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How you can learn to control that adrenaline rush and use it to your advantage on race day.
One quality that makesrunning a unique sport is its unpredictability, and the Olympic Trials for the marathon are no exception. The cardinal rule of the trials is anything canhappen. A runner favored to win might make an error, and unexpected talentcould step out of the shadows to run the race of a lifetime.
Among the women expectedto keep us on the edge of our seats this year in the trials in Boston on April 20, are Colleen De Reuck, and Massachusetts natives Deena Kastor, Blake Russelland Kate O’Neill.
A native of South Africa,De Reuck is a four-time Olympian (she competed three times for South Africabefore becoming a U.S. citizen in 2000). De Reuck ran a record fast qualifyingtime in the trials in St. Louis in 2004 with 2:28:40.
While placing second inthe 2004 trials behind De Reuck, Deena Kastor went on to win a bronze medal inthe Athens Olympic games, becoming the first American to win a women's marathonmedal since Joan Benoit Samuelson in 1984. Kastor’s marathon accomplishmentsinclude winning the 2005 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon (2:21:25) and the 2006Flora London Marathon, where she became the first U.S. woman to break the2:20:00 time barrier with a time of 2:19:36. Kastor won the USA Women’s 10Kchampionship in Boston in October 2007 on a course similar to the one plannedfor the trials with a time of 32:01, boding well for her performance thismonth. “It looks like a wonderful course for the women toeing the line nextApril,” Kastor told reporters during a press conference following her win. “Ithink the criterium course allows the crowds to see things changing andevolving over the course of the race, which is exciting. …[and] to be able tosee your competition at all times [on the course's long straightaways] is greatfor all of the athletes.”
In the 2004 trials,favorite Blake Russell led the race from the gun, only to fade to fourth place,missing her spot on the Olympic team by 34 seconds. Russell is back this yearwith Olympic dreams and is again favored to qualify. Since 2004 Russell hasquit her job as a physical therapist, is sponsored by Reebok and has moved fromActon, Mass., to Monterrey Calif., to train full time. “To come so close….itjust makes me more motivated to make the team this time,” Russell said in aninterview with the Boston Athletic Association.
Kate O’Neill, a native ofMilton, Mass., graduated from Yale University as a seven-time NCAAAll-American. Now a member of Team Running USA in Mammoth Lakes,Calif., (Kastor is her teammate) O’Neill was an Olympian in the 10K in 2004 andplaced third at her marathon debut at the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon toqualify for the trials. “There are a lot of people who could make the team,”she says. “Of course, Deena is so good and has been there before but there areso many others—Elva [Dryer], Blake [Russell] who trained here for years—andthere are so many women who could have a breakthrough day. That's what happenedthe last time,” she said, in reference to her Team Running USA teammate JenRhines who overtook Russell at mile 26 in 2004 to qualify for the team. Rhineshas qualified for the trials this year, but as of press time had not enteredthe race.
The U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Women's Marathon will be held on a spectator-friendly multi-loop coursein Boston and Cambridge, finishing at the famed Boston Marathon finish line onBoylston Street. Read more about the course and the qualifiers at www.bostontrials2008.com.
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