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June 30, 2008

‘This is what you dream about’

College Heights grad overcomes injury for shot at Olympic team

By Anvil Welch

awelch@joplinglobe.com

Seth Summerside has reached another impressive plateau in his running career.

The former University of Arkansas athlete leaves Fayetteville today for the University of Oregon and Olympic Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene.

Summerside, a 2002 graduate of College Heights Christian School in Joplin, will compete in the 10,000 meters on Friday night.

Summerside, who turned 24 on Feb. 14, said Monday the event will have a field of 24.

“It’s racing the clock as well as individuals (to qualify for the Olympics in Beijing in August),” Summerside said. “You have to place in the top three. You have to run a 27:50.”

Summerside, a Yankton (S.D.) native who came to Joplin at an early age, is in the Olympic Trials for the first time.

“This is what you dream about and train for during your entire career,” Summerside said. “This whole deal has been a dream come true.”

For Summerside, running isn’t about goals, even if the assignment is the Olympic Trials.

“Really, I put myself in position to win and give 100 percent,” Summerside said. “But I quit setting goals after the University of Arkansas. No matter what I did it always was a disappointment.

“It’s for the love of the sport. I wanted to give myself completely to running and stop setting goals,” Summerside said.

Summerside, who secured a four-year contract from Adidas in 2007, also qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 1,500 and 5,000 that season.

“I missed my speed work this year, though, and I was unable to come around for the shorter distances,” Summerside said.

This 10,000 on Friday will be his second go in the event after clocking a 28:02 at Stanford — the fastest debut for an American in the event.

There was a painful reason for the lack of speed work.

“I’d pushed myself over the edge (training so hard),” he said. “I awoke on Jan. 3 and couldn’t walk. I had hip surgery in Joplin (at Freeman Health System) and was there for about a week.

“My coaches were surprised (about his quick return). The people at Arkansas thought I’d have to scratch the whole season. But doctors at Freeman said they would quickly get me back. I started running on March 10 and was going full-out in April.

“I wouldn’t be racing if not for my family and Freeman,” Summerside said. “Also, Adidas, when I had the issue with my back, supported and encouraged me and continued to believe in me.”

Summerside, who received his degree in marketing from Arkansas in 2007, works out morning and night at Fayetteville.

“We run about 5-6 miles in the mornings preparing for the night sessions,” he said. “The workouts vary, of course, but we really get after it hard three times a week.”

His family, including parents Sherri and Steve, naturally will be in Eugene.

“My brother, Josh, who’s older, actually got me started at running in high school,” Seth Summerside said. “He’s in medical school at the University of Missouri in Columbia.”

Seth’s girlfriend, Kelly Freeze, who’s from England, Ark., near Little Rock, also will make it to Eugene. She’s studying International Law at Georgetown University.

The future for Summerside, post-Eugene, includes more running.

“We (Adidas-affiliated athletes training at Fayetteville) go all over Europe (based out of Amsterdam, Netherlands),” Summerside said. “We did that last summer and will do it again.”

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