TAKING up a sports scholarship in America attracts more than its share of doubters. On the surface there are many advantages of going to the States and while there are many who support the idea there is an equal amount of cynics. The tales of athletes being forever injured after being run into the ground in search of college dominance certainly wasn’t the picture painted by Claire Robson after her latest road race success after graduating with a Masters degree from Boston University. “I had a really fantastic time in America. It could not have been better,” said Robson soon after her victory in the Darlington 10k last Sunday. “The facilities we had at Boston were first-rate and couldn’t be faulted, which were backed up by excellent teams of coaches and physios. “In my case I didn’t need a physio very often for I had very few injuries in my time there even though I competed on a regular basis. “There were times when I said I felt I wasn’t well enough to race but I was never forced to race against my will. “As far as running athletes into the ground is concerned, I never came across anything like that and if anyone asked me for advice on whether to go to university in America or not, I would certainly tell them how much I enjoyed it. “I know there are a number of athletes who took up sports scholarships but after a while found it wasn’t for them. “But that doesn’t mean it’s the same for everyone. It certainly worked for me and I would advise anyone who has the chance to give it a go.” The 23-year-old Teesdale athlete has now won three road races since returning from the States including the North East Counties 5k Championships in Sunderland recently. Robson is expected to move to Sheffield in the future where she has a post working in sports equipment for the disabled, but she still plans to compete as often as possible in the North East during the coming months. “Since I’ve been in America I’ve not been able to compete in the cross-country championships here in the North East, but now that I’m back, I’ll be building up to run in the championships in December. “I’m really looking forward to that. It will be my first senior championship and it will be interesting to see where I stand.” | 
