Californians Sweep Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials

July/August 2008 California Track & Running News / by Mark Winitz. Who would have hauled out their brooms and predicted a California sweep of the three Olympic team spots at last April’s U.S. Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials? Well, actually, I did. (See CTRN’s March/April issue.)

But as a California running beat reporter, that prediction was relatively easy. After all, keeping up with California’s distance runners, their prospects, and performances is my job.

The job for the athletes was a lot harder. They had to perform under pressure at the Trials in Boston on April 20.

“Physically, it was one of my easier marathons to recover from,” said Blake Russell (Pacific Grove), who placed third, securing an Olympic roster spot. “If anything, it’s the emotional drain—the stress leading up to it, and the excitement afterward—that’s probably been tougher than the physical aspect.”

On the basis of their coaches alone, the California trio were top contenders in my book. Consider this lineup of distance coaching excellence: Terence Mahon and Joe Vigil for Deena Kastor, Jack Daniels for Magdalena Lewy-Boulet, and Bob Sevene for Blake Russell.

Of course, a win by Deena Kastor (Mammoth Lakes) was on everyone’s charts.

Kastor, the Olympic women’s marathon bronze medalist in 2004.

Kastor, the U.S. recordholder (2:19:36).

Kastor, with the experience and the wheels.

Few doubted Kastor’s eventual triumph, even as she cautiously lurked in a wolf pack behind the surprise leader for more than 15 miles, and then caught her in the 24th mile.

Few were surprised that Kastor ran a conservative race, even in ideal conditions, on Boston’s specially designed, potentially fast, multiple-loop course.

“I accomplished my two major goals, first to make the team and secondly to win,” America’s premier female marathoner said. “Magdalena and Blake gave me quite a run for it. In the middle, I thought I might have misjudged it.”

Obviously, she didn’t. Kastor is a more mature marathoner than she was in 2004 when she struggled over the final miles at the Marathon Trials in St. Louis. There, Kastor finished second in what she said was a personally disappointing race. But in Boston, Kastor recorded the second-fastest time (2:29:35) in U.S. Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials history.

Few were surprised that Russell chose to bide her time in the same chase pack as Kastor. Russell, too, had learned a lesson in St. Louis, only her second marathon, where she ended up fourth after leading for almost 18 miles. Russell’s 26.2 milers since ’04, including a PR 2:29:10 at Chicago in 2005, made her a solid contender to make the ’08 Olympic team.

“I think it’s going to come down to strength,” Russell said this time around, at the pre-race press conference. “My coach [Bob Sevene] feels that it’s all about strength.”

Indeed it was, as Russell, keying off Kastor’s move, pulled away from Mary Akor (Hawthorne), held off pursuers, and finished strongly in third (2:32:40).

And what about the bold leader who shaped the complexion of the Trials race by forging an almost two-minute gap on the chase pack by halfway? Magdalena Lewy-Boulet (Oakland) surprised most onlookers with her front-running composure—at least, those onlookers who recognized her.

“Who’s that in the lead?” many spectators asked me as I watched the race unfold on Massachusetts Avenue and Memorial Drive, where the competitors passed by numerous times.

“Magdalena who?” they inquired.

The perplexity expressed by the knowledgeable Boston running fans was understandable. At the 2004 Trials, Lewy-Boulet finished fifth—close but not close enough, in no women’s land, almost forgotten. Her qualifying time for the ’08 Trials (2:42:38 at the ’06 New York City Marathon) was only the 43rd fastest among qualifiers, and it came after a rocky year in which she struggled with a plantar fascia problem. For the past several years, the naturalized U.S. citizen from Poland rarely ventured far afield to race (see the reasons below). Instead (as we Golden Staters know), she primarily raced (frequently) in California—particularly on the Pacific Association/USATF Road Racing Grand Prix Circuit.

For the Trials in Boston, Lewy-Boulet and her coach, Jack Daniels, had carefully put together a race plan that called for 2:30 pace.

