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Waller concentrates on bigger goals down road

Back-to-back 5K wins by Jacki Waller of Tarpon Springs barely touch the surface of her running ambitions.

Waller, 23, a math teacher and assistant coach at Pasco County's Mitchell High, won the women's division of last month's Hog Hustle (18:41) in Dunedin and Tampa's Run Thru The Jungle (18:13).

In neither race was she seriously challenged. She reeled in "morning glories" who dashed to an early lead.

"I never start out in a dead sprint," said Waller, a former prep state champion in the 2 mile at River Ridge. "Why spend the last 3 miles recovering from a sprint? There's no use killing yourself early on."

Though Waller excelled in the standard 5K and 10K at Ohio University, where she posted personal bests of 17 minutes, 25 seconds and 35:45, she is confident her optimum distance is the marathon.

Waller is undergoing a rigorous summer and fall workout program to qualify for the 2004 Women's Olympic Trials.

"I entered (January's) Hops Marathon hoping to win," said Waller, who had to settle for fourth (3:06).

"Now I'm training 55 to 60 miles a week on a course bordering Lake Tarpon, hoping to run in the 2:55 to 3-hour range at the Aug.31 Tupelo (Miss.) Marathon.

"My only concern is the hills there," she said. "If the course is hilly, like in Ohio, that will work to my disadvantage. I like flat courses in hot weather."

Waller hopes Tupelo will serve as a stepping stone to a sub-2:48 trials qualifying performance in October's Chicago Marathon, which is noted for a flat layout and fast times.

"Running is a lot of fun for me right now," Waller said. "It helps to coach. It keeps my enthusiasm up.

"It's a pleasure thing, not like college where there's so much pressure and it's so consuming."

NOTES: Waller is engaged to River Ridge teacher Ryan Wachtel. He's a former University of Nebraska-Kearney football player.

Tony Teats, winner (2:30) of the first Hops Marathon, posted back-to-back victories with Waller. He won in Dunedin (15:51) and the Run Thru The Jungle (15:45). Hamstring injuries have prevented Teats from reaching his marathon potential and achieving an Olympic Trials qualifying time of 2:22.

Danny Ayers (17:10) was the runner-up to Teats in the Jungle race. Christina Noorstar (19:25) finished second to Waller. St.Petersburg's Mary Pulaski won (23:12) the women's 50-54 age division.

RUN FOR FREEDOM: The 5K in New Tampa had a familiar face in the winner's circle. Mary Ann Protz, 47, fresh off a victory in the Safety Harbor Sprints 5K, improved her 19:02 by winning in 18:48, a 6:03 per-mile pace. She finished 19th in a field of 299. Her closest rival was Forerunners teammate Amy McClenathan (19:18). Third went to Lakeland's Aimee Holzer (19:34), who was followed by Riverview's Nina Stokes (19:43). Belleair Bluffs' David Putnam (17:39) placed second among men behind MacDill's Gabit Shaimerdenov (17:16). Ryan Triplett (17:48) was third and trailed by Robert Di Carlo (17:52).

ROCK 'N' ROLL MARATHON: Linda Schumacher, 54, president of the 900-member West Florida Y Runners Club, skipped the organization's annual golf outing to run 26.2 miles in San Diego. She produced a personal-record 5:09:15. Noel Tenenbaum, a Palm Harbor plastic surgeon, also opted to fly west in hopes of improving his 4-hour marathon debut in the Florida Gulf Beaches in February. He crossed the San Diego finish line in 3:55:13. Clearwater's Barbara Eckes excelled in the 45-49 age group, placing fourth among 688. Overall, she was 168th among 9,199 women finishers.

MORE MARATHON NEWS: The fifth annual Florida Gulf Beaches Marathon, which starts and finishes at Clearwater's Coachman Park, is set for Feb.8. It grew for the fourth consecutive year this past February, attracting 1,605 runners and many from out of state and other countries. Executive race director Chris Lauber estimates the economic impact of the 2003 event to be $561,000. The inaugural Gulf Beaches Halfathon, which had 541 entries, produced $60,000, he said. The 13.1-mile race is scheduled for Dec.14. For information, visit www.info@-">href="mailto:www.info@-">www.info@-

OLYMPICS: England's Paula Radcliffe, who owns the women's marathon (2:15:25) and 10K (30:21) world records, has decided not to petition Olympic officials to change starting dates for those events so that she could attempt a double win. One athlete has done that successfully, and he trumped the feat by also winning the 5K. That was Emil Zatopek of Czechoslovakia in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After capturing the 10K title on the track (29:17), he took gold in the 5K four days later (14:06), then topped it off with a marathon-debut 2:23:03 three dayslater.