For Chloe Susset, running for the Abilene Christian cross country team is more than just staying in shape.

Chloe grew up in a small town of Clery Vexin, France, with a population of about 420 people. She dreamed of traveling all over the world, and soon realized her ticket would be her legs.

When she turned four years old she discovered her love of running after seeing the big shiny first place trophies. However, growing up in such a small town left her with dreams of traveling to many places, representing her country, studying at a great university and learning English.

“I come from a different culture and it was interesting and fun to learn the American, or, should I say, the Texan way of life,” Susset said. “However, I will not trade my skinny jeans for sweat pants, my VW Golf vehicle for a pickup truck or my crepes for pancakes.”

In France, she was selected for the French team after a couple of national titles on the French Steeplechase, a four-mile obstacle race similar to that of a horse steeplechase.

As a Wildcat, Susset has placed in many XC competitions. She finished eighth in the mile and fourth on the 1500. She was ranked No. 29 coming into nationals after Preliminaries and finals.

“I proved myself that no matter how sore and exhausted you feel, the yearly preparation pays off,” Susset said. “This year, I thought conference was going to be a piece of cake, but I quickly realized how much work it would take after losing to an easier course at Lamar University.”

As a student-athlete at ACU, Susset was offered an internship in the summer of 2011 for Nike Inc., in Beaverton, Ore. She spent her time there working with athletes and quickly becoming friends with many of her coworkers. She hopes to work for them after she is done with graduate school, of which she is applying to European schools.

Susset has been a spectacle to watch over the past few years and continues to make her senior season count. She has won many Southland Conference honors this season, including the Southland Conference Women’s Athlete of the Week. She placed first with a time of 18:07 at the season-opening 5K at the Bill Libby/McMurray Invitational.

Susset’s teammates have a few interesting things to say about her, both on the XC course and off.

“They told me I work as hard as anyone out there, sometimes too hard; and on an outside note, they told me I was a good cook,” Susset said.

She is proud of her achievements as a Wildcat and is still winning those big shiny trophies she looked to as a four-year-old. Her ticket has allowed her to travel not only over her homeland of France, but her dream has come true here in the States.

Susset and the rest of the team will compete in the Southland Conference Championships in Lake Charles, La. today.