Posted on November 1, 2007
James Madison graduate Eric Post was part of two Colonial Athletic Association cross country championships at JMU, and felt that his decision to transfer from the University of Florida was the best he ever made.
Now he focuses on individual goals, as he prepares for the 2008 Olympic Trials Marathon on Saturday in New York City.
Post, a 2002 JMU graduate, qualified for the Olympic Trials at the 2006 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon with a time of 2 hours, 21 minutes, and joins a field of 160 athletes. The qualifying time for the Olympic Trials Marathon is 2:22, and only U.S. citizens are eligible. Now that he’s qualified for the event, Eric says that time isn’t his top priority.
“The time is pretty irrelevant for this race,” Post said. “I think I’m going in seeded somewhere in the 80s, but I think I realistically could be a top-25 guy.”
The top three finishers Saturday will represent the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. While Eric realizes a top-three finish is unreasonable to expect, finishing in the top 25 would open other doors.
“It wouldn’t allow me to run any races that I wouldn’t have already been able to run, but it could open other opportunities in terms of apparel help from companies or travel expenses and so on,” Post said.
The race will be held in New York City to increase the exposure of the sport, and a majority of the bigger shoe companies will be there.
“Those kind of reps are gonna be on site, so if you come out and have a big day, they’re gonna see,” Post said. “They [will] probably be contacting people right there for opportunities, so I’m hoping something like that could happen for me this weekend.”
Eric was recruited out of Chantilly High School in Chantilly, Va. and received a scholarship to attend the University of Florida. Following three stress fractures in his shins throughout his freshman year, he redshirted for track in the spring to save his eligibility.
Frustrated by his freshman-year struggles, Eric decided in June 1998 to leave Florida and enroll at JMU. All the scholarships were already taken, so he joined the cross country team as a walk-on. He was on scholarship by the next semester.
“They didn’t contact me or anything, it was just kind of me reaching out to JMU,” Eric said.
In 1998, his first cross country season, JMU won the CAAs and finished ninth in the NCAA championships. The 1999 cross country team won the conference again and was ranked as high as fifth in the NCAA before being set back by injuries and struggling in the championships, finishing 27th. During his final cross country season, the team finished second in the conference, with no NCAA appearance.
Madison cut 10 sports last year after JMU’s Board of Visitors voted Sept. 29, 2006, “to approve a plan to bring the JMU Athletics program into compliance with Title IX.” Seven men’s and three women’s varsity teams were eliminated. Men’s cross country, indoor and outdoor track were among the casualties, and Post followed the situation closely.
“It was great being [at JMU], but now it’s kind of hard to look back and be real proud of it considering there’s nothing left of it,” Post said.
While Eric did experience success at JMU, he was disappointed by not attaining All-America status and refers to that as “unfinished business.”
“Anytime you’ve got some unfinished business, you’re doing what you can to make up for it,” Eric said. “I just knew I was capable of doing more than I did. Qualifying for the trials definitely validated all the hard work.”
Post, 27, teaches math and coaches cross country at Centreville High School, in Centreville, Va. and is married with one son, Elijah.
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