Washington area women marathoners, past and present, were well represented at the pinnacle of the sport, the Olympic trials. Clear weather and cool temperatures aided the efforts, and 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Deena Kastor came from behind to win in 2 hours 29 minutes 35 seconds, punching her ticket to Beijing.

Kastor passed Magdelena Lewy Boulet, who led from the first mile and was not caught until just before Mile 24. Lewy Boulet, who finished fifth in the 2004 trials, took second in 2:30:19 and Blake Russell, fourth in 2004, made her first Olympic team by taking third in 2:32:40, more than a minute ahead of Zoila Gomez, the Olympic alternate in fourth.

Veena Reddy (29), who moved to Ashburn, VA from Philadelphia in early March, was the top area finisher and 15th overall in a personal-best 2:38:08. Reddy, an architect, finished 14th in the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile in April.

Photo by Cheryl Young: The chase pack near mile 14 included Deena Kastor (# 1), Blake Russell (# 17), and Samia Akbar (# 6)

Samia Akbar, winner of the National Half Marathon on March 29, ran with lead pack behind Lewy Boulet for more than half the race before fading to 18th in 2:39:19. Akbar, from Herndon, VA, had the fourth-fastest seed time (2:34:14) coming in. She competed on the World Championship team last summer.

Casey Smith, who long competed successfully in Washington and won her hometown Richmond Marathon last fall in 2:44:58, finished 24th in a personal best 2:40:53. Smith, who battled weight issues while in Washington, persevered through intestinal distress in the trials.

Dana Coons, a former University of Virginia runner from Oakton, VA, took 30th in 2:41:31. Coons and Akbar were the only Washington area runners to have met the A qualifying standard of 2:39:00.

An ebullient Phebe Ko (25), a medical student at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, MD, finished 61st in 2:45:20. Ko, a former Duke University running standout, traveled to the race with her parents and a vocal support crew who seemed as pleased as she was.

"I could hear them the whole way," said Ko, who ran 1:19:55 at the National Half Marathon in Washington last month. "I enjoyed the whole trials experience. The course was great, the crowds were wonderful."

Photo above by www.photorun.net: Start of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Women's Marathon. The winner, Deena Kastor of California, is in the center, front line, wearing a white cap.

World class triathlete and 2006 Ironman World Championship runner-up Desiree Ficker finished 79th in 2:48:11. Ficker, originally from Potomac, MD, expressed disappointment with her first trials. "I ran a good first 14 miles, but then I just blew up. I just wanted to finish."

Susan Graham-Gray, from Greencastle, PA, also expressed disappointment with her time of 2:58:08: "You go out with the big dogs, and that's what happens." Graham-Gray, who ran 1:19:07 at the National Half Marathon, is the first legally blind runner to start and finish the Olympic trials marathon. Her coach, Mike Spinnler, had previewed the course and alerted her with a shout 20 meters before the only hazard, a grate on the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge that the runners crossed eight times.

"She doesn't like to talk about her handicap, she doesn't ask for any special treatment and she got none," Spinnler said. "She stumbled a few times, but never went down. She works so hard, and she's going to be one of the best masters runners in the country." Graham-Gray turns 40 on May 17.

Kristen Henehan, from Silver Spring, and Lisa Thomas, from Alexandria, who finished first and second in the 2007 Marine Corps Marathon, took 96th and 99th in 2:49:42 and 2:50:15. "The marathon kicked my butt today," Henehan said. "I know I'm in good shape, but my body didn't cooperate. I totally bonked."

George Buckheit, who coaches both Henehan and Thomas, said a third marathon in six months--both Henehan and Thomas qualified in Phoenix in January--took its toll.

"It all caught up with them today," Buckheit said.

Susannah Kvasnicka, who won the 2005 Marine Corps Marathon, dropped out just before 10 miles with a sore back. Kvasnicka, from Great Falls, VA, had an epidural last week in an attempt to compete.

"But it was still hurting as I ran," she said. "And it just wasn't worth going on."

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