She Knows How to Finish With A Smile

It seems that no one has a perfect career. Not Bo Jackson. Not Lane McDonald. And not five-time All-America runner Suzanne Jones.

For Jones, a native of Milton, Mass. and a Kirkland House resident, track has taken her from College Park, Md. to Europe, brought her victories and disappointments, visits to medical tents and swimming pools.

After attending the University of Maryland for one year, Jones transferred to Harvard. Administrative problems plagued the Terrapins, and all members of the track team were given a blanket release by the NCAA; they could transfer without losing eligibility.

Jones calls her experience at Maryland a very positive one, and her last race was a good omen for her Harvard career. She broke her personal record by a whopping 77 seconds in the 5000-meter.

Her fears about transferring to Harvard dissipated almost as soon as she arrived.

"It was very different from what I expected," Jones says. "I was pleasantly surprised at how friendly people were here."

She adjusted equally well on the track, earning All-America honors for the Crimson in her first season.

"I knew she was a special runner when, in her first race in Van Cortland Park, N.Y., she had a huge lead coming out of the woods," Coach Frank Haggerty says. "And when she came across the finish line, she was smiling."

Topping off an incredibly successful year, in which she came in second at the NCAA finals in the 10,000-meter run, Jones went to the World University Games in Duisburg, West Germany at the end of the summer. Teammate Meredith Rainey was also a member of the national team that went to the Games.

After taking only four days off in the summer, Jones came back to Harvard in the self-proclaimed best shape of her life and did well in cross country despite severe tendenitis in her shins. After winning the Heptagonals, Jones was unable to run for three days and had to be driven over the ECAC course during a practice session for the tournament because the pain in her shins was too great.

She surprised even herself when she placed third at ECAC's and qualified for the nationals again. Jones had hoped to place in the top 10 at nationals, but the tendenitis got the best of her, and she finished a disappointing 42nd. One of the women she had beaten in the ECAC meet finished 11th.

"Psychologically, it was driving me crazy," Jones says.

She took six weeks off and still managed to win the 5000-meter during the indoor season at ECACs, qualifying for nationals again. She finished among the top eight, earning All America recognition for the fourth time.

During the spring, Jones was "chasing the standard" to make NCAA's just as she had during the winter. And once again she qualified.

Jones was outkicked in the last leg of the 10,000, however, and finished fourth. Heading to the Athletic Congress two weeks after NCAA's, Jones dropped out with a stress fracture. She would not run again until September.

Overcoming Injury

Injuries have continued to haunt Jones. Last Christmas break, she tore a tendon in her knee. She failed to qualify for nationals in cross country and would not don a Crimson jersey again, constantly aggravating the injury during spring workouts. But Jones does not feel these injuries signal the end of her running career.

"I think my best running years are still ahead of me," Jones says. "25 to 32 are the peak years for distance runners. I think the marathon may be my race."

Jones, who is notorious for not having a lot of kick at the end of races, achieved her success on the basis of her tremendous endurance and concentration.

"Suzanne's ability to control mentally the varied physical and emotional processes involved in distance running is unparalleled," Haggerty says. "She is tactically very smart and knows when she can push the pace."

But Haggerty finds that Jones's strengths extend well beyond the confines of the track

"I am more impressed with her personal qualities than her running, and her running is excellent."