Reno Pole Vault Summit

This is nothing like 11 pits with hundreds of vaulters jumping at the same time!  As a pole vaulter, whether you are a beginner or professional, there is something completely magical about the Summit!

Misty and I drove the 9 hours from Oregon City to Reno Nevada to participate in all the pole vault excitement.  We went down with very little money, no place to stay, and a cooler of 5lb of cooked chicken and rice cakes to last us the five day trip.  

The moment we walked into the Casino we spotted Jenn Suhr, Steve Hooker, and Renaud Lavillenie.  Trip worth it right there.  

We found a nice group of girls from Oregon that let us sleep on the floor of their hotel room.  The meetings and conversations with fellow elite vaulters were very educational, but being able to talk with Jenn and Rick Suhr for an hour with Erica Bartolina to introduce us was the icing on the cake of the trip!

Unfortunately I was not in the elite competition on Friday night, but it was exciting to see some amazing vaulters. I saw my first 19+ foot vault from Renaud.  
On Saturday I vaulted.  I felt amazing and had a fantastic warm up.  I was still making pole changes and blow through on 13'9" and ended up only going 13'3", which was very disappointing.  Misty had a great meet and got a new PR of 3.92 (12'10").  

It was an amazing meet and I learned a ton!  Most of all it motivated me to better myself!