To the Cal graduate’s credit, she stuck to it, even when no athletes accompanied her. Again, she found herself in no woman’s land, but this time way out in front. Later, both Kastor and Russell said that they didn’t realize that Lewy-Boulet was the front runner. If they had, they might have taken her more seriously and gone with her.

“The plan was to run the pace I had planned. It wasn’t to run by myself,” Lewy-Boulet said. “I went out in 1:14:30 (half marathon), so the pace wasn’t drastically fast. I expected the ladies to be there at the end.”

In contrast, at the ’04 Trials, Russell soloed to a swift—too swift—1:11:58 half-marathon split.

Running aficionados in California noted Lewy-Boulet’s race performances in the weeks leading up to the Trials, particularly her dominant win at the Across the Bay 12K and a 10,000m PR (32:33.02) on the track at Stanford. They knew, based on these races, that 2:30 marathon pace on Boston’s Trials course, wasn’t a stretch for her.

All told, it turned out well for Magda, whose 2:30:19 runnerup performance was one of 41 PRs among the Trials’ 124 finishers.

In fact, it turned out very well, indeed, for the three top Californians. Along with men’s Marathon Trials winner, Ryan Hall, Golden Staters fill four of the six marathon slots on the U.S. Olympic squad. That’s unprecedented for a single state.

“There was justice in the results,” longtime distance coach Bob Sevene said about the women’s contest. “The scenario could not have turned out better for Deena and the fourth- and fifth-place finishers from 2004.”

Sevene has seen a few of these Marathon Trials affairs since he coached Joan Benoit to a victory in the very first U.S. Olympic Women’s Marathon Trials in 1984.
“I felt going in that the three [eventual] qualifiers would make our best possible team,” he said.

Exercise physiologist Dr. David Martin is once again working with the women’s and men’s team members and their coaches to prepare them for the specific course and conditions of the Olympic marathons, as he did for Athens.

“I think we have three women going to Beijing who are looking to medal rather than just being happy to make the team,” Martin said. “I believe we have a very strong marathon team.”

Now, it’s on to the Games. I caught up with each of the three female Olympic marathon squad members just prior to CTRN’s editorial deadline in late May. CLICK HERE to find out what they had to say about their preparations for China.

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How Did Other Californians Fare at the U.S. Olympic Trials—Women's Marathon?

One hundred and forty-six women lined up for the start of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials–Women’s Marathon. And among the 21 starters and 15 finishers from California—the most of any state—there was elation and heartbreak at the finish line on Boston’s Boylston Street.

Linda Somers Smith (46, San Luis Obispo) set a U.S. age 45–49 record of 2:38:49 while placing 17th overall. Competing in her fourth Marathon Trials race, she smashed Joan Samuelson’s previous record of 2:42:28. (Samuelson finished the race in 2:49:08, bettering the previous age 50–54 record of 2:50:26 held by California’s Shirley Matson).

“I feel fine,” Somers Smith said a few minutes after her race. “I cramped up at 19 miles, but I’m happy. I ran a good time. My goal was to finish in the top 20, and I did.”

Somers Smith, a 1996 U.S. Olympian who placed 31st in the Olympic marathon in Atlanta, wasn’t surprised by the outcome of the contest for this year’s Olympic marathon team slots.

“Deena [Kastor] was the class of the field,” commented Somers Smith. “She could have run hard from the start and won, or negative split, as she did, and won. But I don’t think it was the best decision for some of the other top-ranked women to key off her. Not many athletes can ramp down the pace like Deena did. In that regard, Magda [Lewy-Boulet] ran a perfect race. She knew what she was capable of running, so she didn’t let the other competitors’ fitness levels or strategies distract her from her plans.”

Mary Akor (Hawthorne) was in contention for third place with Blake Russell through 15 miles, but slowed to a 19th place finish at 2:39:34.

