ODDS AND ENDS FROM THE FRIDAY PRESS CONFERENCE

RACE MAY BE MOVED TO EARLIER START

The race directors will decide today whether to move up the 7:55 am start. Unfortunatley, much of the press conference centered on being able to hit the 2:14 standard in the hot conditions that are forecased for Sunday. As a result, a decision will be made today whether the race should be moved up an hour to find easier conditions.

WILLIAMS HASN'T SLEPT WITH HIS WIFE IN 5 MONTHS

American Todd Williams, who seemed extremely confident in the press conference, admits that he has not slept with his wife for 5 months. We're not quite sure in what sense did he mean the word "slept", but he has been living in his basement during his buildup phase. He talked of doing 20 mile runs on his treadmill with the thermostat set at 75 degrees and no fan on him. He is clearly possessed and ready to make the team. He said he hoped this crazy training would prepare him for the final 6 miles of the marathon.

WEJO SAYS

(Editor's note: WEJO is LetsRun.com's Weldon Johnson, a darkhorse who many pundits are saying has a shot to make the team).

Well, I was going to try and not give my own predictions on the race, but here goes what I learned from the press conference. Todd Williams is possessed. He seemed extremely ready for the race, and I expect a game performance from him. Running on a treadmill for 20 miles is impossible to do (like he did), but I guess running 150 miles a week at 7000 feet of altitude (like I did) isn't easy either. Mark Coogan is ready. Mark said he was in better shape than in 1996 when he made the Olympic MArathon team. The only difference he said is that he has been trainig at sea level this time. Keith Brantley did not seem ready. Perhaps I do not know Keith, but I think his best days as a runner are behind him. He was funny at the press conference, but did not have the confidence of some of the other runners. I'm as ready as anyone. I've done more mileage than anyone except perhaps David Morris and at altitude. Well, see what that means on Sunday. (The panel participants had done weekly mileage from around 95 a week up to about 140 for a few guys (max) to 170 4 weeks ago for David Morris. Only Morris, Alfredo Vigueras, and Scott Larson had trained at altitude)

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