She continued running into her forties and set a world masters record in the indoor mile for the 45+ age category. Nesbit is now the head men's and women's varsity cross country coach at Chapel Hill High School.
It was in cross country running that Nesbit first made her impact in national level competition and she ran at the USA Cross Country Championships while in college. She place 32nd in 1982 then 38th in 1983, but quickly improved to 11th place at the 1984 meet. At the 1985 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships she finished eighth in the two miles race and came 14th in cross country late that year. She struggled with the transition out of college and are contemplating retirement from the sport she began working with a new coach, Harry Wilson, upon the advice of former college mate Jim Cooper.[1]
Nesbit managed only eleventh in the 3000 m at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 1987, but was much higher placed the following year, taking the runner-up spot behind Lynn Jennings. At the separately held United States Olympic Trials she was back down the order, ending 17th in the 10,000 meters. This was last place by some distance, but she persevered until the finish, driven on by memories of her late father. She failed to break into the top of the American elite that decade, finishing 13th at the 1988 USA Cross Country and tenth at the 1989 USA Outdoor 3000 m. A plantar fasciitis injury interrupted her career in 1989 to 1991, but she reflected that she had been doing too much training and welcomed the change.[1]
National and international success
Nesbit returned to action 1992 and was an improved runner. She was fifth in the 3000 m at the USA Indoor Championships and then placed fourth over that distance at the 1992 United States Olympic Trials.[1] Although she missed the Olympic spot, this performance led to her first international selection and she finished fourth at the 1992 IAAF World Cup in Havana.[7] She missed the 1993 season but returned to take her first national podium in the 3000 m at the 1994 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in third. She achieved that same placing at the USA Indoor Championships, which brought her another international call-up.[1] She was among the leaders at the 1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships and claimed the 3000 m bronze medal one place behind compatriot Lynn Jennings.[8] This was the first and ultimately Nesbit's only medal for the United States.
Nesbit continued running past her late thirties and won her first national masters division title over the 5K run road event in 2002. She set American masters record in the 1500 m and indoor mile run. Her best for the indoor mile is a world record for the 45–49 age group.[2]
Personal life
She married her first husband, Bill Kerwin in the early 1990s and the pair had a daughter, Sarah Jane, around 1993.[1] She had two further daughters, Rosie and Lizzie, and after divorce married her second husband, Dave.[2][18]
