Freshman Ian Vickstrom was nearing the end of the grueling 10,000-meter race at the Bryan Clay Invitational a few weeks ago in Azusa, Calif. He was nervous.

First of all, he was nervous because if he could run faster than 32:05, he would qualify for the USATF U-20 Outdoor Championships (open to athletes 19-years-old and under) in Miramar, Fla., June 21-23.

Second, he knew he had to make up some time over the last three laps.

"I was nervous because I was a little slow with three laps to go and I knew I had to pick it up. I really relied on the last lap to pick it up. I had a couple of slow laps which I had to make up and I was nervous about being able to do it," said Vickstrom.
 
Plus, he really hadn't expected to be running this distance at this competition at all.
 
At Corvallis High School, Vickstrom was three-time district champion in the 3,000 meters and, as a junior, district champion in the cross country 5k. Indoors, he continually improved his time at the 3,000 and was planning to make the 5,000 meters his race at PSU.
 
"One day, I got a text from Coach Seitz (distance coach Josh Seitz). He said they had a ticket with my name on it to run the 10k at the Bryan Clay Invitational. I really wanted to stick to the 5k, but since there was a ticket with my name on it, I didn't think I had a whole lot of choice. I didn't see a clear reason to say no," he recalled.
 
Normally, said Seitz, "we don't like running a freshman in the 10k. It's a harsh event. It's hard to train for and, if things go wrong, it can be psychologically damaging." But, when the U20 Outdoor Championship standards came out, the 10k qualifying time was listed at 32:05 "and we knew he could do that."
 
So, there was Vickstrom, fighting to pick up some time in the closing minutes of the 10k in order to qualify for a national meet. He'd gotten to that point by running a disciplined race…perhaps a bit too disciplined since he sensed he was just a bit slow.
 
"Pacing yourself is key to distance running. The first lap is a lost lap. You see a lot of people going by you, but a lot will be falling back later in the race," Vickstrom said.
 
Senior Alex Cisneros, who broke the PSU 10k record in all conditions with a time of 29:25.74 last season and has qualified for the NCAAA West Prelims during his years as a Viking, told Vickstrom that the first 15 laps don't really matter.
 
"He told me that it's a long race. You see a lot of people go by you and they end up falling back. It's very had to sit back. It's hard to be patient in such a competitive atmosphere. You have to check yourself. And, he was right. A lot of people did fall back."

Giving it everything he had over the last lap, Vickstrom made up for his slow laps, crossing the finish line with a 32:02, beating the Juniors qualifying standard.
 
"I was really happy. I took care of business. Coach Hepburn (Head Track Coach David Hepburn) had said it was a business trip. I was just taking care of business," Vickstrom said.
 
And, Hepburn was also excited at the finish. "He was really excited. It was exciting for me to see Coach Hepburn that excited. I hadn't seen him that excited about a distance race before."
 
Hepburn admitted that he really got into Vickstrom's race.
 
"He did what we wanted him to do. That's a long race and it's all about pacing yourself. He did a really good job. It was a fun race to watch because we were involved with it…it's (the 10k) often not one people like to watch because it's just a bunch of people running around a track over and over (25 laps, to be exact).
 
Vickstrom started running 5k races at the age of eight. He credits his concentration on running partially to lack of hand-eye coordination.
 
As a youngster, he tried team sports…baseball and soccer. "But I don't have good hand-eye coordination. I played little league and soccer, but I couldn't hit the ball and I could kick it very well in soccer. But, I liked running around on the field."
 
He likes running distances because: "speed isn't my thing. But, I like running and long races can be exciting toward the end.  Also, there's a little more room for error (like a couple of slow laps). If you make a small error in a shorter race, it's done."
 
Although he was successful in high school, his times weren't good enough to attract a lot of collegiate interest. He was interested in the programs at Oregon and Portland State.  PSU was beginning to emphasize its distance program and saw some promise. His junior year, when he took the district 5k title, Seitz wrote him a letter. That summer he took an unofficial trip to the PSU campus.
 
"I needed to stay in-state and PSU was a little less expensive. Plus, I grew up in a smaller community with a college campus atmosphere. I'd done that and liked the idea of studying in a city and not in a town where there's a big border between the campus and the town," he said.
 
When he arrived, he wasn't confident he'd be successful in the PSU distance program but the PSU coaching staff was optimistic.
 
"He's good. His times were actually a little slower that we'd have liked. But, we liked him as a person and as a runner. We see a lot of potential for faster times. We saw him run in the state meet and thought he had the tools…that if he came to our program and got more miles on him, he'd get faster," said Hepburn. 
 
Vickstrom also fit another Viking program goal, according to Seitz. "We've shifted to a distance focus (800 to 10,000 meters, plus the steeplechase), and we're trying to establish this program as a place for good distance runners to come who in the past have opted to leave the state. Portland is the home of many elite distance runners, and we want to capitalize on that fact."
 
While making his decision to join the Vikings, Vickstrom was also trying to decide on a career path. He looked at the PSU catalog online and thought architecture looked interesting.
 
"I like designing and art and I want to have a career where I do something that lasts. We spend 95 percent of our time in buildings and they should have good designs; they shouldn't just be concrete blocks. When I finish, I'd like to be able to say…'I did that and it's something that's going to last'," he said.
 
But, the class load and labs in that major make it one of the most challenging for someone who also wants to be a student-athlete.
 
"You can't slack off. There's a lot of time management. It means a lot of long nights. Once I start studying, I have to tell myself that I'll work on my homework until it's done. I won't stop until I've finished. They say sleep is the hardest thing about being a student athlete with a major in architecture…and I need lots of sleep," he said.
 
Still, Vickstrom took advanced placement courses in high school and hasn't found the transition to university academics that much of a stretch.
 
His personal expectations over the next few years are simply to do his best. "I want to try. I don't want to finish and say I didn't try. I want to try my best in every race. I want to be one of the best runners from here and I think that'll happen if I apply myself and listen to the coaches."
 
And that attitude is a long distance from the un-confident runner who began his career as a Viking last fall.
 
"We have high hopes for him. He loves running and the 10k will be his event. He can be one of the really good 10k runners we've had over the years. He's also a great person. We see him as a person who can contribute throughout his career here," said Hepburn.