Diary of Dan Boniface
Feb. 5, 2001
(SOUTH BEND, IN – www.hurricanesports.com) –
Dan Boniface is a junior distance runner on the track team who transferred to the University of Miami last fall from Washington State University. He’s majoring in journalism and english at UM.
Welcome to the first of what I hope will evolve into a series of entries over the 2001 track season. My name is Daniel Boniface. I run cross-country and track for the University of Miami. I have just completed yet another 2,000-plus mile trip, and I am dead tired.
Nonetheless, I had fun traveling to the remote locale of South Bend: the home of the College Football Hall of Fame and more importantly, the University of Notre Dame. One of the biggest thrills of competing at the collegiate level is traveling across the country and seeing other universities. Teams from all over the Big East, and the nation had flocked to this simple college town, each of them eager to taste the top-notch competition and I was preparing to face stiff competition in the 5,000 meters (3.1 miles).
The trip to South Bend was a long one: three hours on a plane, followed by an hour in the airport and another two and a half hours in a van. By the time we arrived at the snow-covered campus, it was already 6 pm. My teammates all seemed tired and hungry, so the team dropped me off at the indoor arena. I was the only Hurricane competing that evening, as most of the events were to take place the following day. I walked around the arena, a large 320-meter track that encircled a practice football field full of tracksters stretching hamstrings and lacing spikes.
I met up with a training buddy of mine named Justin Young, an All-American from Butler University. He is a friend of many miles and many trials, and it was great to see him in good shape. We warmed up for our 5,000-meter jaunt and reminisced about our summer training in Boulder, Colorado. All runners aspire to run at a higher level. The JV runners dream of making varsity, the varsity runners hope to make all-conference, while the all-conference runners can only aim to be an All-American one-day. And if a runner is good enough and has the guts to admit it to himself, perhaps he will one day set his sights on a national championship. Justin is a great example of a guy who has worked hard and had his dreams come true. Now only the ultimate remains. I have an amazing respect for the guy, and can only hope to one day achieve some of the same glories.
Soon, I was in the thick of the first heat of the 5,000 meters, battling for a Big East qualifying mark. I had forgotten just how painful it is to run indoor track’s longest race. I decided to latch onto the back of the lead pack and let them do the work. It’s much easier to follow than it is to lead.
After going through the second mile in 9:52, I had already dropped out of contention and too far off the pace to run the qualifying time of 15:04. Although I ran a personal best of 15:27, I was disappointed. I had hoped to run considerably faster. To run a great race, a runner has to click physically as well as mentally. I think this was a case of not getting my head into the race and realizing I could run with the leaders. A humbling moment came when I watched the considerably faster second heat of the 5,000. As the winner came across the line in 13:51, I realized just how far I have to go.
The next day was much more relaxing for me. I had finished my part and was merely a spectator cheering on my teammates. No race was more enjoyable than the men’s 60-meter dash. Hurricane runners packed 6 in the top 9, led by a staggering 6.79 by Philip Buchanon. I can’t remember a more dominating performance by any school in any event. Each guy is so talented, motivating the next to push the limits. They are just fun to watch. Vince Wilfork turned in one of the best performances of the day, setting a new school record in the shot put. Nice work, Vince! A school record is such an amazing accomplishment well worth more than a couple lines. What a feat, and he’s only a freshman!
Fellow distance runner Jeff Gaulrapp narrowly missed qualifying to the Big East Championships in the 3,000-meters, running a personal best of 8:39.86. I’ve never seen a 3,000 go out as fast as the one on Saturday. Jeff was a mere 3 seconds away from qualifying. Despite having the poles delivered to the meet minutes before the competition started, Jabari Ennis vaulted to a personal best 4.95 meters. Oregon-native Aaron Bass turned in a fine performance clearing 4.42 meters. The workhorse of the team, decathlete Guy Emry had a great all-around day clearing 4.19 meters in the vault, and along with Gus Martin in the 60-meter hurdles, put up a solid time there. While Sean Mangan looked pretty tough in the 400, running a solid 51.47.
Overall, there were a handful of great performances, and the trip to Notre Dame, though cold and tiring, was a success. Well, that’s about it for this week. Hope you enjoyed reading, and I’ll see you all at our home meet on March 17th.
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