Part of Michelle Gallagher's marathon training including water techniques -- where on the course to place her water, practice grabbing bottles and cups without squeezing out the entire contents and being in the right position to grab the much-needed liquid.
Trivial? Hardly. When you're shooting for an Olympic Trials qualifying time, every second is precious. The water training paid off Sunday as Gallagher, a 22-year-old Daly City resident, covered the California International Marathon course in Sacramento in a time of 2 hours, 43 minutes and 31 seconds -- good for a spot in April's Olympic Trials in Boston. She needed to finish the 26.2-mile course under 2:47 to qualify for the trials.
Her time in Sacramento was the fifth overall among women and she was the third American to finish.
"If I could have gotten just over the time, that would have been cool," Gallagher said. "To be at 2:43 is even better. It still hasn't hit me."
What makes her time astonishing is the fact that it was her first marathon. She and coach Andy Chan had initially set their sights on a race in Seattle but after running well in the San Jose Rock and Roll half marathon, they re-adjusted her goals.
"[We] changed just about every strategy we had," Gallagher said. "In the back of mind, (however), I thought 2:47 was still a long way away."
Running success is not foreign to Gallagher. She was a standout cross country and track runner at Sacred Heart Cathedral in San Francisco. In cross country, she finished second in the Central Coast Section Division III race in 2001 and won the DIII title in 2002. As a distance runner in track, she had fifth and third-place finishes in the 3,200 in CCS.
She earned a scholarship to Iona College in New York, winning conference titles in three different distances -- 5,000 meters as a freshman, 3,000 meters as a sophomore and the 1,500 as a junior.
Despite all that success, Gallagher admitted her college career wasn't what she expected it to be. She had never been a speed demon so it was only a matter of time before she discovered marathon running.
"I went to college, (and my passion for running) kind of faded. My freshman year I did really well. The last three years, I felt I lost that passion. I still liked to run, but it wasn't my No. 1 priority any more," Gallagher said. "Speed is not my thing. I can just run. My whole running career, I've always liked the longer distances -- but never the marathon.
"Running a four-mile race was harder than a marathon. For me, I get into one mode and I can just click them (miles) off."
After graduating from Iona in May, she returned to the Bay Area, hooked up with Chan again and started training. She joined the Pamakids Running Club and participated in the Pacific Association Grand Prix cross country series. She won the Presidio Open in October and also had two second- and third-place finishes during the season as well, finishing fourth in the season-ending championships.
All her previous success helped her in Sacramento. Since the qualifying time was based on when the gun goes off -- not when runners take their first steps -- it was imperative she started at the head of the field. Chan contacted the meet director and gave him her high school, college and Pacific Association times. The race director gave her "elite" status -- meaning she got to start near the front of the pack.
Gallagher was as consistent as she could be during her run. Her best mile time was a 6:03, her worst, a 6:21. She averaged 6:14.
"Sunday, we were aiming for 6:20," Gallagher said. "It felt so much easier than [training] on my own. When I was on my own, it felt so much harder and faster."
Although she has qualified for the Olympic Trials, Gallagher is under no illusion of making the Olympics. Only 96 women have qualified for the trials but her time is nowhere near world-class time. To put it in perspective, 2004 Olympic bronze medalist, American Deena Kastor, runs 2:19 marathons. Britain's Paula Radcliffe holds the world record with a time of 2:15:25.
While Gallagher may be a longshot to make the team heading to Beijing, China next summer, she hasn't given up hope of one day qualifying for future Olympic Games.
"Every athlete probably dreams of that (making the Olympics). (Qualifying for) the Olympic Trials is a great accomplishment. I at least get to check that off my list," Gallagher said. "The Olympics are always a dream. I just want to focus on becoming a better runner and improving my times. That's my main focus right now."
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