One of our favorite things about Masters Athletes is how readily they re-invent themselves and push outside of comfort zones. That’s tough at any age! Christine Long came to St Cloud this year for her very first Granite Games, having just started working out at her CrossFit box in November of 2015.
Christine, how did you decide to make the leap? This young girl right here across from me, my daughter Holly, were members of CrossFit Lake Effects in Michigan. I had just finished playing squash and my knees no longer got along with the sport, and I thought, ‘What am I going to do?’ Holly suggested I try CrossFit. I said, ‘Nah, that’s not my thing,’ and she assured me, ‘No, no you’ll love it.’ Long story short, I went to a local CrossFit in my community thinking, ‘I’ll do the fundamentals. Four fundamentals—I don’t think I’ll like it but I will give it a try.’ First fundamentals, I walked into the gym and thought, ‘This is so not my thing.’ There were barbells… It was dirty… It was weird. My first fundamentals was a 4-minute AMRAP, 10 m walking lunge and four burpees. And as the story typically goes, I loved it and I was hooked. I was in.
And how has that decision gone? My first open was 2016, in which I placed 186thand made it to Regionals. I still couldn’t lift or do a lot, and finished 168th. In 2017 I tried a little harder—slow and steady wins the race at my age. I ended the Open at 46th, a huge improvement, went to Regionals and wound up 35th or 36th for Regionals.
So, next year is the CrossFit Games? Oh, I don’t know about that.
Why not? Slow and steady wins the race!
You jumped 140 spots in one year. We’d argue that next year you’ll land at the Games. I’m trying, I’m trying! Slow and steady. I’d like to become very competent and capable in all the movements. I would love—I want to do a muscle-up. I would love to be a stronger, better lifter. I still make a lot of mistakes.
Christine also took two 2nd place finishes in the Masters Women 55+ division over the weekend and finished in the top 50% of her field. We’ll be watching to see how she continues to grow! Her trajectory so far has been astounding, we hope to see much more of Christine’s story unfold in the 2018 season.
