BOULDER — When he runs his final collegiate race Wednesday night in the NCAA Championships at Oregon’s historic Hayward Field, Pierce Murphy will have plenty at stake beyond pride in Colorado’s highly respected distance running program. If he runs well, it could set him up for a chance to run as a professional, as so many CU runners have done before him.
The mere fact he is one of the runners to watch in the NCAA 10,000 meters five years after coming to CU as a “recruited walk-on” is remarkable, given coach Mark Wetmore’s ability to attract highly regarded recruits from across America.