Good Times For Clara

Four-Time All-America Has Plenty Left For Finishing Kick

DURHAM, N.C. - It doesn't take a deep or lengthy conversation with Clara Horowitz to detect just how much she is enjoying her senior season as a standout for the Duke track and field team. She loves her school, her coach, her program and especially her teammates who have become exceptionally close while bringing the Blue Devils a national identity in middle distance running.

But when the subject of favorite training partners comes up, Horowitz is just as likely to mention someone who competes in a lighter shade of blue.

Horowitz and North Carolina runner Jeffrey Peterson met at the 2005 ACC Indoor Track Championship meet, and in less than a year they had decided to become permanent partners. They are engaged to be married this summer.

Horowitz says it's not a coincidence that this year leading up to her wedding has been the best of her competitive career.

"Where I am in my personal life has a huge impact on my running," Horowitz says. "I'm really happy and comfortable with my home environment in having a fianc? and my outside activities.

"It definitely has helped me in my running, because when I run with him I'm usually going faster than when I run with other girls. It might be a little risky to throw in some extra hard runs in my training, but I love doing it."

"I think Jeff has really helped her find herself," adds teammate Laura Stanley. "She's more stable, she's very happy and he has been a great force in her life."

Horowitz's senior year has been one success after another. Her previous seasons weren't bad either ? an All-ACC selection and NCAA qualifier every year? but 2005-06 has been at a different level. So far she has earned All-America honors in cross country and indoor track, and it will be an upset if she doesn't add another outdoor All-America plaque to her collection as the track season heads into high gear over the next two months.

A native of Berkeley, Calif., Horowitz used to dream of becoming the first girl to break the four-minute mile. Though she remains enamored with that glamour event, her specialty now is taming longer distances and her dream is of winning a national championship.

She has come tantalizingly close twice already this year. During the cross country season, the Blue Devils were undefeated, ranked No. 1 and favored to win the NCAA meet. They slipped to third place at the end of the race, though Horowitz finished fifth individually.

Horowitz came even closer during indoor track season, when she took second place in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA meet, less than a second behind the winner, Amy Hastings of Arizona State.

That race remains etched in Horowitz's mind and continues to feed her hunger for a title in this year's NCAA outdoor meet.

"I started very conservatively and was in last place for a good portion of the first mile, just sitting on the end of the pack relaxing," she says of the NCAA 5K. "Then I slowly started moving up, and with about a mile to go I was in second, sitting on the leader and waiting to make my move.

"When I made my move, she responded in a major way. It was a kick for the finish and she held me off. It was a very bittersweet feeling because getting second place at a national championship is pretty awesome, but losing by half a second stinks."

"Going into that race I don't think she realized it would be an opportunity," Stanley says. "There was a clear favorite in the race, a girl from Providence, and she dropped out halfway through. That opened it up and Clara was right there. What I'm so impressed with is that in the middle of a race, where she already had a strategy, things changed and she adjusted well and was going after the win. That's so cool."

Horowitz made her outdoor season debut a couple of weeks ago in her home area by running the 10,000 meters at the Stanford Invitational. Stanley and another senior teammate, Sally Meyerhoff, also were in the field and they were all in the lead pack near the halfway mark. But eventually it came down to another duel between Horowitz and Hastings. "I knew the whole time Clara would not lose that one," Stanley says.

"The last mile it was me and her," Horowitz relates. "I was sitting on her and there was no way I was going to let her beat me. When I made my move, I made a huge move and finished really strong. My last 800 was 2:23 so she wasn't close. It felt really good, but I still would have traded that race in for winning nationals."

Horowitz's time at Stanford was 33:05.37, the second fastest in Duke history and almost 50 seconds faster than the qualifying standard for the NCAA meet. Because of its strenuous nature (6.2 miles), the 10K is the only event in which competitors do not have to go through regionals to qualify for nationals. So Horowitz already has locked up a spot in the NCAA meet June 7-10 at Sacramento, as has Meyerhoff, whose 33:39.53 clocking at Stanford was the third fastest in Duke history.

This is the first year Horowitz has competed in the 10K and she probably won't run another one until the NCAA meet. She will use the major meets between now and then to pursue some other goals. During the indoor season, she won the ACC title at 3,000 meters. The following week, she hopes to run the mile anchor leg for the distance medley relay team as it tries to defend its 2005 championship at the Penn Relays.

Ultimately, she hopes to qualify for the NCAA outdoor meet in more than one event so she will have an option for which race offers the best opportunity to win a national championship ? although she gives the distinct impression that the 10K is squarely in her sights.

"It always seemed like a scary event, 25 laps around the track," she says. "But I felt great at Stanford and it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. As much as I wish I was a miler, it looks like 10K is more my event.

"Sally and I used to joke about how it was such a ridiculous event and we'd never do it, but she also qualified for nationals. It just shows that over time you do develop as a runner and find more and more what you are capable of."

Horowitz's development has come under the close direction of coach Kevin Jermyn, who has helped her find the optimal balance of training and competing. After running out of gas at the end of previous track seasons, she has been careful to avoid taxing her body too much this year.

At the recent Duke Invitational, Horowitz watched the action from the stands while in recovery mode from her Stanford 10K ? an ironic twist considering that the home track at Wallace Wade Stadium was one of the factors in her decision to attend Duke. She had been all set to sign with UCLA before Jermyn convinced her to make a cross country recruiting trip. She fell in love with everything, including the facility and the idea of venturing into new territory.

"When I first saw the track I thought it would be amazing to go here and run in this huge stadium," she recalls. "And I just thought I would do something daring and try something different to take advantage of college."

Horowitz hasn't finished daring herself yet, and her Duke experience may continue a little longer. Because of redshirting, she has another year of eligibility remaining and she hasn't yet decided if she will utilize it. She and her favorite training partner ponder the situation daily, because Jeff Peterson also has a fifth year available at UNC. "The future, that's to be determined," Horowitz says. "I just don't have the answer yet."

She's also in no hurry to let go of this special season. "It's quite phenomenal, actually," says her friend Stanley. "Every race she's stepped on the track, indoor or outdoor, she's either PR'd or won or both, or just completely dominated. It's been inspiring as a teammate to watch."

Players Mentioned

Clara Horowitz

Sally Meyerhoff

Laura Stanley

Duke information