Tonight at 5:50 Pacific time or thereabouts, Chris Barnicle will toe the line in the Olympic Development 5000m at the Mt. Sac Relays meet. There are 42 runners entered in the event, so there will most likely be at least two heats. Among the other entrants are Arkansas teammates Tyler Hill, James Strang, Scott MacPherson, and Matt Munoz, plus two well-known names from around here: Jordan MacDougal (Liberty) and Mohamed Khadraoui (Iona).
This is a big race for Chris. For over a year, Chris has been struggling to post results that reflect his talent and dedication. Ever since running 24:05 for 8K at Van Cortland Park to qualify for the U.S. Junior World XC team, Chris has mostly had to deal with disappointment. After focusing on the World XC meet, Chris red-shirted his 2006 outdoor track season. He then had to overcome injuries, anemia, a case of mono, and other assorted ailments in the Fall of 2006 that pretty much wiped out his XC season. In indoor track, he ran one decent race late, but it was clear he was still recovering. Now he's healthy, as indicated by his recent 8:13 for 3000 and 3:53 for 1500. He's entered in the event that should be his strength. It should be a great field, with everyone focused on more or less the same goal: running 14:12 to meet the NCAA Provisional qualifying standard.
It's not at all unusual for great HS runners to go through a period of adjustment in college. I think that Chris has gone through that, and has maintained his dedication to training. It would be terrific if this race gives him a chance to see all that hard work pay off.
Back East, it looks like another cold and rainy weekend. Here's hoping that meets aren't cancelled and athletes get a chance to post some spring times.
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