MALIBU, Calif. – The impression many people get of law school from movies such as The Paper Chase or Legally Blonde, is that it’s equally demanding, time-consuming and stressful for all those involved.

 

Law school students are portrayed as a step above the elite, constantly cramming for exams, carefully examining and reviewing case studies, and doing little else besides eating, sleeping and studying. But a fifth-year Pepperdine graduate student by the name of Cole Feldman is taking the extra steps (in miles, yards and meters) to shatter that nose-to-the-grindstone stereotype.

 

Feldman, who came to Pepperdine this summer from Drake University, is not only able to complete his law school responsibilities within the course of the day, but he can also squeeze in a few hours of running in the morning and time to hang out with his teammates from the Waves’ cross country squad at night.

 

“The balancing act hasn’t been bad at all,” Feldman said. “Classes generally start at 9 a.m., but I can make it up there in time from my 6:30 a.m. practice. I just have to make sure I get to bed and wake up early.”

 

Feldman’s typical day consists of three hours of class time followed by another three or four hours of studying, which he can work on up until dinner time. He then makes sure to set aside at least two hours to catch up with friends while watching some television.

 

For Feldman, these last few hours of his day provide a brief, yet pleasant, respite from the daily routine of law school.

 

Feldman first became interested in studying law while as an undergrad majoring in accounting at Drake. One of his required classes there was business law, and that course, combined with an internship at a Des Moines law firm, convinced him to extend his education at Pepperdine.

 

“I just wanted to try something new,” Feldman said with regards to choosing a law school. “So I went to California and saw a bunch of schools, and I ended up choosing Pepperdine over Iowa. It’s a real cool campus here.”

 

One of the first calls Feldman made after being accepted to the Pepperdine School of Law was to cross country head coach Robert Radnoti.

 

Now in his third year as head coach, Radnoti wasn’t entirely sure Feldman could handle the rigors of law school while competing for the Waves. But Feldman showed up from Iowa in great running shape, which in turn, allowed Radnoti to become more flexible with the grad student’s schedule.

 

“The summer before any cross country season is critical and Cole did a really good job of taking care of his fitness regimen in Iowa,” Radnoti said. “I want all our students to be successful and I know he can thrive in law school, which is very important. But this entire idea has been his call.”

 

If Feldman is missing anything with regards to cross country, it might be a little bit of the camaraderie the teams experience when they go running off campus to the beaches of Santa Monica or the secluded trails off Mulholland Drive. Oftentimes, the locations are too far away for Feldman to come back to campus in time to clean up and get to class. He also missed this past weekend’s Stanford Invitational due to class even though he really wanted to make the trip north to compete.

 

“He was itching to go with us to Stanford, but I had to make the decision for him to stay behind and catch up on his studies,” Radnoti said. “And maybe he’s missing out on some of the camaraderie, but overall, I believe he’s fitting in well with the brotherhood. He’s really providing upperclassman-like leadership while quickly becoming one of our top runners, and he’s feeling good about it.”

 

Feldman’s anywhere from three to five years older than a lot of the guys on his team, many of whom are either freshmen or sophomores, but the difference in ages hasn’t been a cause for concern. When Feldman talks of his teammates, rather than noticing the dissimilarities between them, he focuses on what they have in common.

 

Their one collective trait is that they’re all new to Pepperdine.

 

“It’s not a big deal that I’m older because we’re all new and I don’t think of my teammates as being young,” Feldman said. “We’ve gotten along real well and we’re all good friends. I’ll give advice if needed, especially if one of the guys just out of high school needs help with running an 8K, but we’re all equals.”

 

Feldman will be surrounded by friends this weekend as his old team from Drake University will be making the 1,700-mile trek out to Malibu for Saturday’s Pepperdine Invitational. Drake is one of 14 universities slated to compete in a competitive field that also features Cal State Fullerton and Northridge, USC and UC Irvine.

 

With a baker’s dozen of high school races serving as bookends to the collegiate races, the Pepperdine campus should expect to see over 2,000 cross country runners scattered across Alumni Park along with their friends and family.

 

“I’m excited for the meet,” said Feldman, who’s hoping to post a time under 26 minutes on the 8K course. “My Drake teammates are coming out and it’s going to be fun to race against and hang out with them over the weekend.”

 

While Feldman has busied himself this week getting in shape for Saturday’s race, Radnoti and others within the Pepperdine Athletic Department have been working on this invitational for months.

 

Not only is the head coach and administration concerned with running a fair and exciting race, but they’re also taking care of a lot of little things from organizing ticket sales to gathering volunteers to running electricity to the timing devices and stat monitors.

 

It’s taking a small village to run this invitational.

 

“I’m treating this meet like a business and our success will be defined by our customers’ response, primarily the participating student-athletes and coaches,” Radnoti said. “The feedback was overwhelmingly positive last year and I suspect it will be again this year. If the student-athletes are happy, then it makes all the work we’ve put into hosting this event worthwhile.”

 

The weather forecast for Saturday morning isn’t especially promising, but a little bit of rain should not detract from Pepperdine’s claim that it runs on the ‘most beautiful cross country course in the nation.’ The green grass and trees of Alumni Park combined with an ocean view and small lake to run around provides competitors and spectators alike with a memorable experience they’ll keep with them for years to come.

 

The competition combined with location inspires Radnoti to believe that he’ll soon have one of the nation’s showcase cross country meets at his home course on an annual basis.

 

Away from the organizational aspect of the meet, Radnoti also has two teams to coach this Saturday, but he doesn’t seem too particularly concerned with team goals.

 

“I have more expectations for individuals rather than the teams,” he said. “Those who raced at Hawai’i and Stanford the last few weeks are being asked to take it easier. I want them to consider this more of a tempo run. However, those who didn’t go with us are being asked to race and compete.”

 

Of course, both those strategies will be scrapped when it comes to those Wave runners who are afflicted with either a nagging injury or lingering illness. Radnoti said the flu bug has already infiltrated his women’s team and is just beginning to affect his guys.

 

“If they’re really sick, I don’t want them running at all or going at it 100 percent,” he said. “We all need to get healthy over the next three weeks, because these colds can hang on and we athletes can’t seem to get over them quickly enough. Of course, I’ve been around enough of these colds long enough to become immune.”

 

Feldman appears to be in good shape as he approaches this race, and while he and a lot of the other top guys have been running together well as a pack this season, he’s going to make an effort to finish near the top.

 

“The season’s gone great so far, although I’d like to be doing better – but I think that’s true for anyone,” he said. “I don’t get as nervous anymore; I’m pretty much past that stage with five years of experience ... so I’d like to think I can get under 26 minutes for this race or at least 26:30 or faster. I want to run with the leaders.”   

 

The 2008 Pepperdine Invitational begins at 8 a.m. with several small high school races, and the university races begin at 11:30 a.m. with the women’s 6K.

 

Feldman begins his 8K run at noon.

 

The larger high schools and the ASICS varsity girls and boys sweepstake races will run from 1 to 5:30 p.m.

 

Please click here for more information on the Pepperdine Invitational.