Friday, March 28, 2008

He's not Lance Armstrong and this isn't the New York City Marathon.

But Olympic gold medalist Dan Jansen is ready to run the National Marathon here tomorrow in memory of his sister who died 20 years ago.

"I've had some training issues," Jansen said. "Pain in my feet that caused me to miss six weeks, do some cross-training, but I've made it through the worst and I'll be ready."

Jansen, 42, knows something about adversity. In 1988, he entered his second Winter Olympics in Calgary as the favorite in the 500- and 1,000-meter speedskating events. On the day of the 500 final, his sister, Jane, died of leukemia. Jansen skated that night but fell and did not finish; a few days later, while on world-record pace in the 1,000 final, he fell again.

Four years later, at the Winter Games in Albertville, Jansen again entered as the favorite but finished fourth and 26th in his specialties. At Lillehammer in the '94 Games, Jansen finished eighth in the 500, his best event. Then, in his final Olympic performance, Jansen won the gold medal in world-record time in the 1,000 meters.

He dedicated the gold medal to his sister. These days, he helps run the Dan Jansen Foundation, which raises money to fight leukemia. He'll run the marathon with his older brother and three friends, two of whom are former Olympic speedskaters.

As for catching Armstrong, the more famous athlete-turned- marathoner, who ran 2 hours 46 minutes 43 seconds last fall in New York, Jansen scoffed: "C'mon, I'm 195 pounds, so I've got about 35 pounds on him. I'm a big sprinter, not a cyclist."

Jansen expects to finish in about 3 1/2 hours. . . .

Two-time defending champion Michael Wardian will attempt to remain the only men's marathon winner. The women's field is wide open as the best runners are preparing for the Olympic trials marathon in Boston on April 20. The half marathon, however, will be especially competitive as a trials tuneup with six qualifiers running. World Championship marathon competitor Samia Akbar, from Herndon, headlines that event.

Both races start and finish at RFK Stadium beginning at 7 a.m. Some 4,600 runners are registered.

-- Jim Hage