to be back. It's a great place to run, and I love running here."

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