Meghan Armstrong Peyton: From Middle Distance to the Marathon
The former 1500-meter track specialist was second in the 4.75-mile Manchester Road Race in Connecticut in November. But it was a 1:13:56 half marathon two
years ago that now has her facing her longest serious racing test, the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials on Saturday in Houston. Peyton, who also ran a 1:14:57 at the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon in early December, did start to move up in distance in her senior year at the University of Iowa, when she had some success at 10,000 meters. She later joined Team USA Minnesota, and Coach Dennis Barker "first planted the seed of the marathon in early 2011, maybe March. I laughed at him, told him I didn't think so," recalls Peyton. "He just told me we didn't need to decide right away, that we could wait until after track season. Well, track didn't end the way I thought it would, and I was forced to do a lot of soul searching. I looked at other people who had improved on the track after doing a marathon. And I'm not one to back down from a challenge. If it goes well (at the Trials), fine. And if it doesn't, it will make me stronger on the track." Peyton, who had never run more than 20 miles at a stretch until last fall, is learning to be patient. "I've practiced going out slower and being happy with that and knowing it's the best thing to do because no one knows or cares who's in the lead at half way or 20 - I want to be there at the end," she affirms. (photo of Meghan Armstrong Peyton by Victah Sailer) More
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