Advertisement

What counted was that she qualified to compete in the Nike Outdoor Nationals last week (June 15-17) at North Carolina A & T University in Greensboro, N.C.

She competed in the 5K on Thursday night, June 14.

Johnson stayed near the middle of the pack in a field of 32 runners before she tired and fell back.

Marissa Treece of Glen Lake, bound for Notre Dame, made the biggest splash for small town athletes with her record-setting performances in the 5K and 1600 meters.

But the experience of competing against the best athletes from around the country was priceless, Johnson said. Never having run a 5k on an outdoor track before, Johnson believes the experience will better prepare her to try it again next year.

Her coach, Joe Shay, expects nothing less than a top 10 finish when she competes again in 2008.

Problems in procuring a rental car once they arrived in North Carolina resulted in the group -Shay and his wife accompanied Johnson -not getting to their hotel until 1:30 a.m. the next morning.

Johnson was exhausted, and with the excitement about the race pounding in her brain, it's doubtful she got much sleep before heading for the track.

It might have had an affect on her performance, Shay believes.

"About halfway through the race, she started to tire,"Shay reported. "She was very disappointed, but yet I was surprised that after she ran the race, she came up to me and said ÔI love this race. I can't wait until next year.'

Getting interest from colleges

Maybe she didn't finish as high as she or Shay were expecting, but Johnson's performance didn't go unnoticed by any means.

Several college coaches came up to Shay after the race and gave him information on their schools and programs.

Cornell University and Notre Dame are two schools that expressed interest in Johnson.

"I think not getting to bed until two in the morning kind of did her in there a little bit,"said Shay. "She had a great season. The season was long."

Long, but memorable. The competition at "It was a good, overall experience for her, although she did run a minute slower than she's ever run in her life. If she would have run like she should have, she probably would have finished in about 15th or 16th place."

Last year, Johnson was running the 5k in about 21 minutes and 30 seconds.

She shaved about three minutes off that time, running it in around 18:30.

Treece finished way back in the pack a year ago, and turned that situation around by setting a new girls high school meet record and state record of 16:57.21.

Johnson thinks she can do the same in her second attempt.

North Carolina was a couple of steps above the level Johnson is used to going against, and she feels she can only benefit from it.

Many of the runners she went against have been featured in "Runners World"magazine, and other periodicals. It was awe inspiring.

But it was also an exhilirating feeling to realize she was running with the elite competitors in the country. She was one of the best, and she had earned the right to be there.

"I was kind of stressed before (the race),"Johnson said. "But, it was a really good experience. I'm looking forward to it next year, because I had a lot of fun running a 5K on a track. I had never run it outdoors before.

"At first, it was kind of intimidating. There were a whole bunch of girls from different states, and I didn't know anyone ... except for Marissa. But, then, it was okay."

The weather was just about perfect for running. Everyone was expecting it to be in the 90s and humid, but the temperature stayed at a comfortable 65-66 degrees for the races.

Running up in the middle of the pack for half the race, Johnson eventually just ran out of gas.

Now that she's learned what she'll be up against, Johnson is determined not to let that happen again. She also expressed her gratitude for the

community's support. "The sports boosters at our school donated money for me to go," Johnson said. "That pretty much paid for everything."

Johnson admitted that she's been looking at a few colleges, but hasn't talked to any coaches yet.

But she'll definitely be extending her ahtletic career beyond high school.

After taking a week or so off, Johnson plans to begin training again. She plans to be ready for next year.