Clint Thompson
CNHI
THOMASVILLE —
Nathan Haskins has lofty goals for his cross-country career.
Running in a marathon is next for the Thomasville native.
The former Thomas County Central standout will soon begin his fifth year at Kennesaw State University. Haskins redshirted during the 2008 season and competed in four races last year despite an injury. After what Haskins hopes will be a successful senior season, the former Yellow Jacket plans to train to run a marathon.
“My goal is to actually qualify for the Olympic trials. It’s a lofty goal because I only have about a year to train for it, a little over a year,” Haskins said. “But I’ve always been a high mileage guy. The marathon looks like the next step anyway. It’s always been my goal to run a marathon and compete against some of the nation’s best.
“That’s kind of where my mindset is right after I graduate, I’m going to run the Chicago marathon.”
Haskins just completed his third Peachtree Road 10k Race in Atlanta on July 4. He competed against more than 50,000 racers and tallied a 48th-place finish. It was the same position Haskins finished last year, though, Haskins was 22 seconds faster this year at 31:11.
“I thought that would put me a little bit higher, but it was also the Men’s U.S. 10k championship, so the top 10k guys in the country ran there,” Haskins said. “My training is really difficult right now. I’m running a lot of miles and not really doing anything speed wise. I was definitely pleased with (my time). I’m in shape to run faster once my miles come down, basically. That’ll happen when I’m ready to start the season. From where I’m at right now, though, it was a really good day, as I really was not fresh for the race at all.”
Haskins said he finished around 70th the first time he ran in 2007, running a time of 33:45.
“It’s definitely a cool race. You have crowds lining the whole street all the way. For six miles, you have people cheering you on,” Haskins said.
“It’s really motivating. Some of the best runners in the country, and a few in the world, are running there.”
Haskins, who won the Rose City Run in 2009 with a 32:34 finish, is excited about his final collegiate season with the Owls.
“I have a really good team behind me this year,” Haskins said. “Training’s going to be a lot of fun because they’ll push me every day. My goal is definitely to make it to nationals in cross country which would be a great feat. Not many people have ever accomplished that.”
