This Saturday, senior Justin Chung will be flying solo.
As a result of his eighth place finish at last week's New England Regionals, Chung is one of seven individual runners from the region to earn a trip to the Div. III National Championships without his team earning a bid.
The competition, which will include 32 collegiate teams from every region of the United States plus the seven individual qualifiers from each respective region, is set to take place in Springfield, Ohio. The race will mark the first time this season that Chung, no stranger to the size and talent of the field at Nationals, is not running as a part of a larger team.
"Some athletes say that when you're running on your own, you're able to take greater risks and to put yourself out there more than when you're not running with six other people depending on you," coach Ethan Barron said. "I'd say that is correct most of the time, and I think Justin will be able to take advantage of that."
At last year's Nationals in Delaware, Ohio, Chung finished second in the Jumbo lineup, after current senior co-captain and two-time All-American Josh Kennedy. Chung finished with a time of 26:57.8 last year, good for a placement of 72nd overall.
Chung's continued improvement over this season has seen that time significantly lowered, most recently at Regionals where he sliced off almost a full minute, running the same 8k championship distance in 25:58.1. However, the senior isn't promising anything going into this weekend's race in Ohio.
"I honestly don't try to give myself any specific goals," Chung said. "I'm just planning to race well, to go in and do my best."
Though Chung will be running alone as far as official race results go, he will have his teammates' support throughout the trip, as the rest of the cross country team plans to undertake a separate road trip to Ohio to show their support.
There, the team will get a chance to step into the role of the 'Tufts Crazies' who traditionally attend such events, fans famous for lining the course bare-chested in Tufts-colored body paint and braving the cold to provide ample vocal encouragement for the runners in the race. Chung's teammates are eager to give the runner that support, as they're proud of what he's accomplished this season.
"He deserves this chance," freshman Nick Welch said. "He ran really hard all season and put in more mileage than he's ever had this summer. He's getting a chance to represent TUXC, and it's great that it's him. He's a solid runner and a solid teammate."
So, though technically sans teammates, Chung will take to the course at Ohio with plenty of backing from both his coach and fellow Tufts runners.
"Justin is well prepared for this meet," Barron said while conducting some pre-race training in Ohio. "The course is looking like another version of NESCACs, pretty flat with a bit of sloppy footing. Given his training throughout the season, I'd say he's all set to run a great race."
