BYU NewsNet - Runner captures elite time

Rounding the last corner with 100 meters left to go, Nathan Robison knew he had a good shot at breaking four minutes in the indoor mile.

Running the mile at the University of Washington on Valentine's Day would be his last good opportunity to solidify his ticket to the NCAA Nationals meet next month. Even though he will run this weekend at the Mountain West Conference Indoor Championships, the meet will be held in Colorado, where the altitude is a bigger opponent than the runner in front.

"I looked up and it said 3:50, and it was just clicking off 3:51, 3:52, and there were a couple of guys coming up on me," Robison said. "It was just this exhilarating feeling like 'you're there! You're almost there! Just push it and you're going to make it.'"

Robison edged the four-minute mark coming in at 3:59. Four minutes earlier he knew he had to pay special attention to his time each time he crossed the finish line. Running his splits too fast might result in early burnout. Running them too slow and there would be no room to make it all up in the end.

"I just knew I had to really focus on that third 400," Robison said. "I was going to come down to the second half of the race."

Robison now joins an elite group of Cougars to have broken four minutes in the mile as a Cougar. Two notable runners, Paul Cummings and Doug Padilla, broke the four-minute barrier in the mid 70's and early 80's. Both went on to compete in the Olympics. Distance coach Ed Eyestone, a Cougar record holder in the two-mile, 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter, now classifies Robison among the Cougar greats.

"That's some pretty exclusive company," Eyestone said. "I think those not educated on the sport know that if you can run under four minutes in the mile that it's something pretty special. It's an exclusive club you're joining."

While status and prestige is always a perk, Robison uses this experience as a foundation for greater things in the future.

"I think that it's every distance runner's dream," Robison said. "That's such a big barrier, such a big milestone. It's a really big confidence booster. I was always kind of afraid of that pace, but now that I've run it I really think that I can go faster."

Robison now focuses on the MWC indoor championship this weekend, where he will face stiff competition particularly from Air Force, Colorado State and New Mexico.

"My goal this year is to be the champion in the mile." Robison said.

Last indoor season he finished second with a time of 4:06. Two weeks later Robison placed 10th at the indoor nationals meet. This season he looks to move up in the pecking order. The NCAA Nationals is two weeks after conference finals, March 12-13, in Arkansas.

"For nationals, I want to be All-American," Robison said. "I'd really like to be in the top six. That's my biggest goal."

The 2003 Cross Country Conference Championship meet, three months ago, contributed greatly to Robinson's recent performance in Washington. In the cross-country conference finals meet he finished 29th, with a time of 30:15.

With a little self-motivation and mental visualization, Robison ran a breakthrough race earning him All-American honors in cross-country.

"It was the first race where I just sat down and thought 'I want to be All-American', and I stuck to it through the race," Robison said. "That performance really helped me on this one. Thinking back on that race and that I had made my goal and forced myself to run hard I knew that I could do it again. These two races have been my best by far."