Well, the Olympic Trials are now less than 1 week away.

Excuse me for getting a bit nostalgic, but I had to open with that line, as it is exactly what I wrote 4 years ago before the last Olympic Marathon Trials.

Reading what I wrote then brought back a lot of memories and reminded me of the beginnings of this website. We started this website back in 2000, in conjunction with the 2000 Olympic Marathon Trials.

Prior to the year 2000, I was just a runner with a dream of making the Olympics. I had a full-time job as an economic consultant in Washington, DC and was not on anyone's radar of possibilities to make the Olympic Team. I'd been out of college for 3.5 years and only had a 10k p.r. of 29:49. However, deep down I believed in myself, and didn't want to always wonder "what if", so I quit my job and moved to Flagstaff, Arizona to train full-time at altitude. What ensued in 2000 was a magical ride.

Within 4 months,  I had dropped my 10k time 1:27 from 29:49 to 28:27 and was suddenly the talk of the running community.  There were rumors I was some sort of hermit, who lived on a cabin on the side of a mountain (not true), that I ran on dirt track like the Kenyans (true), that I slept in my car (sometimes true and when I do like I'm doing tonight (Tuesday) it is parked on the side of a mountain), and even that I was on drugs (definitely not true). (For more on these rumors and to step back into the lore of letsrun.com click here; for a nice profile on me and my twin brother that appeared on nbcolympics.com click here)

USAToday had me as one of the top 10 contenders for the Olympic Marathon Trials (click here to view a jpg of their Trials preview. I thought it's interesting to note that while I and many others seem to think that US marathoning has gotten a lot better since then, I realized the other day that on paper the 2004 Trials looks very similar to how 2000 Trials.  Back then, we had a 2:09 guy (David Morris) and we have a 2:09 guy now (Alan Culpepper). We had a 2:11 guy then (Todd Williams) and one now (Meb Keflezighi (although I think Meb is way better than that but I guess many would have thougth Todd was way better too). Additionally, we had an old timer then (Steve Plascenscia) and now (Eddy H).

Back in 2000, everything was new and exciting and although I didn't make the Olympics, my dream had become reality. The running was going so well I stuck with it and shortly showed that the pre-Trials press coverage wasn't undeserved.  In 2001 and 2003, I proved myself to be one of the top runners in the country by finishing 4th at the nationals at 10,000m. I was running with, and beating, people I had only once dreamed of competing against.

And although now I'm a much better runner than I was 4 years ago, when I decided to make that fateful move to Flagstaff, many things are still the same.  First and foremost, I'm still chasing my dream. And that dream  now is to make the Olympics. For at least the last 20 years of my life, I know I've wanted to participate in the Olympics, and I'm as close to making that dream a reality as anyone could ask.  

During the past 4 years, I almost made a big change in my life and enrolled in business school, but I didn't because I felt it would compromise my training. Since reaffirming my commitment to running, I have trained for one major reason over the past four years - to make the Olympics. Some guys train for the money, (I don't as I don't even have a shoe contract), some for the comaraderie (I don't as nearly all my training is by myself), I train for the Olympics.

And interestingly enough, although I was the talk of the running community in 2000, now even though I'm a much better runner than I was in 2000, no one is mentioning my name as a likely contender for one of the 3 Olympic spots. I'm not foolish enough to guarantee anything on Saturday, but what I wrote in 2000 holds true today, "All anyone can ask for is a legitimate chance to make the team, and now I've got that. Anything can happen in the marathon..."

As for my training, I don't feel there is much of a need to go into too many details, but I will admitthings were a struggle for most of the latter part of 2003, with one minor injury after another and a couple of illnesses.  There were times when I began to realize that if things didn't start getting better soon I'd have to start thinking about possibly focusing on the 10k trials (in June) instead of the marathon.  But right about the time former world record holder in the marathon, Khalid Khannouchi, pulled out of the marathon trials, I began to embrace the optimism associated with the fact that I was still able to train for the Trials and still had a shot at my dream that may never come around again.  

And suddenly, boom,I was healthy again (well healthy for a distance runner), my plantar fasciitis gone (anyone in the NY metro area or Connecticut, I highly recommend podiatrist Brian Fullem who has cured 2 of my most serious injuries), and the last 8 weeks or so of my training has been great, almost perfect. There was one minor scare after I had a strong pace run when my knee started to hurt and I couldn't run for a day or two, but thankfully the problem subsided quickly. That being said, don't be alarmed by the knee strap/brace I'll most likely be wearing on Saturday, as I've been training in it and have no problems running fast in it. I developed theknee problem about 4 weeks ago, but my coach and I determined since I was a little bit behind in my training, I couldn't afford to miss any time. Fortunately, the knee brace arrived in the mail the next day, and when I wear it, my knee pain is gone. It's called Cho-Pat Dual Action device, (click here for more info).

So that brings us around to Saturday's race. I'll be the first admit that I have never run a good marathon or a marathon anywhere near up to the potential as shown by my 10k times (My fastest marathon was when I paced Paula Radcliffe to a world record in 2002), so go ahead and write me off if you want. I can come up with a host of excuses or reasons for that, but I think everyone should remember that I've only attempted one serious marathon of my own since 2000 and that was in 2001 at the NYC Marathon where I had plantar fasciitis, so maybe hold off on writing me off in the marathon just yet.

And first and foremost, I consider myself a competitor and a marathoner. As veteran runner Jimmy Hearld said of his success, "I just think I'm competitive." I believe my performance at nationals in 2001 and especially last year (where I was 4th and set a pr after doing nothing earlier in the year), shows I can run well when it matters and when no one expects me to do well.

But I can talk about my workouts, my health, my training, and my coach (who I honestly believe is the #1 distance guru in the world) all I want, but ultimately none of it matters, as we are judged by the order we cross that finish line on Saturday. And that's what makes this sport so much fun.

I could search for my own words, but I think fellow competitor Pete Julian who has had some really serious injury problems (can you say cancer?), said it best when he said of Saturday's race, "I'm making zero predictions (about the Trials)...But I wouldn't be going if I didn't think I could make it."

And let me reiterate, the goal this time around is to make the Olympics. Last time around, I realized I had an outside chance, but I don't think physically or mentally I was quite ready to take advantage of it.  I mean it was a big stage for me back then as I'd never ever before qualified for a nationals at any level (highschool, college or post-college). This time it's not new and I'm not subconsciously content to be at the Trials.

I want to end this note by thanking you for all of your support. If you clicked on some of the links above from the founding of the website, you can see how far it has come, but the greatest thing I get from operating this site is the community of support is has built. The emails of encouragement, from friends and strangers alike, have already started pouring in. They mean a lot to me, and I sometimes wonder what I've done to warrant receiving them. But if I've done one thing, I hope I've helped you not be afraid to pursue your own dreams in life.

And we don't have any official Team Wejo tshirts this time around (click here for a Team Wejo pictorial from the last trials; we don't have shirts as my twin brother Robert is a bit superstitious and refused to make shirts as I didn't have a good race the two times we made up shirts), but I need all the support I can get out there (especially since fellow competitor Scott Strand designed the course and is from Birmingham). So feel to give me a shout out during the race. I greatly appreciate your support, and if I make the team, the first $2,004 of beer is on me.

-Weldon

Weldon Johnson "Wejo" is one of the co-founders of LetsRun.com. He lives and trains full time in Flagstaff, Arizona. His peronal best is 28:10 for 10k. He can be reached here via email.

Reprinted with permission from Letsrun.com.