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Friday, November 2, 2007
By Stephanie Chambers
Standard-Examiner correspondent
Marathoner from Ogden is an Olympic hopeful
OGDEN -- Logan Fielding has only been running one year longer than he has been married -- two years in December, he says proudly of his nuptials to Katey.
And for a 25-year-old man that will be knotting his laces up to participate in the Olympic Trials on Saturday, that's an accomplishment.
"I've only been running for three years," said Fielding. "It was kind of a shocker to be honest. It was kind of the last thing on my mind -- qualifying for the Olympic Trials (in the marathon)."
The Ogden resident said he was initially hoping to finish under 2 hours, 30 minutes when he ran the St. George Marathon on Oct. 6.
"But it was perfect weather, mid-50s, and I felt good," he said. "We came halfway through at about 1:13 or just under, and I decided to push it and see if I could go under 2:25."
When he rounded the final corner and saw the clock reading 2:21:30, he sprinted. After averaging 5:24/mile for 26 miles, a sprint is no small feat, but his final dash to the finish gave him a time of 2:21:45, and qualified him by a mere 15 seconds for the Trials.
Fielding's running career started when he returned from serving an LDS Church mission and found he had lost weight.
"I was just looking for something to keep me in shape," said Fielding, who initially tried weightlifting with his buddies.
"I went to the gym, but I was just too weak and it was a waste of money. So I just went out and started running," he said. "Then I kind of got the itch and slowly worked my way up."
Fielding said that running this well is a blessing and reaching the Trials has been trial and error, with the help of friends like long-time runner Paul Petersen of Logan, who will also be running at the Trials. He also credits
www.fastrunningblog.com, a Utah-based Web site where runners blog and post mileage and times, created by Sasha Pachev, a top Utah marathoner.
"I joined this blog and started getting workouts from other people," Fielding said. "It's nice because you can post your mileage, write a little bit about the workout you did for that day, and you can click on other people's blogs and see how they're doing."
Fielding met Petersen through the blog and began training and running marathons with him. Now, they'll head to New York to race together through at least the halfway point.
Petersen, a 2:18-marathoner, and Fielding join an elite group of seven Utahns who will be running in the Trials, including former University of Utah standout Teren Jameson (2:19) and Top of Utah Marathon winner Hobie Call (2:16).
The field includes 129 qualified runners who will be racing for a spot on the Beijing Olympic team. The top three finishers earn a spot on the U.S. team, provided they have met international qualifying standards as well (2:15 "A" standard).
With runners like Khalid Kannouchi, who ran a 2:07 to qualify, and Ryan Hall, who has turned in a 2:08 qualifying time, in the race, Fielding said he tells everyone that his goal is to not finish last.
"It's a hard course because we run around Central Park five times, so it's got lots of hills. Anything under 2:25 is going to be pretty good," he said.
In a sport where years of long mileage equate to success, Fielding has yet to find what he is capable of.
"This is all new to me. People are like, 'You can get sponsors.' I mean, I have no idea about all those logistics. I just want to keep getting faster and see what happens," he said.
In an effort to ramp up excitement, USA Track and Field is holding the men's trials for the first time the day before the ING New York City Marathon.
Eighty-nine Utahns will be running the course the day after the men's trials. One of those runners, Ogden resident Kristi Spence will be making her own attempt to reach the "A" qualifying standard for the women's trials, which will be held April 20, the day before the Boston marathon.
"You always hate to say this because you don't want to jinx yourself, but I'm feeling really good. I hope I'm lucky enough to stay healthy," she said. "I'll go out there and see what happens."
The spectator-friendly course will circle through all five boroughs and through Central Park and will be streamed live at nbcolympics.com/marathon.
