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BY MIKE LOWE
Blethen Maine Newspapers 04/13/2008

Blethen Maine Newspapers

The folks down in Boston were getting a little fidgety. The registration deadline for the U.S. Olympic marathon trials was fast approaching, and one name was noticeably absent: Joan Benoit Samuelson.

Samuelson, training back home in Freeport, wanted to make sure she was ready, both physically and mentally. Finally, days before the deadline, her registration was received and, said race director and good friend Dave McGillivray, "Everyone was ecstatic."

The Olympic marathon trials will be run next Sunday at 8 a.m., on a loop course through the streets of Boston -- one day before the traditional Boston Marathon.

For Samuelson -- at 50 the oldest of the 162 entrants -- the race will be a homecoming of sorts, as well as a grand finale.

For it was in Boston, when she won her first Boston Marathon in 1979, that she first burst into the consciousness of the running world. And it is on its streets that she will run her last competitive marathon.

"I can't think of a more appropriate place," she said last week as her training tapered into its final stages. "This is it. It's Boston, where I started my career and where I'm ending it. It's been a great run."

Those who know Samuelson best say it is only fitting that she should run her final competitive marathon in Boston.

"Assuming that it's probably true (that she is retiring from competitive marathons), it is certainly fitting and proper," said McGillivray. "To think that she's going out on her own turf, in front of the hometown fans, it's fitting that she's going to perform one final time."

He added how important it was for her to compete this last time.

"She is the sport's most famous and recognizable name," McGillivray said. "She is America's favorite goodwill ambassador of the sport."

Samuelson has no illusions of being one of the three runners who will earn a spot on the U.S. team that will compete in Beijing in August in the Olympics.

"I'm not going to run with the horses," she said matter-of-factly. "I'm going to go out conservatively. My hope is that as people drop off the pace I can pick them off."

Her training -- 70-80 running miles a week, plenty of Nordic and downhill skiing -- hasn't changed, though her goal has.

"My goal is to run a 2:50-something at the age of 50," she said. "That's what I want to do. If I catch it on a good day, maybe I'll run in the low 2:50s. If not, then I'm just hoping to run under three hours."

Samuelson isn't the only Mainer in the race. She'll be joined by Emily LeVan of Wiscasset, Sheri Piers of Falmouth and Kristin Barry of Scarborough, all of whom spent the winter trudging through snow and slush on their training runs.

Also, there is Penny McDermott, raised in Farmington and now living in Corvallis, Ore. She was an All-America cross country runner (as Penny Osborne) at the University of Southern Maine. Chris Lundy, born in Bangor and now living in Sausalito, Calif., is also in the field.

"I think for such a small state to have (six runners) is really amazing," said Barry, who is competing in her first trials. "We really have an outstanding running community. We have great role models, mentors and people to look up to."

Chief among them is Samuelson, whose 1984 victory in the inaugural Olympic women's marathon in Los Angeles marks as one of the greatest sports moments in this state's history.

For the younger Mainers making their trials debuts -- Samuelson is running her fourth -- her participation makes it even more special.

"I'm just excited that I'm personally going to get to run with her," said LeVan, who is one of 19 U.S. runners who have met the Olympic "A" qualifying time (2:39:00). "I mean, I've run local races with her, but never a marathon. I admire her greatly and have for a long time.

"Getting to toe the line together in the same race is exciting."

"Joan has always been very helpful to me," said Piers. "She's just one of those people who, even though we live in Maine and we race with her, when you talk to her it's almost like you're a little starstruck. It's just exciting for us to run with her."

Samuelson held off registering for the trials until the last minute because she wanted to make sure she was ready for it. Colleen De Reuck, who had the sixth-fastest qualifying time, didn't enter because of lingering injuries. Samuelson wanted to make sure she could do it before she committed to running the 26.2 miles.

"I feel strong," she said. "But I don't feel particularly fast. It's kind of like walking a fine line.

"But in a marathon, we're all walking a fine line, regardless of our age."

Samuelson isn't crazy about the Olympic trials course. The race starts and finishes near the traditional Boston Marathon finish line on Boylston Street. It starts with a 2.2-mile loop of Boston's historic district, ending up on Commonwealth Avenue, where runners will make four loops of about six miles each through the Back Bay, across the Charles River and into Cambridge.

It's relatively flat. Samuelson prefers some hills in her marathon courses, and McGillivray likes to joke that she was holding out her registration until he put some in.

Samuelson said flat courses cause problems for her mechanics, possibly causing her back to spasm and lock up. Hills, on the other hand, force her to change her stride and that helps her running style.

"The course itself presents a mental challenge," she said.

LeVan calls it a "kinder, gentler course" than the traditional Boston Marathon. She'd like to see more hills, too, but noted that this course should be spectator friendly, and that should provide great support for the runners.

"It should be a fun race to watch," said Barry, who has trained all winter with Piers. "I'm actually kind of bummed that I won't be able to watch it. I'd rather be running it, of course. But in some ways it's like, "Oh man, I won't be able to see it."

No, but she will be part of a historic run: Samuelson's last.

"I've been running in circles for a long time," said Samuelson. "It's time for a change.

"But running will remain a part of my life."

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