May
The Boston Athletic Association hosted the 2008 Olympic team trials women’s marathon last Sunday, where assistant professor Heather May competed and finished a strong 65th out of 160 runners.
May, an assistant professor in the Department of Theatre, also ran the Chicago Marathon in 2006.
Beating the qualifying standard of 2:47:00 in the race with a 2:45:52 performance, May was able to compete in Boston’s Olympic qualifying event.
The race was held April 20, the day before the 112th Boston Marathon.
It featured a specifically designed course that gave runners a tour of historic Boston sites including Boston Commons, Boston Public Garden, Beacon Hill and the state house.
May’s performance Sunday allowed her to finish the race in 2:45:41, beating her Chicago Marathon time by eleven seconds.
However, the improvement was not enough to qualify her for the Olympic team, as only the top three runners were offered a spot in Beijing.
May returned to Auburn Sunday evening after the race and was fairly exhausted from the whirlwind weekend.
“I was pretty beat,” May said. “It was really exciting to be in Boston though, especially the day before the marathon. Boston is an incredibly knowledgeable running town, and competing against the top group of runners there was a great experience.”
This year marked May’s second attempt to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Olympic Marathon trials.
In 2004, May competed in the St. Louis qualification trials and finished 42nd among 121 competitors.
“It was my second trip to the Olympic trials, and it was definitely nice to go back,” May said. “The crowds there were so into it, and that really fuels you when you’re running.”
Deena Kastor, Magdalena Lewy-Boulet and Blake Russell were the top three runners who made the Olympic team.
Kastor finished the race first with a 2:29:35 time, only a few minutes earlier than the other Olympic qualifiers. May was only 16 minutes behind Kastor.
Sarah Lovaglio, a sophomore in marketing, is an avid marathon runner and appreciates May’s experience and accomplishment of participating in the race.
“I think it’s great that she was able to compete on such a high level,” Lovaglio said. “It takes so much time, effort and drive to get to that point, and it’s really impressive that she did so well.”
Andrew Lafferty, a senior in economics, agreed with Lovaglio about May’s accomplishment.
“The only race I have ever run is the Peachtree in Atlanta,” Lafferty said. “That nearly killed me, so I have the utmost respect for Ms. May. It’s undoubtedly wonderful representation for Auburn as well to have a professor participating in an Olympic trial.”
