MARATHON: DeHaven uncertain of chances in Olympic trials

By BERT ROSENTHAL
PITTSBURGH (May 6, 2000 11:01 a.m. EDT http://www.sportserver.com) - Rod DeHaven turned away from his computer and turned up the mileage for Sunday's U.S. Olympic marathon trials.
A computer programmer, DeHaven reduced his work schedule to six hours a day in January in hopes of making the team that will go to Sydney in September.
It has given him more time to fit in his workouts. Now, he tries to squeeze in 10-12 miles before work and five miles at lunchtime.
"The workouts are going much better," said DeHaven, the third-fastest qualifier in the field of 106 at 2 hours, 13 minutes, 2 seconds. The time is faster than the Olympic standard of 2:14:00, but it was posted at the 1998 Chicago Marathon, before the first Olympic qualifying date.
Therefore, in order to make the team, DeHaven will have to finish in the top three Sunday and break 2:14:00.
He knows it will not be easy, because of the expected unseasonably warm weather scheduled for race time; the fact that he has done it only once, over a fast, flat course, and the Pittsburgh terrain is tough and hilly; and he has been bothered by a back injury.
Still, he is hopeful.
His confidence comes from two good races this year. He won a half-marathon in January at 1:03:12, beating the field by more than a minute, and he won a 10,000-meter race in March at 28:17.
Neither was his best time, but they were good enough to show DeHaven that he still is very competitive.
He had his concerns last year after two disappointing marathons.
Going into the Boston Marathon, he was brimming with confidence, hoping to run 2:11. Instead, he struggled to finish at 2:19:23.
Then, after a good season on the roads last summer, he competed in the marathon at the World Championships at Seville, Spain. On a brutally hot day, he wound up 24th at 2:19:06.
"I was not happy about my place, but I was happy to have executed my plan, and I had some consolation of being the first American finisher," he said.
He knows he doesn't necessarily have to be the first finisher Sunday, possibly only for financial reasons - the winner gets $40,000, the runner-up $25,000 and third-place $20,000, plus Olympic team bonuses of $35,000, $15,000 and $10,000, respectively. There is the possibility that if he wins and doesn't break 2:14, he would be the only U.S. marathoner at the games.
"After Boston last year, things didn't go well," DeHaven said. "(At Seville), I underestimated the heat. I had calf problems. I suffered quite a bit in the middle of the race. I just jogged in the last 10 miles.
"Now, I have gotten smarter and I'm prepared to run better in the heat. After Boston and Seville, I changed my training. Now, I've concentrated on long tempo runs. I've gotten away from the track for a while.
"But the marathon is a crapshoot for me. I enjoy racing, but training can be a drag."
The marathon is a crapshoot for most runners, since they don't get many opportunities to run the distance.
"I probably will have to run 2:12 to make the team," he said. "If I don't make the team, I probably will go for the 10,000 (at the track trials in Sacramento, Calif., in July).
"This will be the last serious (Olympic) marathon chance of my career. At age 33, I don't see myself getting down to 2:06."