Run Faster

Congratulations to Deena Kastor, the winner of the U.S. Women’s Olympic Marathon trials, with a time of 2:29:32 and a come-from-behind victory.

Joining her in Beijing will be:

• Magdalena Lewy Boulet
• Blake Russell

Coming in 4th and qualifying for the alternate spot was Zoila Gomez of Alamosa, Colorado.

Update: Congratulations to Joan Benoit Samuelson, who set an American record in the over 50 age category!

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There’s a huge running event happening in a couple of days - and no, I’m not talking about the Boston Marathon. I’m talking about something that happens only every 4 years - the U.S. Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials, which will be held this Sunday, March 20, the day before Boston.

Deena Kastor, the U.S. women’s marathon record-holder, seems to be the favorite, with a qualifying time 12 minutes faster than anyone else in the field.

Other notables who have met the qualifying standards and have declared their intention to race include:

• Blake Russell, who qualified with a 10-K time of 32:31
• Kate O’Neill, the current U.S. Half Marathon record holder
• Elva Dryer, who had the second fastest qualifying time in the field

  All of these women are fantastic runners and are sure to make the trials a great event to watch. However, the woman I’m most excited to see out on the course on Sunday is the great Joan Benoit Samuelson, who at age 50, qualified for the trials with a time of 2:46:27.

  Although the race is being run in and around Boston, the course is not identical to the Boston Marathon course. The trials course is quite a bit flatter, with the bulk of the course being a six-mile loop which the runners will cover 4 times before ending up on Boylston Street, the same place that the Boston Marathon course ends.

  If you want to learn more, Runner’s World has put together an entire mini-site devoted to the trials.

  If you want to watch the trials live, point your browser to http://www.nbcolympics.com/marathon/ at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time on Sunday.

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