KimConley…ontheRoadtoRio
ByBobBurns
WiththeOlympicyearjustafewweeksold,Kim
Conleyisofftoaflyingstart.
Inracesrangingfromonemileto10,000meters,
Conleyhasshownshe’sprimedtoqualifyforher
secondOlympicteaminJuly.Threeandahalf
yearsremovedherstunningbreakthroughatthe
2012U.S.OlympicTrials,theSantaRosanative
andUCDavisgraduateisolder,strongerand
wiser.
Thewiserparttellshertokeepaneyeontherearviewmirror.
“Distancerunninghasevolvedalotsince2012,”
saidConley,whoturns30onMarch14.“Ihaveto
KimConleyrunningthe5000Matthe2012
realizethatsomeoneelsecouldbetheKimConley
LondonOlympics–photorun.com
of2016.”
ConleyenteredthelastOlympicyearwitha5,000-meterbestof15:38.13,placing
her22ndamongU.S.womenin2011.Withaninspiredsprintdownthehomestretch
atthe2012OlympicTrialsinEugene,ConleynippedJuliaLucasforthirdplaceat
thetapeby0.04seconds,eclipsingtheOlympic“A”standardwithherpersonal-best
timeof15:19.74.
WhilethelookofincredulityonConley’sfaceashertimeandplacedflashedonthe
HaywardFieldscoreboardwon’tsoonbeforgotten,itprobablywon’tbereplicated,
either.
“Thatwasalongtimeago,”Conleysaid.“I’mnowusedtobeingoneofthoseathletes
who’sinthemix.GoingtotheOlympicsin2012openedalotofdoorsforme.Now,I
thinkmoreaboutbeingcompetitiveontheinternationallevel.”
Aftercontinuingtoprogressin2013and2014–runninginthe2013World
Championships,loweringher5,000bestto15:08.61andwinningthe10,000meters
attheUSAChampionshipsbeforeahomecrowdinSacramento–Conley’scareerhit
aspeedbumpin2015.Shemissedtheoutdoortrackseasonwithapartiallytorn
plantarfasciitis,herfirstmajorinjurysincearrivingonthenationalscene.
“ThemoreItriedtokeeptrainingandcompeting,theworseIgot,”Conleysaid.“It
wasmuddledtogether,thetimeoffandon…itwasaveryfrustratingsixmonths.”
Conleybeganshowingsignsofheroldforminthefall,finishingthirdoverallonthe
USATFRunningCircuitafterplacingfifthinthe5kRoadChampionshipsandthirdin
the10kRoadChampionships.OnDec.6,ConleyreturnedtothetrackforthePacific
10,000mPursuit,araceorganizedbyDrewWartenburg,hercoachwiththeNorCal
DistanceProject.
Themen’sandwomen’sracesatSacramentoState’sHornetStadiumwerepaced
affairsdesignedtohelprunnersgettheOlympicstandardoutofthewaybeforethe
newyear.
Runninginthesamestadiuminwhichshewonthenationaltitlein2014,Conley
passedthehalfwaymarkin15:53andwoundupwinningin31:58.54,wellunder
theOlympicstandardof32:15.ChelseaReilly(32:05.84)andRochelleKanuho
(32:08.76)alsobetteredtheOlympicstandard.
“Inaperfectsetting,Kimwasprobablyreadytoruncloserto31:30,buttheend
resultwassatisfyinggivenallthefactorsinplayatthetime,”Wartenburgsaid.
Followingamonthofhigh-altitudetraininginFlagstaff,Ariz.,arejuvenatedConley
embarkedonashort-but-sweetindoorseason.Sheopenedwitha9:01.36for3,000
metersontheoversizedtrackattheUniversityofWashingtononJan.16.The
followingweekend,shewonthemileattheNewBalanceGamesinNewYorkCityin
aworld-leading4:27.88.KateGraceandStephanieGraceledpastthe1,500-meter
markbeforeConleypassedbothinthefinalstretch.
Inherthirdandfinalindoorraceoftheseason,a5,000attheWashington
InvitationalonJan.29,Conleycameclosetoheroutdoorbestandsurpassedthe
Olympicstandard,clocking15:09.31.
“Themileandthe5kplayedoutverydifferently,”Conleysaid.“Inthemile,Ihada
terriblestartandabandonedtryingtochaseatimeandinsteadcompetedhard
againstthefield.Inthe5k,Iwasstrictlychasingmypersonalrecord.Bothraces
endedupgoingverywellandmademefeelconfidentaboutmyfitnessandabilityto
adopttodifferentcircumstances.”
Conleyplanstoopenheroutdoorseasonwitha5,000atthePaytonJordan
InvitationinlateApril.HavingmettheOlympicqualifyingstandardinboththe
5,000and10,000meters,Conleyisundecidedaboutwhicheventshe’llchooseatthe
2016OlympicTrialsinEugene.
Thewomen’s10,000finalissetforthemorningofJuly2.The5,000finalwillberun
onJuly10.
“I’malmostatapointwhereIwanttowrapmyarmsaroundthe10k,butIfeellikeI
haveunfinishedbusinessinthe5k,”Conleysaid.“IcameoutoftheLondonOlympics
determinedtoimproveandgetunder15minutes.IfIwindupconcentratingonthe
10k,great,butpartofmeisstillattachedtothe5k.
“Ialsoliketheideaofdoubling.”
WartenburgandConleysaidavarietyoffactorswillinfluencetheirdecision,
includingherfitnesslevelinJulyandwheresheranksinternationallyineachevent.
“Boththe5,000and10,000distancesholdtheirownallure,”Wartenburgsaid.
“HeadingintotheTrialswithtwogreatoptionspresentsagreatproblemtohave.”
HermaingoalistoqualifyforthefinalatoneofthosedistancesinRiodeJaneiro,
somethingshewasn’tabletodoateitherthe2012OlympicsinLondonorthe2013
WorldOutdoorChampionshipsinMoscow.
Beyondthat,she’salreadythinkingaboutanewchallenge.
“I’vealwayssaidthemarathonissomethingI’llshifttoward,”shesaid.“Mygoalisto
trytorunthemarathonattheTokyoOlympics(in2020).It’sgoingtostartsoon.”
FormoreinformationabouttheUSATFPacificathletesonthe“RoadtoRio”visit
pausatf.org.