Motivation to train seriously and improve significantly comes from different sources.
In the case of Kim Miles, the winner of the recent Spartan Sprint in Tampa, part of that motivation is the result of stress.
A victory over Tampa's Martha Vidal and Ann Hanlon wasn't a fluke for Miles.
In the past few weeks, the 33-year-old and resident of Clearwater has a third-place performance - behind Lisa Vaill and Jacki Waller - in the Draft Day Dash 5K, a second to Judy Maguire in the Hare Racing Experience 10K and a win at the Seminole Stampede.
"I've been been going through a stressful period lately," said Miles, a 1987 graduate of Clearwater High School where she ran cross country. "That has actually helped my running.
"I train harder now," she said. "It even helped me run February's Gulf Beaches Marathon, where I qualified for this year's Boston Marathon."
Miles decided not to compete in Boston last month but plans to in 2004. She said she was happy to win the Spartan Sprint but disappointed her time (19:07) wasn't under 19 minutes.
Miles' personal record for 5K is 18:59, set in the Draft Day Dash. She doesn't count the 17:34 in the Seminole Stampede as a record since it was a short course.
"My goal is to keep improving," said Miles, who trains on the Pinellas Trail.
She was to run a race Saturday that crossed the trail twice. It was Dunedin's annual Hog Hustle 5K that started from Dunedin Stadium. Maguire, 44, was expected to be there to defend her championship.
Keith Batten, another former Clearwater Tornado harrier, captured the men's Spartan Sprint crown by breaking the tape in 15:55.
Coast Guard Lieutenant Bob Villacres finished second, 16:19. He was followed by Tampa's Alberto Reyes, Boston Marathon veteran Steve Wilcox of St. Petersburg (2:49) and Pinellas Park's Lee Fictum. DRAFT DAY DASH: Twenty-five years separated the men's and women's winners.
Steven Bell, 15, of Land O'Lakes took the men's title in 16:15. Vaill, 40, Gainesville, prevailed (17:17) among the women.
DARE TO GO BARE: USF graduate Lee Stevens of Land O'Lakes won in 15:52.
Women's winner Alexa Gemma of South Daytona crossed the finish line 14th overall. She was wearing a smile after seeing her time of 19:33 on the overhead clock. She also wore running shoes.
MARATHON STATS: USA Track & Field recently reported that the median times for American marathoners have risen in recent years.
In 1980, it was 3:32 for men. In 1995, it went up to 3:54. Last year, it was 4:20.
The pattern prevailed among women using 1980 as a base year when the median performance was 4:04. In '95, it increased to 4:15. Last year, it was 4:57.
TRACK CHAMPION: USF's Tara Quinn, winner of last month's Ryka Take Fitness To Heart 10K, traveled to Philadelphia for the Women's Olympic Developmental 10K.
The result couldn't have been better - a repeat victory in a personal-record 33:34.
"What happened the next day was even better," Quinn said.
"My boyfriend, Andrew Smith (of USF), proposed to me on the steps on the Museum of Art where Rocky was filmed," she said.
ULTRA ULTRA SCENE: Largo's Barbara Frye was forced to drop out of the recent TransEurope Footrace from Portugal to Moscow because of tendinitis in her foot. She ran 261 miles in five days, trying to cover 3,200 miles in 64 days.
RELAY JOY: A group of area runners helped win the team championship in last month's River to River Relay in Illinois.
It's an 80-mile event from the Mississippi to the Ohio River. Each runner covers an average distance of 3.3 miles in three legs.
The local members of the Dixie Flyers included Jim Larson of Clearwater; Dick Ruzicka, St. Petersburg; Jim Blount, Bushnell; and Larry Miller and Al Treichel from Spring Hill.
Ruzicka, however, was unable to compete after undergoing hip replacement surgery in December.
"It was our ninth win in 10 years," said Ruzicka, a Chicago native who traveled with the squad and joined in the celebration.
"The race is scored on an age-graded scale," he said.
Ruzicka, a Forerunners and St. Pete Mad Dogs member, said his running days are over. He now is an avid bicyclist.
FINISH LINES: Saturday's Hog Hustle in Dunedin was expecting a 12-year-old winner in the field.
Tampa's Brigithe Moreno, who captured last month's Ryka 5K title in 19:22, was to enter as an underdog to Maguire and Miles. However, on the flat and fast course along the waterfront on Alt. 19, Moreno may have challenged the 19-minute barrier.
Moreno is the area's youngest overall female winner in recent years. On the men's side of the precocious scale, Andy Biladeau, 14, of Tampa's Jesuit High won last year's Gasparilla 5K in 15:35. There were 7,213 runners. Okay, including some walkers.
Largo's Shirley Taylor enters a new age division Friday. This year's Gasparilla runner-up in the 65-69 class is turning 70.
Fitness Running, which outlines training programs for racers and nonracers, is just off the press at Human Kinetics.
The principal author is coach Dick Brown, PhD, with Joe Henderson of Runners World.
The book, written in manual form, outlines how to begin a running program to how to best prepare for competition in a marathon.
