BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Today we continue SamfordSports.com's series giving alumni, fans and friends an in-depth video interview focused on the lives of our student-athletes, coaches and staff in the wake of COVID-19. In Friday's 12th episode, Jonathan McAfoos visits with former track & field and cross-country star Karisa Nelson.
 
Nelson was a standout on the track and field and cross-country teams from the fall of 2014 to the spring of 2019. During her career, Nelson won multiple Southern Conference titles, earned All-America honors, and won the 2017 NCAA National Championship in the indoor mile. Nelson's national title marked Samford's first-ever NCAA Division I national championship.


 
Nelson is currently a professional track athlete, based in Seattle. She talked about the process of becoming a professional athlete.
 
"Towards the end of your running career, if you're good enough to go pro, you'll start being approached by companies," Nelson said. "I had three companies approach me, Brooks Running, Atlanta Track Club and Saucony based in Boston. So, we all talked and I visited all of the places and I chose Brooks as my favorite place to go. So, now they pay me to run and I'm based in Seattle, which is awesome."
 
Prior to moving to Seattle, Nelson assisted the Samford cross-country program as a volunteer coach during the fall of 2019.
 
"It was really awesome to give back, I loved it," Nelson said. "It wasn't like I was getting paid or anything, but it was just a lot of fun to do. It gave me a chance to hold on to that college experience a little longer."
 
Nelson said, after being an athlete her entire life, it was good to see things through the eyes of a coach.
 
"It was really cool to see it from the coaching point of view," Nelson said. "I never knew the strain of cross-country season for coaches. But, the races are incredible. Seeing the athletes do great in a race is just such a high."
 
Based in Seattle, Nelson's area was the first in the United States to have an outbreak of COVID-19 cases. She was actually out of town when the outbreak first started, but eventually, she had to get back to Seattle.
 
"In mid-January, we had just flown to Albuquerque, where we do our altitude training and we were going to be there for a month," Nelson said. "And then we find something on the news that says the first case of COVID-19 is in Seattle, Washington. I was just like shoot, this is happening, it's in the U.S. And then, a couple of weeks later, you see a thousand cases in Seattle. I was just so glad to be in Albuquerque at the time.
 
"After I was in Albuquerque, I went home (to Alabama) in March, and things had really started blowing up, things were getting really dangerous," Nelson said. "I was back in Brewton, Alabama, and I was actually debating if I should go back to Seattle, because it was actually so bad. But, I ended up going back because I felt like I just wanted to be with my team. I really want Seattle to feel like home, so I need to spend some time there."
 
The pandemic has also affected the way she trains. Nelson talked about the changes she has had to make due to the outbreak.
 
"I have to run alone now, which is kind of hard," Nelson said. "It's been eight weeks since social distancing started, and at first I had my teammate and roommate Allie Oates to run with, but then she got injured, so for the past six weeks, I've been on the own, and it's really hard. It's not like I'm doing four-mile jogs and just have to entertain myself for that long, I'm doing eight-mile, 12-mile runs. So, it's like an hour and a half that I have to try and figure out ways to entertain myself."
 
A lot of races she was scheduled to run in, of course, have been canceled. She said she is still hoping to get a couple of races in during the summer.
 
"As far as races go, everything has been canceled for May and most of June," Nelson said. "And on top of that, the Olympics have been moved back, which is huge. Honestly, it'd a good thing for me, because I wasn't quite ready this year. So, that gives me more time to build and try and make the team next year. We still have a couple of races that have not been canceled in June, it's the Sunset Tour in southern California, so hopefully they don't cancel that and we can still compete. We actually might still have an outdoor U.S. Championship in August."
 
Prior to the pandemic, Nelson was able to compete in part of indoors, though an injury kept her out for part of the indoor season. She talked about the races she did get to compete in this year.
 
"I've only done two races this year," Nelson said. "One was to qualify for USAs, and I actually didn't realize that I had qualified for USAs until the exact day before. Some girl was scratched and they said, Karisa, you're in, yes! So, that was great. I was injured all through indoor, but we're coming back from that and I feel like I am in really good shape and ready to go."
 
Nelson talked about some of the goals she has in front of her that she would like to accomplish once things open back up.
 
"I've got to take it one step at a time," Nelson said. "First, I've got to finish top three at USAs or at the Olympic Trials to get me to either the World Championships or the Olympics. Then, of course, once I make that, I would love to get a medal. An Olympic medal seems like a pretty solid goal."