When the Heat Is On, U.S. Runners Are Ready

To that end, a team of USOC scientists has prepared a 28-page manual on handling Beijing's heat and humidity. Officials declined to allow the publication of specifics from the manual, citing competitive concerns.

Though Nike sent about 200 of the $200 cooling vests to Athens for its clients from all nations, according to Todd Van Horne, the company's global creative director for sport and innovation, they apparently were not widely used, perhaps because of problems with refrigeration or simple unfamiliarity with the product. Keflezighi said he saw no other marathoners wearing them. Kastor said she observed only a couple of women with them.

By the time the U.S. runners got their hands on the vests, they coveted them. They had been briefed on their potential value and couldn't wait to take advantage.

"It was really almost like a movie scene," Kastor said. "It was heat you could actually see. It was visible as it radiated off the pavement."

To devise and disseminate the '04 heat plan, USA Track and Field officials coordinated a then-secret 2 1/2 day marathon summit in May in Chula Vista, Calif. Among the attendees: a nutritionist; sports psychologist; Wilber, an environmental physiologist; and Martin, a cardiopulmonary exercise physiologist. Presentations on handling the expected conditions took place in a classroom setting. Keflezighi said he brought several notebooks and took copious notes.

"We took to heart, basically, what those people were saying," Keflezighi said. "I asked questions. I learned a lot, and I applied it."

Martin said the tone of the meeting regarding the heat was "ominous. It put the fear of death into them."

It was also so successful, a similar marathon summit is scheduled for this May in Colorado Springs.

After the 2004 summit, Kastor began loading up on fruits and vegetables, having been told antioxidants would help her body later withstand pollutants in the air. Both Kastor and Keflezighi worked out in winter clothing at their home base in Mammoth Mountain, Calif., wanting to simulate hot conditions but retain the benefit of high-altitude (8,000 feet) training. They ran a certain hill in Mammoth Mountain seven times at the urging of U.S. coach Joe Vigil, who determined that it mirrored the infamous eight-mile hill on the Athens course.

Kastor and Keflezighi also doubled their usual water intake during the Olympic races and started with great restraint, saving their energy for a strong finish.

The two proved the perfect guinea pigs for the marathon experiment, U.S. scientists say. Both were 10,000-meter specialists who moved up to the marathon, meaning two things: They were new enough to the discipline to respond to suggestions and strategies, and they were fast enough to be able to summon strong finishing kicks, assuming they followed their race plans. Which they did.

Kastor said many deserve credit for the effort. Including, she noted, the cafeteria workers who stuffed the vests in the freezer.

"What happened to them?" she wondered. "Did we give them pins or U.S. caps, or what happened?"