At 43, She’s Still Chasing The Trials Dream

The Florida runner hopes to run the qualifying time this weekend.

“Timing is everything,” they say. This oft-used quote couldn’t be more true to Stacie Alboucrek. In 2000, she qualified for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, but a pregnancy prevented her from competing. Four years later, she made it to the Trials but ran it injured. Four years after that, her second child came along and she was once again sidelined.

This weekend, Alboucrek will be racing in the ING Miami Marathon. She was the winner in the 2004 edition. She maintains a positive attitude about her chances about this year’s race: “My big thing is to qualify for the Olympic Trials. I’m healthy, happy to be running again. My goal is to get under 2:46. That’s what you need for the Trials.”

However, Albourcrek hasn’t raced in five years.

Preparing for a fast marathon at 43 is a lot different than 33, she admits.

“As you get older, you don’t recover quite as quick, but so what? You have to be smarter about your workouts…I hope I inspire people to do the sport I absolutely love,” she says.

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