Nicole Blood led the University of Oregon women to a second-place team finish at the 2007 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships last month in Terre Haute, Indiana. She was eighth overall, with a time of 20:18 for the 6000-meter race. “Cross country was just a great season,” Blood said. “We have a really great team. We got better with every meet.” Last year, Blood missed most of the cross country season due to a sacral stress fracture. She said missing the first eight weeks of practice her freshman year was tough, but she was still able to help her team at the Pac-10 and West Regional meets. Blood improved during the 2007 outdoor track season with personal records in both the 5000 and 3000. Although she said she used to consider herself a miler, Blood ran a 16:19.15 National qualifying time for 5000 meters at the NCAA West Regional meet and 9:22.35 for 3000 meters at the Pan American Junior Championships. The University of Oregon was not the only school that Blood considered. She was also interested in Villanova, Providence and the University of North Carolina. After her Oregon visit, she fell in love with the school and the town of Eugene, which is known as a running Mecca. Oregon is also well-known for its track program, especially for former coach Bill Bowerman and former athletes such as Alberto Salazar and Steve Prefontaine, who Blood described as “an inspiration.” In addition to the women's accomplishments at Nationals, the Oregon men won the team title. Blood credits a lot of this year’s success to her coach, Vin Lananna. She said he varies their workouts every week, depending upon individual goals. “We’re never doing the same thing,” she explained. “Everybody’s individualized. He explains what exactly we’re trying to accomplish.” Prior to coming to Oregon, Blood was a four-time Footlocker Cross Country National qualifier and the 2006 U.S. junior cross country champion. She began her high school running career at Saratoga Springs High School, in New York, but suffered an iliotibial band injury. After taking time to recover, she decided to run for Fast Lane Track Club. Blood moved to Simi Valley, California, in the middle of her senior year, where she ran for Royal High School. Compared to her high school running experience, Blood now runs more mileage. A typical week consists of about 60 miles, with two hard sessions and a long run. She said the biggest advantage with running at Oregon is having more people to train with. Many of her friends are on the team. “We’re really close. We do a lot together,” Blood said. Blood, currently a sophomore journalism major at Oregon, just took her last final exam Friday and is now on a holiday break. She said she will mostly run easy right now and prepare for the upcoming indoor track season. Like many college track programs, Blood said their main focus is the outdoor season. She will race the 1500 and 3000-meter distances during indoor and race primarily the 5000 during outdoor. Blood wants to run at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, June 27-July 6. “My goal this outdoor season is to make the Olympic Trials,” Blood stated. After college, Blood would like to be a professional runner. She is also interested in combining her journalism degree with her passion for running. Blood said she hopes to work with Nike’s advertising department someday. The key to Blood’s lasting success at both the high school and college level has been her positive attitude. She said she used to be overly competitive and too concerned with hitting certain times. Now she enjoys running by keeping it fun. Blood said she likes running so much that she wants to run for the rest of her life. “Make sure you’re having fun. Don’t get too serious,“ she said. “If you can’t keep it fun, you won’t have as much success.” *Photo by Geoff Thurner - www.goducks.com