Posted: February 11, 2004

Athletics: U.S. Women Head To Austin For Last Minute Trials Qualifiers

By David Monti

(c) 2004 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved < RaceResultsWeekly.com>

Time is running out for U.S. women who want to participate in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials Women's Marathon scheduled for Saturday, 03-Apr-2004 in St. Louis, Mo. The last day to run at least 2:48:00, the minimum standard for entering the race, is 05-Mar-2004, just 23 days from today.

Sunday's Motorola Austin Marathon may offer the best chance for a last ditch qualifier. With a gently sloping course which drops 3.2 meters per kilometer of race distance (total elevation loss of about 135 meters or about 440 feet) and cool temperatures, the race in Austin can be fast. Indeed, out of the 143 qualifiers for the Trials, six have qualified at Austin.

Aspiring qualifiers entered at Austin include Lupe Hegan of Loveland, Colo., who ran 2:50:23 at Austin in 2002; Ann Boyd Stewart of Ypsilanti, Mich., who ran 2:52:17 at Birmingham in 2002; Linda Huyck of Olympia, Wash., who ran 2:49:13 at Duluth in 2003; Marie Sample of Marshall, Minn., who ran 2:48:28 at St. Paul in 2003; Jennifer Compton of Portland, Ore., who ran 2:48:10 at Sacramento in 2002; and Lisa Spenner of Austin, Tx., who ran 2:48:52 in Austin in 2003.

However, with only 48 days between the race at Austin and the Trials in St. Louis, even those who qualify will have a difficult time recovering, and then rebuilding their training. But the lure of the Trials is incredibly strong, as one qualifier in the recent men's trials said, "The Trials are the Olympics for the regular guy."

Or gal, as the case may be.

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