Eric Hamer enjoyed a outstanding run to a third-place finish at NXR-SW. Photo by Alan Versaw.
It's been a remarkable year for Eric Hamer, but we may not yet have seen the end of remarkable.
Regarded as something of an outside hope to qualify for NXN going into NXR-SW, Hamer stepped up with what was arguably the best race of his career and finished third at NXR-SW. At that point, all that stood between Hamer and the NXN dream was several pages of paperwork. The paperwork was dispensed with in about the same time it took to run the race, and Hamer was on his way to Portland.
Hamer has been a strong runner, at or near the top of the Class of 2015 through all of high school, but even he admits, "A year ago if you had told me that I was going to break 15 minutes in the 5k and go to NXN with a top-three finish in my region, I probably would have laughed at you."
It's worth repeating here that one year can make a huge difference in things.
Despite the difference, there was still the matter of successfully navigating the regional race to one of the top five individual qualifying positions. Hamer recalls, "It was with about 1000 meters to go when I felt my body still wanting to give more. And with about 400 meters to go I gave one more big push to stay in the top five, and I found that I had a kick."
The urge to give more and the subsequent kick carried Hamer to a PR finish of 14:55. And now, we're all left to wonder if there's a little more magic left in the barrel for Saturday. If the field was strong on November 22 (and it was), it's at a whole different level for this Saturday. And that prospect has Hamer on the edge of his seat.
