Standing outside of the Multi-Sport Facility dressed in his running shoes, shorts and watch, freshman Ryan Foster stood laughing with his teammates. Foster, like the rest of the runners, was getting ready for another late afternoon practice.

After meeting with the coaches and receiving their workout, the runners sprinted out of the doors and into the parking lot. As the pack of runners hit the sidewalk, Foster and some fellow freshman veered to the left of the lot, while the veterans ran straight ahead to complete a different workout.

Although this isn't a daily occurrence for the team, the freshmen are learning the adjustment to running in college requires more training, less racing and more patience.

"I've been doing base training, a lot of miles I guess for probably about six months now," freshman Ryan Foster said. "I'm getting itchy feet, I want to race again."

Foster is one of four true freshmen on the Nittany Lion roster and his excitement is echoed by fellow freshman Chris Cipro. Both did not crack into the team's top seven to make the trip to Eugene, Ore., but their extra training is common for freshmen.

Focusing on training freshman year is something coach Beth-Alford Sullivan stresses. She wants the runners to be healthy enough so they can benefit from their workouts. She knows the transition is a learning experience both physically and mentally for her athletes, but wants them to believe the hard work will pay off in the long run.

Foster admitted not being able to run in every meet makes him more eager for his next race. Just talking about competing at Penn State National on Oct. 17, his eyes brightened with the thought of lining up at the starting line and gauging his fitness level.

Cipro believes their longer training schedule will yield exciting results in the weeks to come. He admitted the big jump in training was made a lot easier by slowly progressing into the workouts and building for the end of the season.

The lengthier training miles and making the jump from a 5,000-meter race, to the collegiate distance of 8,000 meters is something Cipro described as 'very different physically.'

Freshmen are often limited in the number of races they participate in, but Vince McNally has been an exception. Each runner enters the program with a different training background and for McNally the transition from high school to college has been very smooth. By consistently being among the team's top five finishers, McNally's jump is rare for a freshman.

"I think that your freshman year is just kind of one of those years where you got to get the experience under your belt," Alford-Sullivan said. "You might not always perform at the highest level, but if we can keep the training going, the outcome should be there for you."

Even senior Tyler McCandless recalls his first year at Penn State after transferring from the University of Maryland and learning to focus on being patient with training and building for long term improvements.

"The best thing you can tell the younger guys is let's compete well at the end of the season," McCandless said. "Stay patient, be consistent

and the results will play out at the end."