Sep 12, 2000

A woman wrote to tell me of her lofty goal and to ask a question. She's several years from reaching it and wondered if she'd be first to do so.

"My name is Michelle Hamel," she said. "Presently I can run a 3:10 marathon, and I have a longterm goal of going to the Olympic Trials in 2004. At that time I will be 50 years young."

She asked, "Has there been a 50-year-old woman to go to the Trials yet? If not, I would like to be the first."

She wouldn't be second to none, I had to tell her. But she could be second to a nun.

The only 50-plus runner to make the Olympic Trials so far was Sister Marion Irvine, who qualified 1984 by running 2:51:01. She was 54 then and had only been running since her late 40s.

Sister Marion no longer is the fastest over-50 American. That record belongs to Shirley Matson. Her time of 2:50:26, run in 1991, wasn't fast enough for the Trials the next year.

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