Duca Heads To Texas In Search Of NCAA Glory

Every year, hundreds of collegiate runners don their school's colors. They practice and compete every day, working stride for stride against their own personal bests as much as other runners. At the end of a season, those hundreds are pared down to a dozen selections chosen to compete in the NCAA Championships against others deemed as the best of the best.

Hundreds of runners are whittled down to dozens in the blink of an eye. Needless to say, the percentage chosen isn't very high. But for Boston College, junior Paige Duca is someone who falls exactly into that selection when she competes this weekend as one of 16 runners in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.

"I'm really excited for this meet," she said. "I know nobody (from BC) has competed in a while, and it's good to bring (it) back (to) a new generation of runners who believe they can make it. It's going to be really rewarding after my freshman year when I was injured, that I could come back and progress to get the ultimate goal and qualify with the hope of becoming an All-American as the next step."

Though Liv Westphal qualified for the national championship meet in the 5K run in 2016, Duca becomes the first miler to accomplish the feat since Jillian King in 2014. She is one of three runners out of the ACC to qualify this year as well as one of three runners from New England-based schools.

"I've had some experience against some pretty impressive runners," Duca said. "When I ran my fast time at Boston University this season, I was up against five to six professional runners and a few of the girls who are running at nationals. There's only so many opportunities to run against that level of competition, and I'm someone who really wants to get that opportunity. It pushes you to run faster, and I love the atmosphere that comes with those big, competitive meets. They just get you going."

The competitive nature of running always singles out runners to improve themselves. There's teamwork involved, but times and splits are used to measure individuals against one another. It requires a maturity in training that focuses an athlete's mentality inward to continuously get better.

That type of atmosphere allowed Duca to grow as a runner. She missed cross country season during her freshman season and hit the track with limited success during indoor. Though she steadily improved, it wasn't until her sophomore year where her trajectory changed and skyrocketed.

She won the 3,000-meter run to open the indoor season and raced the mile at the ACC Championships. As a member of the distance medley relay team, she collected a win at the ECAC Championships while finishing third in the conference meet. That set the tone for the steady improvements that continued into this year, her third at The Heights.

"I've definitely matured as a runner," Duca said. "I've taken it more seriously, and I've realized the importance of getting proper nutrition, sleep and recovery. My freshman year was a huge adjustment, and I didn't achieve my goals. Over the summer into sophomore year, I really buckled down and started training. I realized that I wanted to get to the next level and get that much better."

Duca's attention to her own details is seen in her week-to-week training. Each day is considered preparation in some capacity for the next meet, and each day has its own specific purpose. The schedule makes a meet or competition that much easier to adapt to, as if it's just another day on her individual path.

"Preparation starts for a big meet with the two weeks in between each meet," she said. "If we have two weeks, we'll start on a Monday with an easy run or recovery day. But we'll hit Tuesday and start a workout day and potentially throw some tempo in there. That'll set up a recovery run on a Wednesday, and then we'll enter Thursday or Friday with another workout with more speed unless we have a meet that weekend. On weekends, if we don't have a meet, we'll do a long run, which will last for 80 minutes for 11 to 13 miles depending on the pace. If we're leading up to a competition, we try not to put in too much work because of all the work (leading up to it). On the day before a race, we'll just do some strides and get in a short run.

"If we're lucky, we'll get a day off on a Sunday," she joked with a laugh.

Now Duca heads to one of her sport's cathedral stadiums, Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium, for the national championships at Texas A&M. Seeded 12th out of 16 runners, she knows that the competition is going to be intense, but at the end of the day, it's the same track she's been running her whole life.

"I really like indoor running," she said. "It's always set in the same atmosphere with a 200 meter track without weather conditions. It's very tactical, and every lap is easy to pace. I've always done well with indoors since high school when I won a state championship in the 1500 (meter), so it's always been exciting. When everyone's inside, you can hear all of the cheers and it's really just a fun atmosphere."

"I've heard the facilities (at Texas A&M) are incredible, so I'm just excited for the opportunity," she continued. "I can't wait to warm up on the track and take advantage of it. NCAAs only happen once or twice a year, and I've been really lucky to be selected (for this meet)."

The 16 runners will square off in two preliminary heats on Friday, of which Duca will run in the second heat. Qualifiers advance to the championship on Saturday. Friday's run is scheduled to start at approximately 5:50 p.m. Televised portions of the meet will be broadcast on ESPN3 beginning at 6:30 p.m. with Saturday beginning at 5 p.m. The championship rounds will be aired on ESPN2 on Sunday, beginning at 7 p.m.

Duca Heads To Texas In Search Of NCAA Glory

Players Mentioned

Paige Duca

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