DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – That Deja Davis is pretty smart.

Think about it. If you're going to subject yourself to running 10,000 meters, shouldn't you do it in the most comfortable environment possible?

Distance races run at night. Temperatures are way cooler. Things are less hectic. The lights make for atmosphere. Heck, some of the meets even play tunes during the 25 circuits around the course. It's actually kind of fun running while Maurice White and Earth, Wind and Fire is asking if you do, in fact, remember the 21^st night of September? Ba de ya.

"It's very relaxing," the Bethune-Cookman graduate student said. "With all the training, the race is almost like practice."    

Friday night at the Embry-Riddle Spikes Classic was all that as Davis won with a time of 38:52.8 while lapping the competition in a way not seen in Daytona since Richard Petty in the good old days of NASCAR. Only four other competitors, one of them being promising sophomore teammate Brittany Gill, came in on the lead lap.

Downside? There wasn't exactly legions cheering her. There was Quamecha Morrison, waiting patiently to win the high jump and place in the top ten nationally with just one attempt, Strength and Conditioning Coach James Whitener, Distance Coach Garon Jackson, a few other stragglers and a weary Head Coach Donald Cooper, anxious to go home after being on site since 7 a.m.

"Yep. You see my fan club," Davis said.

It's a track thing, though. We're all about the sprints and the relays. Add the jumps here at BCU.

"Distance races have never been the flashiest," Cooper said. "The 10,000 is the one where you go to the snack bar or the restroom, then come back and see what's happening at the end. You learn to enjoy the 10,000 – it's the most grueling race and these young men and women do it gracefully."

Davis has been doing it gracefully and passionately since arriving at BCU from Mississippi Valley State. She made her championship level breakthrough during the indoor season with a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title in the 3,000 meters. She owns the school outdoor records at both the 5,000 and 10,000.

BCU needed a distance specialist, and Davis has filled the role.

"Coach Jackson and I couldn't fathom  what we were going to do post Kadian Dunkley," Cooper said. "We convinced Deja to move up to the 10,000 and move down to the mile and score for us at conference. She enjoys running the 10,000 on a competitive level … that says a lot about her."

Davis appreciates where she is and what she can mean.

"I'm trying to prove that African-American female athletes can have an impact at the distance event, not just the bikini athletes," Davis said. "It's been amazing to be able to come here and leave your own legacy."

Who needs a fan club?