At what point does making the Olympic Trials become a reasonable goal?

I really think you can start "training to make the Olympic Trials" when you've run under 2:30, or close to it. Maybe that 34 year old could make some changes in training, and drop that last 9 minutes, but he shouldn't be putting life on hold to go for it, and neither should the 2:31 guy in a day and age where being a top American means running under 2:12.

if you have a shot at making the team, otherwise, it is just an ego trip. the marathon is the weakest standard in the US to get, so everyone tries to make the trials standard. focus on your career, remember, you can go to the olympics in ping pong.

For the marathon I'd say you should at least have a 67-68 minute half before you tell people you're training for the Trials.