Fuel For The Final 5 Kilometers

"This is the first time I learn how Deena is looking as she runs up the hills into Athens. She had run strongly through all her workouts on Crete and resented the need to taper. Chatting to Benardot on Crete, she said she has never felt so strong in her life, noting she has adjusted her eating patterns to follow his advice. While at the resort, the nutritionist analyzed the eating patterns of all three women marathoners. All eat well and are getting the requisite calories. Deena, however, is closest to the ideal pattern of balancing her intake of calories with her expenditure of energy throughout the day. She eats frequently and adventurously, shunning few foods. . . . Inside the stadium, all is wild. Everyone is on their feet. Noguchi enters, a tiny runner gamely hanging on for the final 500 meters. Close behind is Kenya's Catherine Ndereba, who has led Deena the whole way. Deena bursts in a minute behind, having run the 5K between 35K and 40K in 16:20, the fastest 5K of the entire race by any runner-his after 21K of hills in 90-degree heat. [Julia Emmons. "They Practice on Mountains: An Olympic Marathon Coach's View of the 2004 Olympics." Marathon and Beyond 2005; 9(1): 53-66.]

Note: Deena Kastor won the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, the first American woman to win an Olympic marathon medal in 20 years.