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| Wherever her talent and drive take her in the days and years to come, Kim Conley will have a difficult time duplicating her experience at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials in Eugene, Ore. Those 15 minutes were magical. |
 courtesy of photorun.net |
With a furious homestretch sprint and a lunge at the finish line, the UC Davis graduate claimed the third and final spot on the U.S. Olympic team in the women's 5,000 meters. The scoreboard showed that she had finished 0.04 seconds ahead of the fourth-place runner, Julia Lucas, and Conley's time of 15:19.74 was just under the Olympic "A" standard of 15:20.00.
The photo of Conley's immediate reaction - hands on her head, mouth agape, green eyes bulging with incredulity - was worth more than 1,000 words. "I'll never forget the momentum I gathered coming off the final turn at the Olympic Trials, when I could hear the crowd getting excited as I started catching runners," Conley said. "I've never experienced anything like it." In some respects, what Conley has accomplished since her stunning breakthrough is even more impressive. She has certainly shown that her Trials race wasn't a fluke. While she didn't qualify for the 5,000 final at the London Olympics, she lowered her personal best in her qualifying heat. She carried the Olympic-year momentum over into 2013: Running in the World Cross Country Championships for the first time; further lowering her personal bests in the 1,500 and 5,000; and qualifying for the IAAF World Track and Field Championships by placing fourth in the 5,000 at the U.S. Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. |
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The women's 5,000-meter final in Des Moines was a slow, tactical fair, not surprising given the stifling heat. Fresh off a personal-best 15:09.57 at the Prefontaine Classic, Conley ran with the leaders most of the way but was unable to match the finishing speed of Jenny Simpson, the defending world champion in the 1,500.
Simpson won in 15:33.77, followed by Molly Huddle (15:35.45), Shannon Rowbury (15:37.27) and Conley (15:37.27). Three is the maximum number of runners a country can send to the World Championships in one event, but Simpson opted for the 1,500 in Moscow, giving Conley the third spot. "I suppose you could say it went according to plan, because when everything is said and done, I punched my ticket to Moscow," said Conley, who turned 27 in March. "But I also got passed right before the finish line, which put me in fourth and left me off the podium. Finishing in the top three was my goal going in." Following the U.S. Championships, Conley spent three weeks training at high altitude in St. Moritz, Switzerland. She re-acclimated herself in Belgium before competing in the 3,000 meters at the London Grand Prix meet on July 26. Conley lowered her personal best by nearly 10 seconds in London, clocking 8:47.46. It was a terrific showing by Pacific Association-connected athletes as Rowbury won in 8:41.46 (2013 world leading), Jordan Hasey was fifth in 8:46.89, and Chelsea Reilly 7th in 8:48.30. In Moscow, Conley's goal is to make the final. At the London Olympics, she missed the final despite clocking a personal-best 15:14.48 to place 12th in her heat. "The first task (in Moscow) is to make the final," Conley said. "I very much feel that I have unfinished business after failing to do that at the Olympics. I'm eager to return to that stage and get it right this time." At this year's Prefontaine Classic, Conley ran the fastest 5,000 meters of her life and still finished ninth - behind four Ethiopians and four Kenyans. The winner, Olympic 10,000-meter champion Tirunesh Dibaba, clocked 14:42.01. "It's hard to pinpoint one thing that makes the Africans so exceptional," Conley said. "I do think they work incredibly hard and have a hunger that's hard to create in our country. The majority of athletes in the U.S. have many options when it comes to what they want to pursue in life, and in most cases running is not the career choice you make if you're looking to 'be successful' as we define it in our society. In Africa, running can open doors to a better life." To illustrate her point, Conley cites the Twitter bio of her teammate on the U.S. Olympic team, 10,000-meter runner Janet Cherobon-Bawcom. Cherobon-Bawcom writes: Started running so I wouldn't have to keep milking cows. Still running and still not milking cows!!! "It's funny," Conley said, "and at the same time it illustrates a little bit of that desire for something more, and the use of running as a vehicle to obtain it." Conley, a Santa Rosa native, competed four years at UC Davis but never qualified for the NCAA Track Championships. Her best 5,000 time as a collegian was 16:23. But she knew that she could run faster, so she continued on after college and assisted UC Davis cross-country coach Drew Wartenburg in coaching the distance runners. At the end of 2011, Conley received a grant from the Sacramento Running Association that allowed her to concentrate on running full time, though she continued coaching the Aggies as a volunteer assistant. She is sponsored by New Balance and lives in West Sacramento. "My life has changed quite a bit," Conley said. "Becoming an Olympian opened doors to many new resources and opportunities." When she toed the starting line of the 2102 Olympic Trials, Conley's goal was blissfully simple: Enjoy the experience and run as fast as possible for as long as possible. "I had dreamed of running in the Olympic Trials for many years, so to actually be there and feel like I could put myself in a position to contend for a top-three finish was very exciting," she said. "I knew I had a very outside shot at making the team, but I didn't feel any pressure or expectation to actually do it." As she rounded the final turn, she thought of something Wartenburg had told her beforehand: "Do something heroic." Expectations are different now, but Conley relishes the thought of riding that magical moment for years to come. "I see myself competing for at least another decade," Conley said. "At some point I will run a marathon, and then dabble back and forth between track and the marathon. Right now I'm focused on continuing to develop on the track. I have a great passion for the sport. "There's nothing I'd rather be doing." |
Diamond League London, 7/26/13
Women's 3000m Final
Women's 3000m Final
| Pl. | Athlete Nat. | Birth | Result | |
| 1. | Shannon ROWBURY | USA | 84 | 8:41.46 |
| 2. | Gabriele ANDERSON | USA | 86 | 8:42.64 |
| 3. | Molly HUDDLE | USA | 84 | 8:42.99 |
| 4. | Sheila REID | CAN | 89 | 8:44.02 |
| 5. | Jordan HASAY | USA | 91 | 8:46.89 |
| 6. | Kim CONLEY | USA | 86 | 8:47.95 |
| 7. | Chelsea REILLY | USA | 89 | 8:48.30 |
| 8. | Brianna FELNAGLE | USA | 86 | 8:52.59 |
| 9. | Eilish MCCOLGAN | GBR | 90 | 8:53.66 |
| 10. | Emelia GORECKA | GBR | 94 | 8:55.59 |
| 11. | Irine Chebet CHEPTAI | KEN | 92 | 8:56.20 |
| 12. | Dolores CHECA | ESP | 82 | 8:56.42 |
| 13. | Stephanie TWELL | GBR | 89 | 8:58.57 |
| 14. | Kate AVERY | GBR | 91 | 9:02.48 |
| 15. | Jackie ARESON | AUS | 88 | 9:08.02 |
| - | Treniere MOSER | USA | 81 | DNF |