Kate O’Neill (Mammoth Lakes and Palo Alto) entered the race as one of the favored contenders based on her 2:36:15 marathon debut at a hot Chicago Marathon in ’07. But the 2004 Olympian (10,000m) had to drop out of in Boston in the 21st mile with a knee injury that she brought into the race.

“I thought the excitement might carry me through, but I got to mile 20 and [the knee] really hurt. I was afraid of injuring it further,” O’Neill said through teary eyes. “I’ve never dropped out of a race before, and I’d never really consider it, except I really worried about making my knee a lot worse. I’m so grateful to the all the coaches and doctors that I’ve seen. They got me to the starting line, and that was the best that I could do today. I went into this hoping for the top three and things fell apart.”

O’Neill said that she hoped to compete in the Track & Field Trials in Eugene.

Brooke Wells (San Francisco, 43rd, 2:43:07) and Megan Daly (Menlo Park, 54th, 2:44:51) finished 6th and 7th, respectively, among the 21 California starters. Daly, a medical doctor, ran a two-minute PR after working her training around 12-hour days as a resident physician in radiation oncology at Stanford Hospital.

“Obviously, it was a big race for me,” said a jubilant Daly at the finish line.

Among many inspiring performances, 30-year-old Shaluinn Fullove (Palo Alto), who overcame thyroid cancer in 2005 to qualify for and compete in the Trials, finished in 2:49:00.

Daly and Fullove were among an impressive half-dozen Impala Racing Team (San Francisco) athletes who started the race. Five CA-based USATF running clubs fielded athletes in the event.

2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials–Women’s Marathon
Results–Californians
1. Deena Kastor, 35, Mammoth Lakes, Asics, 2:29:35
2. Magdalena Lewy-Boulet, 34, Oakland, Transports adidas, 2:30:19
3. Blake Russell, 32, Pacific Grove, Reebok, 2:32:40
17. Linda Somers Smith, 46, Arroyo Grande, Asics Aggie RC, 2:38:49
19. Mary Akor, 31, Hawthorne, unattached, 2:39:34
43. Brooke Wells, 23, SF, Transports adidas, 2:43:07
54. Megan Daly, 29, Menlo Park, Impala Racing Team, 2:44:51
66. Caroline Annis, 27, SF, Impala Racing Team, 2:45:41
70. Heather Killeen-Frisone, 35, Placentia, Pacers RC, 2:46:20
78. Lisbet Sunshine, 44, SF, Impala Racing Team, 2:47:57
84. Betsy Keever, 33, S, Impala Racing Team, 2:48:41
88. Shaluinn Fullove, 30, Palo Alto, Impala Racing Team, 2:49:00
89. Midori Sperandeo, 41, Laguna Niguel, unattached, 2:49:05
104. Mary Coordt, 38, Elk Grove, Buffalo Chips RC., 2:52:56
122. Jennifer Pfeifer, 36, Folsom, unattached, 3:06:57

Did Not Finish
Kate O'Neill (27, Palo Alto, Nike); Giovanna Mandy (29, Truckee, unattached);Chris Lundy (37, Sausalito, Impala Racing Team); Allison Kerr (31, Vacaville, Transports adidas); Jennifer DeRego (28, San Luis Obispo, Asics Aggie RC); Kelly Flathers (36, Huntington Beach, Cal Coast TC); Michelle Gallagher (22, Flagstaff, AZ (formerly Daly City), McMillan Elite).

Did Not Start
Jill Boaz, 41, Los Osos, Asics Aggie RC

Complete results at www.usatf.org.

Mark Winitz welcomes your comments and contributions for this column. Contact him by phone at 650.948.0618 or via e-mail at winitz@earthlink.net. Mark has written for CTRN since the mid 1980s and has been running, writing about running, and organizing programs for runners for 30 years. He is a longtime activist within USA Track & Field. He also assists road racing events through his company, Win It!z Sports Public Relations and Promotions in Los Altos.