Friday, February 24 was a great day for Camel runner Mike LeDuc. LeDuc ran a personal best in the 5,000 meters, netting a time of 14 minutes and 38 seconds at the All New England track and Field championships. This performance earns LeDuc another spot on the Track and Field School record board for the indoor season. LeDuc qualified for this meet with a 14:48 effort at the same location: Boston University’s Track and Tennis Center. Hallowed throughout the track and field world as one of the fastest indoor tracks in the country, the indoor 200 meter banked track houses some of the best collegiate meets in the country.
Three weeks ago, LeDuc was able to capitalize on the stiff competition across all three NCAA divisions to qualify for this championship meet. Prior to this race, LeDuc was aware of the conditions of the day: “I was excited, it was a good opportunity, and I was nervous because it was such good competition”.
The competition included many division one athletes who had personal bests faster than LeDuc. However, “Big Meet Mike” was able to take down almost all of them on the way to a third place finish in what can only be described as a stacked field of serious runners. LeDuc was able to put his own signature on the race, when at the two mile mark he “[…] took the lead for 2 laps, and I had to make sure I was in the lead pack when the race began to break [up]”. Taking the reins gave LeDuc the edge he needed to slash his previous personal best over the twenty five grueling laps that make up an indoor 5,000 meter footrace.
The road to a personal victory was not covered in roses, however, as LeDuc experienced distress early on: “I got stepped on, and my heel was out of my shoe for the majority of the race”
Prior experience in this respect helped the sophomore phenom, as his freshman year at the New England Regional in Cross Country, he lost his shoe to the spikes of another runner well before the mile mark of a 5 mile race. Regardless, he still was able to pull out an excellent effort over grass and mulch.
Immediately following the race, LeDuc reflected upon his new Personal Best, while still looking ahead: “I didn’t know if it was going to put me on the nationals list, but I was happy with my performance.”
LeDuc’s performance puts him in a tentative thirteenth on the Division III Indoor Track and Field Nationals list, which gives him a possible bid to the national 5,000 meter race at Grinnell College in Iowa. To solidify his chances, Mike will race at the only other indoor track on the East Coast that is purported to be faster than BU: The New Balance Armory in New York City, new home to the fastest indoor 5,000 in American history, set by Bernard Lagat three weeks ago.
LeDuc likes his 5,000 meter chances at the ECAC meet as well: “I think I can go 5-6 seconds faster next week, and if I do that, I think I have a decent shot [at Nationals].”
LeDuc will travel with men’s distance Coach Jim Butler as well as Head Coach Ned Bishop to New York City to compete at the Eastern Colleges Athletic Conference championship meet next week. •
