So, with the faith of the coaching staff, she came back this semester.

"They give everyone their fair chance," Grialou says. "If you're willing to go out there and put your time into it, that's all that matters."

But the Leverett House resident downplays her performance in what is, essentially, her rookie season.

"Though my times are up there, I feel others can still teach me a lot," she says.

Grialou sees advantages and disadvantages with her transplant from sunny California to the metropolitan area of Boston.

"The people here are different, a little more intense, but more sincere," she says. "That carries over on the people on the team, too. I like them all."

"Julie's a really fun person to be with..[She] enjoys herself," women's cross-country Captain Katie Toner says. "She stuck with it, which inspired us."

Even after all the success she has had this season, she is still keeping everything in perspective as the women's team heads to Lehigh, Penn. for the ECAC championships and a possible shot at the national title.

"I'd like to see our team go to Nationals," says Grialou of her main athletic goal.

Not only that, she keeps athletics in its proper perspective in comparison to her Harvard academic career.

"It's [cross-country] a big part of my life, but it's not all of my life," the biological anthropology major says. "It's a big enough part of my life so that I can learn something from it."

As for Grialou's future plans, she would like to continue her involvement in the field of athletics.

"I would like to get involved in sports medicine," she says. "I actually don't want to be a doctor, but maybe a physical therapist or a sports trainer."

And if she does, you can be sure that Julie Grialou can find success. Whether lacing up a pair of racing spikes to run a long race or gearing up for the longer race of life, you can expect her to finish in front of the pack.