Jan. 14, 2012
For immediate release
Former UC Davis runner places 28th; seven other area marathoners finish, including Sacramento Running Association coach Mary Coordt
Former Olympian and ex-UC Davis runner Linda Somers Smith finished 28th in the women’s race to lead a group of eight runners with Sacramento area ties competing Saturday in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Houston.
Somers Smith, 50, who placed second in the 1996 Olympic Trials in 2:30:06, finished 28th on Saturday in 2:37:36. Shalane Flanagan (2:25:38), Desiree Davila (2:25:55) and Kara Goucher (2:26:06) earned the three spots on the U.S. Olympic team heading to London for the 2012 Games.
Folsom product Natasha LaBeaud, 24, finished 60th in 2:42:55. Sacramento Running Association coach and Elk Grove resident Mary Coordt, 42, placed 90th in 2:46:18, with Gold River’s Midori Sperandeo, 45, finishing 99th in 2:47:14.
Sacramento’s Megan Daly, 33, finished 127th in 2:52:09, Roseville’s Lindsay Nelson, 26, was 130th in 2:52:55 and Sacramento’s Jaymee Marty, 44, placed 152nd in 3:07:32.
On the men’s side, Roseville’s Tim Tollefson, 26, who qualified for the Trials last month at the California International Marathon, finished 79th in 2:27:00.
Meb Keflezighi won the men’s race in 2:09:08, followed by Ryan Hall in 2:09:30 and Abdi Abdirahman in 2:09:47.
Coordt, who ran in her fourth Olympic Trials, is scheduled to return to Sacramento and resume her role as the SRA’s head coach. She is set on Jan. 22 to begin coaching a group of runners training for the Boston Marathon on April 16. Coordt is also scheduled to start a program next month to train runners for the Credit Union SACTOWN Ten-Mile Run on April 1.
The Sacramento Running Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to finding ways to encourage people of all ages and abilities to run. The SRA is committed to developing new, quality running events that appeal to a broad variety of runners.
SRA beneficiaries include the American River Parkway, youth fitness programs, local running venues and aspiring young runners.