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Editor's Note: The author of the piece below, Susannah Beck, the 1998 USA 12K champion, finished 4th at the recent U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials with a PR 2:36:46.

I haven't been to running camp since 1986, when Andy Palmer's Maine Running Camps were still for high school kids. Still, most of what I know about running I picked up there in Bar Harbor. So it was with real enthusiasm that I found myself a camper again: I'm a marathoner now and my ideas needed some updating and refocusing. Lucky me, I got myself invited to the first USA Track & Field Elite Marathon Seminar, held this past weekend, June 21 - 25, at the ARCO Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Chula Vista, CA, south of San Diego.

Ray Lapinski of the USATF Women's Marathon Development Committee was the impresario and ringmaster of the event, planned as a forum in which "to gather and share information on the marathon" for U.S. runners culled from the recent men's and women's Olympic Marathon Trials. Fourteen women and six men attended, including women's Trials winner Chris Clark and American record holder David Morris. Athletes were treated to lectures, physiological testing, foot probing, head shrinking and five effortless days of training at the Club Med of the OTC system.

The star of the weekend was the ARCO Olympic Training Center itself. The U. S. boasts four OTCs--the others are at Colorado Springs, CO, Lake Placid, NY and Marquette, MI. They are for the exclusive and complimentary use of athletes ranked at the top of Olympic sports. For track and field athletes, this means a top-15 ranking in "Track and Field News" in an Olympic-contested event. The living is dormitory-style, the food cafeterial but exquisite and the sports medicine is superb. Those who qualify can use the centers for short training stints, or live there for years under a residence program that asks only that they employ their brains a little bit somehow, either by taking classes, working part time or volunteering in the community. Our visit to the center overlapped with visits by such distance running speedsters as Deena Drossin (down from altitude training before the Track Trials), Dan Browne, Meb Keflezighi, Eric Polonski and Jenny Crain.

How is it for training? The ARCO OTC is a 155-acre compound settled atop a scrubby ridge among treeless sun-blasted hills, four miles north of the border with Mexico. Contrary to my expectations, the center is a small (148 beds), quiet place, extremely mellow and attended by unassuming, mostly-adult athletes. The site is difficult to characterize. There is a clash of bliss and uneasiness that comes from being at the edge between a wilderness and a major population center, perhaps particular to the west. It's a beautiful place, with spectacular views of desert mountains rising behind sparkling Lower Otay Reservoir, tasteful South-Western-style buildings, soft, perfectly groomed soccer fields for barefoot running and a firm pink track. Great trails are here in abundance, with many miles of lonely dirt roads and ranch gates to jump over. It's hot, but breezy, and the air smells like eucalyptus. On the other hand, there are a few things that call for caution. Rattlesnakes, for instance. Mountain lions. Killer bees. Illegal border crossers. The Border Patrol. Longhorns. And the gloomy psychic presence, if you happen to glance to the south, of the enormous R.J. Donovan prison and deportation center. And if you glance to the west, the equally gloomy sight of the quickly advancing wave of high-density, suburban housing developments, now a mere half mile from the barbed-wire-topped fence of the OTC. In a few years there may not be any more trail running here. But if you keep your gaze trained to the east, toward the desert, and you bring some training buddies with you, Chula Vista makes an adequately fabulous place to train.

Dixon Farmer is the USATF man-on-the-spot at the ARCO Center. If you are interested in training at the center, this is the man to petition. Farmer has 40 years experience coaching collegiate track and can act as the "eyes and ears" of your coach-back-home if you need some assistance with timing or what have you. It may help your chances to compliment his 26-year streak of running at least three miles every single day.

The only other danger to be wary of at the OTC is the temptation to overtrain. At home in Mecca, I mean Eugene, I have trouble getting out the door for nearly every run I go on. In Chula Vista, I had to hold myself back from running three times a day. To do so would have been quite feasible. Between the soft trails, the services of the training room, and not having to cook dinner, I thought my body could actually get away with it. I wonder if it's true. That's what those Kenyan and Japanese camps seem to achieve. If there was a theme to the lectures at the seminar, however, it was just the opposite.

Two-time marathon Olympian Kenny Moore opened the camp's festivities and set the tone by suggesting, simply, that less is more. In addressing the fact that the U.S. is not producing fast marathoners in the same numbers that it did in the 1980s, Moore proposed that "the passionate desire of the Americans is their undoing, as they try to imitate the work of the Kenyans". Apparently, we are trying too hard. His credo is that "the ultimate is not the optimum" as far as your training is concerned. In other words, the most work your body can endure is not necessarily the best work to improve your times. Moore gave a sketch of his training under University of Oregon coach Bill Bowerman and stressed the importance of approaching your easy days with the same seriousness of purpose as your workout days.

Ralph Vernacchia, the sports psychologist of the 2000 Olympic Track and Field Team, spoke next on the psychological peaks and valleys of success. It is apparently important to be able to differentiate between your sport and your life. Vernacchia preached patience and suggested ways to develop a healthy and winning capital-A Attitude.

Karen Freeman, sports nutritionist to the San Diego Chargers, gave a talk on general nutrition principles and supported the position of the American College of Sports Medicine in promoting a carbohydrate-dominant diet for endurance athletes, in spite of the current popularity of protein-dominant 'Zone' type diets. Other marathon-specific tips: beware of fructose in sports drinks and gels, it can cause cramps; if you don't have to pee every two hours, you're not drinking enough water; and for every pound you lose on a hot run, you should/must drink 24 ounces of water in compensation.

