Stanford offers stellar Olympic preview

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Last week's Penn Relays presented a preview of this country's elite short and long sprinters and middle-distance runners who will compete in the Beijing Olympics.

Today's Cardinal Invitational at Stanford will do the same for America's top distance runners — with eight weeks left until the U.S. Olympic team trials in Eugene, Ore.

For many years, the Cardinal Invitational has attracted top-notch runners preparing for nationals or trying to qualify for the Olympics or World Championships or both.

In 2006, Alan Webb and Dathan Ritzenhein continued their rivalry in the mile, which goes back nearly a decade to high school, at the invitational. Webb ran 27:34.72, less than a second ahead of Ritzenhein, making the two the ninth and 10th fastest 10,000-meter runners in U.S. history.

The U.S. record for 10,000 meters? Meb Keflezighi in 27:13.98 at the invitational in 2001.

Shalane Flanagan, the 2004 Olympian and two-time U.S. record-holder, is expected to attempt her third U.S. mark in the 10,000 meters, matching her outdoor 5,000 and indoor 3,000 standards.

Possibly the only competition for her could come from Kim Smith of New Zealand or from Jen Rhines, who has beaten Flanagan before. But Flanagan, who trained hard in the high mountains of Mexico before coming back to sea level to win the USA Cross Country Championships in February, is in top shape.

The women's 1,500 meters includes Stanford's Lauren Centrowitz of Annapolis, Jenelle Deatherage, Sara Hall and former UNC standout Shannon Rowbury. Katie McGregor highlights the 5,000 meters.

The 1,500 meters includes Lopez Lomong, Chris Solinsky, Canadian Kevin Sullivan, Nick Symmonds, Alexandria's Chris Lukezic and Matt Tegenkamp. In the 5,000, Abdi Abdirahman, Ian Dobson, 2007 world champion Bernard Lagat and Matthew Gabrielson will compete.

The 10,000 includes Bolota Asmerom, 2004 Olympian Dan Browne, Fernando Cabada, Alistair Cragg, Mo Farah and Australian sensation Craig Mottram.

Faster, faster — For middle-distance runners or marathoners, amateur or professional, an important part of any training regimen is speedwork.

Runners can't run faster unless they train their bodies to do so.

The winter always is a tough time for track work, unless that training involves intervals in the cold, which is not particularly safe. Indoor tracks are not readily available to the public, except for early morning weekdays at Prince George's Sportsplex.

Currently, high school soccer and track teams use their school's tracks, so it's time to get imaginative.

Repeat hills on a long mellow incline is an excellent form of speedwork as is measuring a distance in the park, for about 400 or 800 meters, and running repeats with a set recovery time.

Without a measuring wheel or GPS watch, estimate the time by the amount it takes to run one interval. Then mark that distance from start to finish.

Legal brief — D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty has signed up for the Lawyers Have Heart 10K in the District on June 14. Fenty has a law degree from Howard University.