Hard work and dedication pay off for Minnesotans, such as Michelle Lilienthal at left, running the women's Olympic Marathon Trials race in April.

On Sunday, April 20, the U.S. Olympic Team for the women’s marathon will be decided on the historic streets of Boston. The team will be chosen through good old-fashioned head-to-head competition between the roughly 150 women who met the qualifying standard of 2:47:00. The top three runners earn a ticket to the summer Olympics in Beijing. Six Minnesotans will toe the line.

The course starts and finishes at the traditional Boston Marathon finish line, making several loops along the Charles River en route. Unlike the Boston Marathon, the Olympic Trials race will not include infamous Heartbreak Hill. The Minnesotans in the field, however, have faced a vast array of other challenges en route to the Trials race.

The fastest Minnesotan qualifier who plans to compete is Michelle Lilienthal, an Iowa native who ran for the University of Wisconsin. The current Team USA Minnesota athlete achieved the “A” standard (2:39:00 or faster) by running a personal best of 2:35:51 at the 2006 Twin Cities Marathon. As an “A” qualifier, Lilienthal will have all of her travel and accommodations paid by race organizers.

Lilienthal’s training has been bothered by a nagging case of plantar fasciitis, an injury that can send shooting pain through the foot with every step. “I have been dealing with this injury for almost a year now and it has been testing my patience, motivation, dedication and positivity the whole time.”

Lilienthal, who will turn 26 the week before the race, is the youngest of the six Minnesotan qualifiers. Despite the challenges presented by her injury, she has her sights set high. “When I first qualified with the B standard at Boston with a 2:40, I was happy just (to) qualify…When I qualified with the A standard at Twin Cities it was really special because I realized that I am training and competing not just to make it to the Olympic Trials, but the Olympics.”

Melissa Gacek, 31, of White Bear Lake, is the only one of the six qualifiers who has been there before. In 2004, she qualified with a breakthrough performance at the Houston Marathon, and less than three months later found herself at the starting line of the Olympic Trials nursing a stress fracture. Though she was forced to drop out of the race, Gacek carried many positive memories out of the weekend. “I kind of made it my mission to talk to as many people as I could and enjoy the experience,” she recalls.

Since that time, Gacek became a mother. Now, she frequently waits to do her training until after her daughter has gone to bed, at 8:30 or later at night. Despite the demands of motherhood and work, she has bettered her personal best in the marathon, running 2:45:06 at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon last September.

A large part of that success clearly comes from her balanced approach and positive attitude. “Part of the joy of life is to enjoy the process…We are pretty blessed and fortunate to do what we do and be healthy and strong.”

Erin Block-Ward, 34, of St. Paul, made big sacrifices to qualify for the Olympic Trials. She reduced her hours at work, trained up to 120 miles per week (an average of 17 miles per day), and often found herself bowing out of social and family events. The work paid off last October, when she ran 2:45:58 at the St. George Marathon in Utah. “Qualifying for the Olympic Marathon Trials has been my overarching running goal for the past two years,” she says. “To finally achieve this goal and to see my dream come true was a fantastic moment for me.”

Training for her first Olympic Trials has been bittersweet for Block-Ward, due to a battery of injuries. “I have tearing in my upper hamstring, inflammation in my spring ligament (at the bottom of the foot, so named because it allows you to "spring" off the ground), and a stress reaction in that same foot. It has been discouraging to be forced to drastically reduce my mileage and to spend so much time in the pool.”

Nonetheless, Block-Ward soldiers on. Her expectations may have changed, but like many of the other qualifiers, the hope and dream of having that perfect day keeps her motivated. “I was hoping to set a PR at the race, but I am going to wait and see if that is realistic given my current situation with injuries. Of course, there is always a little part of you that thinks, ‘Maybe I'll still have the race of my life....’”

Minnesota Qualifiers for the 2008 US Olympic Team Trials Women’s Marathon Boston, MA

Michelle Lilienthal

25, Minneapolis

Rank: 10 Qualifying time: 2:35:51

2006 USA Marathon Championships, Saint Paul

 

Nicole Cueno

28, Minneapolis

Rank: 41 Qualifying time: 2:42:03

California International Marathon, Sacramento

 

Jenna Boren

31, St. Paul

Rank: 48 Qualifying time: 2:42:39

Chevron Houston Marathon Houston, TX

 

Melissa Gacek

31, White Bear Lake

Rank: 101 Qualifying time: 2:45:06

Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Canada

 

Erin Block-Ward

34, St. Paul

Rank: 134 Qualifying time: 2:45:58

St. George Marathon, UT

 

Marie Sample

31, Marshall

Rank: 135 Qualifying time: 2:46:00

California International Marathon, Sacramento