Track is home to Robison family

Do you think Nate Robison, BYU's emerging middle-distance runner, feels any pressure to perform?

His grandfather is the tall, white-haired gentleman standing by the track, Clarence Robison, the former Olympic distance runner and coaching legend.

His head coach is Mark Robison, who also happens to be his father.

One of his teammates is Aaron Robison, his little (6-foot-6) brother.

(Even his top rival is a Robison — Grant, an All-American from Stanford whom some believe might be somehow related to the Provo clan — he's also a Mormon).

Oh, yes, and the Cougars compete in the annual Robison Invitational track meet, named after Nate's grandfather.

"I'm sure it puts a little pressure on him," says Clarence. "But I think he enjoys it." Carrying the name Robison onto the track at BYU is like being a Rockne on the Notre Dame football team. Clarence Robison is to track what LaVell Edwards is to football. They didn't name the track stadium after him, but they should have. For four decades Robison ran a national-class track and field program at BYU. A few years after he retired, BYU gave the job to Clarence's son, Mark.

The best thing Mark did for himself was recruit the kid down the hallway in the family home. Nate, a long-striding 6-foot-2 sophomore, has broken into the national-class ranks this year. He ran a sub four-minute mile indoors. He placed 10th in the NCAA national indoor championships in a race that was so close and tightly packed at the finish that less than two seconds separated first place from 10th. Last weekend, Robison used his trademark finishing kick to rally to a third-place finish in the 1,500 at the Stanford Invitational with a time of 3:43.90 — roughly a 4:00 mile — losing by one second to Olympian Michael Stember and Grant Robison.

"I'm really proud of what he has done," says Clarence. "He's a good one. He certainly has a shot at being a national champion. He looks very promising."

In other words, as BYU's distance coach, Ed Eyestone, puts it, "He's a chip off the block."

At Provo High School, Nate ran a 4:09 mile, the fastest ever by a Utah prep at the time. After serving a two-year church mission, he resumed training last year and had his break-through race while winning the 1,500 in the Robison Invitational. Clarence Robison was standing at the finish line with Mark, choking back tears.

"I guess he's got some good genes," distance coach Ed Eyestone told them.