Not many people would trade going to school in the nation’s largest city for attending school near the world’s largest truck stop, but the Iowa women’s cross-country program managed to lure graduate student Megan Lessard away from Columbia University in New York City to run for the Hawkeyes.

Lessard said she will miss the “fast pace” of the Big Apple, but she is prepared to bring her own fast pace to the Iowa program.

Because she only competed for three track and cross-country seasons at Columbia, Lessard is still eligible to run for one more year.

“After cross-country nationals last year, one of my coaches said I should think about going to grad school to use up my last year of eligibility,” the New Hampshire native said.

She noted Iowa was “the right fit” because it has both the public-health program and the running program she has been looking for.

And women’s cross-country head coach Layne Anderson said the program is “fortunate” to have Lessard on board.

Lessard’s top mile time is 4:56, and her best time in the 6-kilometer race is a 20:53, which Anderson noted is the currently the best time for this year’s squad.

“On paper, she is our top person,” Anderson said. “She’ll bring an element to our team that I think we’ve never had.”

During the 2008 cross-country season, Lessard placed 58th out of 200-plus runners in the NCAA cross-country championship. That same year, she was named Columbia Class of 2009’s Scholar Athlete and was honored as an All-Ivy Academic.

Lessard said she thinks she has an advantage being the oldest on the team.

“Being a fifth-year runner, I’ve experienced firsthand waiting patiently for your year to come. I know everyone here is talented, and they all have it in them to do well eventually,” she said.

The only intimidation the 22-year old showed going into this season was the thought of getting injured or ill. She noted some past health issues, including iron deficiency and a fracture in her right tibia — both of which affected her performance during her time at Columbia.

Still, Anderson noted Lassard as one of the five women he expects to finish at the front of the pack consistently throughout the season.

“Megan hasn’t been with this team for very long,” Anderson said. “I don’t expect her to jump right in as a leader of the rest of the team, but I think she will lead them through her performance and her work ethic.”

Lessard said she will miss the “supportive community” she had on the East Coast, but now that she is older, she doesn’t need as much support as she did at the beginning of her career.

She also said she left the congestion of NYC early this summer to train and work in northern Minnesota, an experience that “gave [her] time to think.”

“Running in Central Park has its perks,” Lessard said. “But it’s not the same as running in the Midwest.”