Media Credit: Conner Jay Distance runner Nicole Blood arrived in Eugene last fall by way of New York and California. Blood is expected to compete in the 5,000 meters this weekend. [Click to enlarge]

Nicole Blood had found the school in Oregon that she felt most comfortable with. All she wanted to do was compete, but an untimely injury kept competition right outside her grasp.

Blood arrived in Eugene last fall all ready for cross country, but a stress fracture in her sacrum pushed her to the sideline. The sacrum is the triangular segment of the spinal column that forms the back side of the pelvis. When asked to describe the pain, Blood said it "almost feels like a pinched nerve."

"I worked really hard all summer. I was in great shape - probably the best shape of my life and then to come and get that news the first day was tough, but (the coaches) were great with it and they kept me motivated," Blood said.

Now fully healthy and immersed in the outdoor track season, Blood is looking forward to the 5,000-meter race this weekend in the NCAA West Region Championships at Hayward Field.

Blood ran ninth in the preliminary round of the 1,500 in 4 minutes, 32.79 seconds two weeks ago at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships. She advanced to the finals the next day, and finished sixth in 4:25.24.

"She's coming into her own and she's turned out to be a very good Pac-10 caliber distance runner and I think that she's going to be a national caliber one before too long," track and field director Vin Lananna said.

Blood's arrival culminated a two-year whirlwind that had taken her from her native New York to California and finally Eugene. Blood grabbed headlines from an early age when she began running for one of the top cross country programs in the nation at Saratoga Springs High.

"I switched coaches three times in like two years," Blood said. "It was hard. It showed in my training a little bit. I was still a strong runner, but my times weren't as persistent as they were. I was a little inconsistent, but finally I think I'm hitting my stride out here, having coach Lananna and getting into his training and everything's kind of falling into place now."

Continued...

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