At the Boston University Last Chance Meet on Friday, Feb. 28, Alex Masai of the Hofstra Pride track team raced against both collegiate and professional runners, achieving a program-best 5,000-meter indoor time of 13:28.55. Masai placed third in his heat, 13th overall at the meet and first among college athletes. Masai also claimed the third-fastest NCAA Division I time for the 2019-2020 indoor track season.
He was going to nationals.
“Qualifying for nationals indoors and then [getting] the fastest time of the program, it meant a lot to me and for the program,” Masai said, speaking over the phone. “I felt like I prepared the way for other students [such as] freshmen [or] people who are looking to come to Hofstra. People [will now] see that Hofstra is not only a cross country [team] but a track and field team.”
However, qualifying did not come as a shock: Masai knew early on what he had accomplished.
“Like halfway, [at] about 3,000 meters of the race, I already knew I was going to qualify. I could see the times were improving. [I was about] a second faster every 400 meters than the plan was,” Masai said. “Going into the last kilometer, I already knew I [had] qualified.”
But after arriving in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field National Championship, he was greeted with devastating news: the NCAA announced on Thursday, March 12, that both the meet and the entire outdoor track season were cancelled due to COVID-19.
“I was disappointed. I believe I was in the best shape of my life,” Masai said. “[It was an] ultimate blow to someone like me who was in their final season and preparing to end in the best way possible. After the announcement … I asked myself, ‘What am I going to do?’ I thought this was my best season and now it’s cancelled.”
When the news broke, Masai was sitting in his hotel room alone. He had just returned from a run, taken a shower and then eaten lunch. Masai heard a knock on the door and opened it to find his head coach, Vince Giambanco, with the news.
“At that moment I just went quiet for like ten minutes. Nobody talked … All of us were just quiet,” Masai said. “Everything that went [through] my head was just about the preparation and all about [what it had] taken me to be there.”
“Is this the last time I’m racing?” Masai asked himself, sitting alone in his room that night. He did not know if he would be ending his collegiate career standing on a podium or sitting on a hotel bed.
But when asked if he would be taking advantage of the NCAA’s new rule allowing spring sport athletes another year of eligibility, he casually said four words.
“Yeah, I’m coming back.”
After speaking to various people, including his brother and sister – both accomplished professional runners and two of his biggest role models – the back-to-back Colonial Athletic Association cross country champion decided to return to the Pride for another year, where he will be pursuing his master’s degree and setting his sights on being victorious on the track.
“Definitely my goal [for next season] is to pick up from where I left [off],” Masai said. “I want to come back in the best shape of my life and win titles again.”
After returning from Albuquerque, Masai has remained on Hofstra’s campus, despite most students leaving when the university switched to remote learning. He keeps himself busy with video games, movies, and of course, running.
However, his normal training regimen has changed greatly. With the closure of the team’s regular training ground, the Mitchell Athletic Complex, Masai has shifted focus solely to road runs and the treadmill, unable to do speed workouts on the track.
“I can’t access [transportation] to go off campus and go somewhere,” Masai said. “I don’t drive. I just use things that are available within my distance and nearby me.”
Despite the hurdle of a closed track, Masai still runs every day. It is what he loves and what he strives to be the best at. And it is what will be on his mind through the summer, the school year and every day until he completes his final track season in a Hofstra uniform.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
