Vanessa Hunter was an NCAA Division I soccer player at the University of Washington, then played professionally in Germany. Now she is an Olympic Trials qualifier in the marathon.

Boston Athletic Association: You didn’t start running competitively until you were in your mid-twenties – how did you first become involved in the sport and when did you first realize that you had a future as a distance runner?

Vanessa Hunter: Well, both of my brothers had been heavily involved in running throughout high school, especially in cross country. I had always wanted to run but couldn’t because it was offered during the same season as soccer. The idea of completing a marathon seemed like the ultimate challenge and something I always wanted to do. I remember picking up a running magazine in college and thinking, ‘One day I’m going to run one of those things.’

To be honest, I never thought, ‘Wow, I could be really good at this,’ but more like ‘Hmmm . . . What do I have to do to run faster?’ I think competitive spirit is what turns regular runners into competitive runners.

B.A.A.: You played Division I soccer at the University of Washington – could you talk about the differences between a team game and the dynamics of an individual sport like distance running?

V.H.: Sometimes I REALLY miss playing soccer! No matter what sport you do, if you’re competitive, you’re always going to set the bar pretty high. But with team sports you rely on others just as much as yourself and the pressure one may feel to perform is sometimes mitigated by the collegial atmosphere. So at the end of a game, while sure, the reality is that Division I athletics are really competitive and people want to win, whether you played ‘good’ or ‘bad’ is a subjective thing. With running, things are much more cut and dry. You run, you see your time and you either hit your goal or you don’t. Sometimes that can be pretty mentally challenging. At the same time – running can give you such absolute highs (and lows). Hitting your goal can feel so great and you just can’t get that same feeling of elation and personal accomplishment from team sports. There are definite pluses and minuses to both.