Though most students have long since left Cambridge for home, one Harvard runner is beginning her summer vacation in a very different way.

A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, junior distance runner Claire Richardson is currently in Eugene, Ore., where she awaits the start of her 5,000-meter race in the finals of the NCAA national championships tomorrow.

On May 29, Richardson qualified for the national finals, placing 9th in the 5k at the NCAA regional championship meet. Her qualifying time of 16:31.83 is the third fastest in Harvard track and field history.

Richardson was one of three Crimson athletes present at the regional championships held at North Carolina A&T. The other two Harvard runners, freshman Carlyle Davis and senior Chas Gillespie, narrowly missed national qualification. Davis was ousted in the national quarterfinals, after running an impressive time of 2:07.37 in the 800, good for 16th place in the opening round of the event. Gillespie missed national championship qualification by a mere 5 spots, as he placed 17th in the national semifinals of the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:16.68.

The 2010 NCAA Track and Field Championships are taking place June 9-12, and Richardson’s NCAA Championship race is scheduled for tomorrow evening at 6:40pm PDT. Live results for the 5k and all other championship races can be found here: http://www.flashresults.com/2010_Meets/outdoor/NCAA/.