THE BEST HE CAN BE

`I love mountain biking," explained Cole, now a senior at Colorado State University. "It's just really expensive. All you have to pay for to run is a pair of running shoes."

As with any sport, you give up a lot more than money when you get involved in running.

"It's the drive and dedication that set Chris apart from the others," explained Kent Eggleston, Cole's high school coach.

"His first year, as a sophomore, Chris played a key role in helping guys from the team get to state. His junior year the school split and the team had a bit of a rough time. But everyone looked at it like, if we can put out our best efforts, Chris will always be up front so our team will probably be OK."

After coming close to winning the 1,600-meter race in the state meet his junior year, Cole came back strong the following year to defeat the defending state champion for the title.

But his dreams didn't end there. He had a drive to be the best, and not just in the Northwest. He wanted to go to a Division I NCAA school, even though he could have easily stayed local.

"He wanted to go as far as he could go and he wanted to run with the best,"Eggleston said.

"In college there is a lot less time to do anything other than run," Cole said. "These are my last few years with little responsibility. It's the best time to find out how far I can go in running."

Cole runs anywhere from first to fifth on the CSU cross country team and placed 19th out of about 120 runners in the Western Athletic Conference meet.

"I really enjoy running," he said. "You get to travel and meet new people all the time. Each meet is like a little vacation for me."

Cole has improved every year, said CSU Coach Del Hessel. "He's become a mainstay in the program. He's very consistent and devoted to make himself the best he can be." Cole will redshirt next year "to give some of the younger guys some experience, then we'll come back the following year with a tough team," Hessel said.

Cole's goal of being all-American - or among the top eight in the nation, will be tough.

"I'm done with most of the learning," he said. "Now it's a matter of doing the miles needed to be a successful runner in college. This means always working harder than the next guy does. Thinking, what are they doing? And then doing it better."

It's been a long time since he was growing up in the mountains with his buddies and their mountain bikes. At that time, the thought of being a runner had never entered Cole's mind. But during his sophomore year, convinced by a friend, Chris began to run cross country.

"The only time I'd ever run before was cross-country my fourth- grade year and I didn't do very well then," Cole explained with a smile. "I was just so excited when I made the varsity team."

Later that season Cole became a key participant in the team's third-place finish at the state meet.

Cole's junior year he and Eggleston built a bond of friendship and respect.

"Kent made me feel good about my decisions," Cole said. "I really respect and look up to him. He is definitely not the typical coach and I think that's what I like. He's someone I never want to lose touch with."

At CSU, Cole is majoring in natural resources-recreational and tourism management, with a concentration in commercial tourism.

With a longing to be outdoors and a humble, laid-back attitude, Cole said he might enjoy coordinating a guide service.

"Someday I would love to be a part of mountain biking again," he said. "I don't want to go straight into a career."

Copyright 1999 Cowles Publishing Company
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