New Zealand middle and long-distance runners have had more success on the international stage than runners from the United States.
But that could soon change.
This is the view of former Otago runner Caden Shields who has completed two years of a three-year $US30,000 athletics scholarship at Purdue University.
He is home for three months during the long university vacation.
US distance runners have not performed well in major international events such as the world championships or Olympic Games. Shields believes the trend is changing and he expects to see US runners in the medal count at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
This change was demonstrated two months ago when Chris Solinsky ran 26min 59.60sec for the 10,000m in California.
"He is the first white man to break 27 minutes for the 10,000m on the track," Shields said.
"There are now four United States runners under 13 minutes for the 5000m and several who have broken 3min 30sec for 1500m."
Bernard Lagat holds the US 1500m record at 3min 29.30sec and last month in Oslo he added the 5000m at 12min 54.12sec.
"There are a lot of good runners in the United States who are coming close to making a breakthrough," Shields said.
US runners used to favour the interval training system that suited the controlled university college system.
But more of them are now adopting the Lydiard system.
There are also more opportunities for former students to continue their athletics with major meetings outside the university system.
Freshman students are not allowed to race in college but they are now becoming part of athletics teams and are put on long distance training schedules to develop their aerobic base.
"We call them the Red Shirts at Purdue," Shields said., "They can train but can't race. There is now a better balance in the college system between racing and training."
Shields has thrived on the tough competitive racing in the US and has lowered all his times.
His 3000m time dropped by 17 seconds to 8min 18.51sec when he finished second in a dual meet against Indiana University on the indoor track at Bloomington.
He also became the first male athlete from Purdue University in 22 years to compete in the NCAA cross-country championship final when he finished tenth at the Great Lakes regional 10km cross-country championships, in 31min 22.20sec.
It was a personal best time in a cross-country event by a minute. Shields ran 29min 56sec in the Penn Relays and this time puts him top equal with Jason Woolhouse on the current New Zealand ranking list for the 10,000m.
He reduced his 5000m time to 14min 21sec.
To reach the NCAA finals on the track Shields would have to run the 10,000m in 29min 10sec and the 5000m in under 14 minutes.
The 10,000m final will be won in a time of around 28min 50sec and the 5000m in a sub 13min 50sec time.
"You have to aim high in the United States," Shields said.
"There are a lot of foreign runners competing in NCAA events and this has lifted the standards.
"They race aggressively. Representing the college is the big thing, they have a lot of motivation and put a lot into it."
Shields wants to represent New Zealand at Commonwealth and Olympic Games in the future.
"I'm now race hardened and I should get the pay back when I compete in Commonwealth and Olympic Games," he said.
"I'm learning to cope with pressure situations."
There is a lot of travelling involved going to college meets.
"If it is a meet in the mid-west we would travel by bus for 10 hours the day before," Shields said.
"For a closer meet we would travel for five hours on the day of the meet."
There are 25 runners in the men's distance squad, including Simon Rodgers, from Wellington.
Camile Buscomb, from Hamilton, and Alice Feslie-Holmes, of Wellington, in the women's squad. Shields is continuing the health science course he started at the University of Otago and is considering doing a masters degree when he completes his under-graduate degree next year.
Purdue University has 39,000 students and is in the city of West Lafayette, in Indiana, in the Midwest.
