PUBLISHED 10/06/2007
As the temperature and humidity rose in Chicago, Linda Somers Smith, like most of the rest of the runners in Sunday's LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, was revising her time goals. "I really wanted to get the A standard," she said referring to the time needed to qualify for both the US Olympic trials and meet the Olympic Games qualifying standard. "But everything would have had to go perfect for me to do that, and that's obviously not going to happen."
So, instead she'll be aiming for the B standard that would still qualify her for her sixth US Olympic trials, a unique achievement currently only matched by 1984 Olympic champ, Joan Benoit Samuelson. "It's an ego thing," Somers Smith said of aiming for the A standard, noting that she has always met that standard before. In fact, she retired after the 2004 US women's marathon trials, which was the last marathon she has run.
Part of the reason for retiring was the various "aches and pains" she had, but after "fixing a bunion" and letting her other ailments heal, she started running again and enjoyed it. One thing led to another and the motivation to race returned, but Somers Smith is somebody "who needs a goal," and just the occasional race wasn't enough. So, she began focusing on the Olympic trials and the marathon again.
Her training has gone well and she feels ready to go on Sunday, but the goal isn't the only motivation. A lawyer and partner in San Luis Obispo, CA, Somers Smith says: "I have a lot of anxiety in my job and running helps with that. I run first thing in the morning and so I'm a little tired when I get to work. I think that helps manage the anxiety a bit. I don't get as worked up as a might otherwise."
She also likes the simplicity of the sport: "Life is pretty complicated, and running is pretty straight forward," she said. "You just put one foot in front of the other." The trick on Sunday will be to be able to shuffle those feet fast enough.
