Law student prepares for Olympic trials
Former cross country standout J.T. Service faces elite competition
By Cecile Nguyen
Issue date: 10/25/07 Section: Sports
Originally published: 10/24/07 at 11:24 PM PSTLast update: 10/24/07 at 11:42 PM PST
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On Nov. 3, Service will compete against more than 100 of America's best marathoners at the U.S. Olympic Trials in New York City, where only the top three finishers will earn a spot on the team headed to Bejing in 2008.
"It's all very exciting," Service said. "My parents, best friends throughout the years, old teammates and some of my coaches are coming (to New York) with me. They're all very supportive and know how important this is to me."
After months of training -- at times running up to 110 miles a week -- and recovering from a recent calf injury, Service feels he is ready for the meandering 26.2 mile course that winds its way through Central Park.
Service qualified for the event at the Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minn., this past June. His time of 2:21:31 was good enough for 8th place among the race's 10,000 participants.
"You need a time of 2:22:00 to go to trials," said his father, Tom Service. "There were 35 guys trying to qualify for the trials, and of that group, only three people, including J.T., qualified."
The elder Service is the head coach of the men's and women's cross country and track teams at Santa Clara, and has been providing coaching support for his son throughout his entire running career.
"I've done all this work for the last 10 years, and to know in the last two hundred meters -- seeing the clock ticking and knowing that I'm going to get the Olympic qualifier was the most satisfying feeling," said J.T. Service.
However, qualifying for the race didn't come easy. Service had a chance to qualify for the trials during the Los Angeles Marathon last February. He fell just two minutes shy of the qualifying time in a race that was largely impacted by especially warm weather.
Originally a cross country and track runner, Service has made a nice transition to marathoning in only a year and a half.
His debut in the marathon came shortly after the death of his brother, an tragedy that has since inspired Service to continue training.
"His death pushed me to run long distance," he said. "For me, running was a healthy escape."
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