Wednesday, March 19, 2008; E03

At the recent U.S. indoor championships in Boston, Alisa Harvey of Manassas figured out why she seemed to be slowing down: She had been racing like a 40-year-old.

That, she decided, had to stop.

Harvey is 42.

In the semifinals of the women's 800 meters, Harvey, a former University of Tennessee national champion who has competed in four outdoor world championships (but none in the past 15 years), ran like a woman in her 20s. She took the lead. She abandoned what had become her customary strategy of sitting in the back of the pack and conserving her energy.

She pushed the pace, then settled into third place, good enough to advance to the final. In the decisive race, she finished last among six competitors but accomplished something huge: Her time of 2 minutes 5.75 seconds was good enough to qualify provisionally for this year's Olympic trials.

That -- assuming the time stands in the top 30 by the time of the trials in late June -- would be her fifth since 1988.

Harvey, who competed in the U.S. track and field trials in 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000, and the U.S. marathon trials in 2000, has little hope of advancing to Beijing, but she hopes to make a statement about the athletic potential of the more, uh, elderly set.

Harvey holds six master's records in the 800, 1,500 and mile. She trains three days a week at George Mason, when her children, 6 and 13, are in school. On the other weekdays, she works part-time at the Running Store in Gainesville.

"I am so competitive," said Harvey, a graduate of Jefferson High School in Alexandria. "I might be one of those people still running at 70 because I'm the fastest 70-year-old."

-- Amy Shipley