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Fast track to success

by Keith Peters

It was odd to see Lauren Fleshman racing around Cobb Track and Angell Field at last month's Stanford Invitational wearing black shorts and an avocado green crop top, instead of her usual Stanford red.

Either the Cardinal senior had left her regular racing clothes at the cleaners or she was a rabbit in the race for a Stanford teammate.

"I was pretty much not ready to open up my season," said Fleshman, who indeed set the pace in the women's 1,500 meters that day. "I needed more training."

Earlier that day, Fleshman put in an eight-mile training run.

"If I had competed in that race, I wouldn't have been able to complete that workout in the morning," she explained. "Doing that workout really helped."

Building a strong foundation for her racing has been the key to success for Fleshman, who last weekend become the third-fastest collegiate woman in history with a 15:23.94 clocking in the 5,000 meters at the annual Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut.

Fleshman's time shattered the Pacific-10 Conference record of 15:34.55 by Oregon's Annette Hand in 1988 and eclipsed the Stanford mark of 15:29.0 by two-time Olympian PattiSue Plumer in 1984. Had she qualified for the 5K finals at the 2000 U.S. Olympic trials and run the same time, Fleshman would have made the Olympic team.

Fleshman, of course, will have another shot at that goal next year. Before then, she'll take a run at making the U.S. team that competes in the World Championships in Paris this August. The qualifying meet for that is the U.S. National Championships, which return to Stanford on June 19-22.

Fleshman finished ninth in the women's 5,000 at last year's nationals. Since then, however, she has put in the time and work and it's paying off.

"Her training in the summer and fall has allowed her to create a base that is allowing her to train harder," said Vin Lananna, Stanford's director of track and field. "She's doing things she wasn't able to do before, because she's in better shape."

Fleshman proved that a week ago at Mt. SAC when she quickly realized the pace was too slow in the chase pack and took the lead with five laps remaining from Ethiopia's Ejegayehu Dibaba, who had bolted to the lead from the outset and separated herself from the field.

Fleshman's race plan, she said was to take advantage of what the race offered.

"There aren't that many opportunities in your season to run a fast 5K," Fleshman explained. "Every year, Mt. SAC has been the fastest 5K I've run. That's what I went in anticipating."

In 2000, Fleshman ran a Stanford freshman record of 15:50.18 at Mt. SAC. As a sophomore, she clocked a 15:49.84 and later in the season became the school's first NCAA women's champion at 5,000 meters since 1984.

As a junior in 2002, Fleshman again set the tone for the season by running a collegiate-best 15:35.39 at Mt. SAC and followed that up in June by defending her NCAA 5K title. That got her ranked 10th in the U.S. by Track & Field News magazine and set the stage for her most recent success at the storied relays.

"I told myself it's going to be a fast 5K because I'm physically ready for a fast 5K," she recalled. "If that means I have to take control in the back to make it fast, then that's what I'm going to do."

And she did, forcing the tempo in the late stages of the race and battling Dibaba to the finish line before losing by a few steps as the Ethiopian clocked 15:22.58. Sara Gorton of Colorado was third in 15:24.97, making her No. 4 on the all-time collegiate list, while Stanford redshirt freshman Alicia Craig clocked a personal record of 15:25.74 to take over the No. 5 all-time spot.

The collegiate record of 15:07.56 was set by Wisconsin's Cathy Branta in 1985 during an international race in Helsinki, Finland. Kathy Hayes of Oregon ran the No. 2 time of 15:23.03, also in 1985 and before there was a Pac-10 Conference for women.

While Fleshman said that one of her goals was "to etch myself in the record books before graduating," there are more important things in the near future for her than just chasing records.

"I'm a college athlete and I run for Stanford," she said. "My first responsibility is to compete well in the meets they need me to compete well in. Chasing times? I've got my whole running career to do that."

Fleshman is scheduled to run in three relays this weekend at the annual Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, before preparing for the annual Big Meet with California on May 3 at Stanford.

Everything leads up to the national championships at Stanford in June and Fleshman will use every opportunity to prepare for any situation, be it fast-paced or slow.

"Those are the kinds of skills you need to develop to become a professional runner, to be competitive, regardless of what the pace is," she said. "To be world class, you have to be so malleable to any situation."

While Fleshman is excited by her performance at Mt. SAC, it hasn't changed her perspective.

"All along, since my junior year in high school, a part of me has viewed myself as a future Olympian. It (the time) is more of a confirmation of that . . . It's an important step along the way."

It was only a short time ago that Fleshman was pointing toward the 2008 Summer Games as a realistic goal. Now, the timetable has been moved up.

"I think running in the 15:20s was an important step for this year, and I have that on my goal sheet for things to do," Fleshman said. "If I did that, I would feel more prepared for the U.S. championships.

"It's all a series of steps that have to be done between now and 2004. I have to lower my 1,500 PR and my 800 PR so I can get more confidence and get the speed I need, so I can kick that last 100 meters at the Olympic Trials against women who can run 4-flat in the 1,500 as well as a 15-minute 5K."

While making the U.S. team for the World Championships would be beyond her dreams in June, Fleshman's realistic goal is finishing among the top five.

"If I do that, get close to that goal or have a really fast time trying," Fleshman said, "then I'll feel much closer to my goal for 2004 - to be a contender for the Olympic team."

Everything that Fleshman has accomplished thus far has yet to faze Lananna.

"I believe she is a big-time runner," he said. "She can run faster. The key is for her to stay healthy."

That's why Fleshman is running fewer races earlier in the season while saving herself for a busy schedule at the end of May and into June.

"I need to be mentally and physically strong at that time," she said. "I always expect myself to run to my fitness. You can only do that much. My fitness is just better now."

And perhaps that means it's time for someone else to do the pace-setting work. Fleshman has earned the right to finish what she starts as she continues on the fast track to success.