Dr. David Martin, co-author with Peter Coe (Seb's dad) of the influential "Better Training for Distance Runners", presented an overview of marathon racing today, and then dove in to the physiology of marathon racing, which is run 99% aerobically. Training methods directed towards raising your lactate threshold (the pace at which your body begins to produce lactic acid) were discussed, along with the importance of hydration and adequate ingestion of elemental iron. In keeping with the party line, fitness-maintaining "junk miles" were de-emphasized in training, in favor of miles that actually produce increases in fitness. This is particularly true for marathoners, who are prone, as a class, to connective tissue injury from high-volume training. Martin finished by informing athletes of the conditions that might be encountered at the 2001 World Championships marathon in Edmonton, Canada (elevation is 2100 ft.) and the 2004 Olympic marathon in Athens. (It's hilly).

Sports podiatrist Perry Julien spoke about below-the-knee injuries common to endurance runners, summarizing his useful book "Sure Footing" (Atlanta Foot and Ankle Center, 1998). When confronted by possible injury in the lower leg and foot, Julien suggested looking to your shoes first for the problem. He offered the unconventional wisdom that once you have found a pair of shoes that works for you, you should wear only that model in your training (excluding speedwork), although wearing several pairs of the same model at a time is fine. Athletes were treated to individual podiatrical consultations and a free copy of the book. And by the way, never get a cortisone shot in your Achilles tendon.

Jim McLatchie, coach of the highly successful Houston Harriers running club, and everybody's favorite Ekiden coach, spoke about his 15-week marathon program. While coaching twenty different people to the Olympic Trials and three more to the Olympics, McLatchie has observed that tempo runs need rarely be longer than 20-30 minutes in duration. Not afraid of assigning a little hard work, however, your long run might stretch to 30 miles.

Dr. Robert Vaughan, the Texan guru of the bloody internal mechanics of running, began a lecture with the frank suggestion that "we suck" (we marathoners, that is). Fortunately, he was full of ideas about how we might suck less. Vaughan discussed in detail the relations between various blood components and how they contribute to performance and can reflect overtraining. Female athletes at the seminar were treated to lactate threshold (LT) testing and a blood work-up (paid for by the Women's Development Committee). Vaughan later met with each athlete to interpret individual results and suggest remedies for low iron. For many of us, our LT profiles suggested that we might be good at the marathon, once we sucked less. Vaughan has the distinction of having coached Francie Larrieu-Smith throughout her marathon career and he presented the athletes with two-and-a-half years of Francie's daily running program, a generous and valuable gift. Would that more of these incredible documents were available as coaching resources!

A seven-months-pregnant Lorraine Moller arrived midway through camp to deliver a rousing and much-needed injection of magical spiritualism into the occasionally technical presentations. Moller, the four-time New Zealand Olympian and 1992 Olympic marathon bronze medalist in Barcelona (at age 37) brought her medal along for show and tell, and told us to now go get one of our own. It smelled like a penny. Moller offered a picture of the athlete's career as a hero's journey and one requiring a willingness to grasp fast to the slimmest possibility of chance to achieve what you dream of. It was perhaps the first time that references to Joseph Campbell and the movie "Dumb and Dumber" have been made in the same speech and with equal respect. Moller reminded participants that the running life is an adventure that cannot be undertaken without imagination and a certain faith. It is your work of art. It will require courage and emotional fortitude. It may also require unusual rituals and placating the Olympic gods, naked, on top of Mt. Olympus. Moller is in the process of writing down her marvelous 28-year running career, which includes the twin wonders of the emergence of women's distance running and the professionalization of the sport.

Finally, USATF LDR Chairs Carol McLatchie and Danny Grimes conducted a discussion with the runners, inviting input about the 2004 Olympic Marathon Trials process. Nearly everyone agreed that a fast course would be nice. Athletes were warned that the Olympic "A" standard would probably be tougher in 2004 than it is now (2:14/2:33). The seminar ended with the presentation of well-wishes to Chris Clark for her upcoming adventure in Australia and Ralph Vernacchia's moving remembrance of the great Glenn Cunningham, who ran a 4:06 mile on 9 miles per week. Yes, nine.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that on "Olympic Day" (Friday, June 23), Mr. William Jefferson Clinton dropped by the ARCO OTC to meet and greet future and hopeful Olympians and disrupt everyone's training. It was the first time anyone on the OTC staff had heard of Olympic Day. President Clinton's three-hour visit included a stop at the track, where every athlete staying at the OTC (including rowers, kayakers, archers, soccer players, alpine skiers and decathletes) had been herded and instructed to look smart and do something sporty-looking.

Chris Clark was invited to represent the marathon group (who stood around looking professionally tired), and chatted with President Clinton for several minutes. Clinton then changed venues and gave a speech to a hastily assembled group of good-looking young Americans (schoolchildren, Boy Scouts, a marching band, some sequined color-guards and, of course, us), but mostly to the hundred or so media-types he brought along with him. Arkansas alumna Deena Drossin was tapped for the job of "introducing" him to the crowd and she delivered the goods with a cheerful, poised and patriotic overture.

Amidst the hoopla, Clinton made a minor gaffe and then an important announcement. The faux pas was congratulating us on being the only Olympic Team in the world that receives no support from the national government. Yeah, thanks. This while we were surrounded by vacant lots at the OTC where corporate sponsors have reneged on their funding pledges and left it half-finished, without even a swimming pool. The important announcement was that in commemoration of the anniversary Title Nine (that day), he was going to sign an executive order that extended Title Nine benefits to all relevant institutions that receive federal support, not just the colleges and universities. Now that really is something to cheer about.

Special thanks to 
Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Coordinator for providing us this press release.
USATF Road Running Information Center
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