Sunday’s 3M Half Marathon boasts a point-to-point, net-downhill course widely regarded as one of the fastest 13.1-mile races in the country. Race organizers are expecting a field of about 7,500 runners from around the nation.
While competitors are naturally attracted to the speedy course, Sarah Bishop, the 2017 Marine Corps Marathon champion and one of the favorites to win, has other reasons for running 3M. She is one of four Olympic marathon trials qualifiers who are using Austin’s 13.1-mile race as a "tune-up" for the U.S. trials race in Atlanta on Feb. 29.
Neither Bishop (who’s from Ohio), Austin’s David Fuentes, Fort Worth’s Taylor Dare nor Austin’s Cate Barrett are likely to make the top three berths for the men’s and women’s 2020 Olympic marathon teams, but just qualifying for and competing in the trials carries significant prestige.
Men must run the full marathon in a time of 2 hours, 19 minutes or better to make the "B" standard. A time of 1 hour, 4 minutes or better for the half marathon also serves as a qualifier. Women must run 2 hours, 45 minutes or better for the full marathon to make their "B" standard while a 1 hour, 13 minute or better half-marathon time also qualifies.
The qualifying window began on Sept. 1, 2017, and ends on Sunday. To date, 170 men and 363 women have qualified.
Coming just more than a month before the Olympic trials, the 3M Half Marathon is a perfect event for elites to test their race legs and get a feel for their fitness levels.
"I ran 3M last year for the first time, and I really liked the race and the course," said Bishop, who ran a 2:42:46 qualifier at the California International Marathon in 2017. "The weather is usually great, and it's also good timing before the trials, so I wanted to come back and run it again this year. At this point I'm looking to get a good gauge on my fitness to see where I'm at, now that we're about six weeks out from the trials.
"I still have a few weeks to sharpen up, but it will be great to get in a good, hard race effort after a long winter of training to get my legs in race mode," added Bishop, a former active duty Air Force lieutenant and a mother of four.
Barrett, who ran a 2:43:28 qualifier at the California International Marathon in 2018, is hoping the 3M will help her figure out what kind of shape she’s in.
"What I want to get out of 3M is positive momentum," said Barrett, 30, who works in technical sales for Oracle in Austin. "It’s cool to be part of the Olympic trials race — it’s the largest women’s field that has ever run in the trials. More women are seeing that they can do it. It will be the deepest field I’ve raced in."
Bishop, 37, is based in Dayton, Ohio, and has been running up to 90 miles per week to prepare for both the 3M and the Olympic trials. She summed it up best.
"I like to say that the trials is my Olympics," Bishop said. "... I intend to get in the best shape that I can and run to the best of my ability. But my main goal is to enjoy the experience of a goal I worked for a long time to achieve.
"Whether I'm 30th place or 350th place, years from now that won't matter. But I know I'll remember the experience for everything that it's worth, so I intend to go into the trials more excited than nervous and simply enjoy everything that it is."