Sarah Plaxton won theBayshore Marathon for the sixth time on May 31, 2004

Sarah Plaxton has liked "going long" for a long time. "When I first started racing, I enjoyed 10Ks more than 5Ks," says Plaxton, who qualified for and ran in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials April 3. "When I first ran the Traverse City Cherry Festival 15K, at age 12 or 13, I liked that distance even more."

Plaxton, 35, of Highland, ran track and cross country at Midland Bullock Creek High School, but injuries thwarted her running at Central Michigan University.

"I didn't have serious injuries, just nagging little ones," she remembers. "My body couldn't handle all the speedwork. I only had one year in college where I was relatively injury-free."

Plaxton ran the Detroit Free Press Marathon, her first race at that distance, after the birth of her son years later. She and her husband, Sheldon, now have children ages nine, six and four.

"Since college, I'd done a 5K here and a 10K there," says Plaxton.. "When I ran Detroit for the first time, my goal was just to finish."

She did more than that. Plaxton finished in 3:17, and has run 22 marathons since then. Among them is Traverse City's Bayshore Marathon, which she's won five of the last six years.

"Bayshore is a beautiful race," says Plaxton. "My parents live in Traverse City, so it's a good way for us to spend Memorial Day weekend as a family."

She has also won rugged trail races, such as the 2001 Running Fit Trail Marathon in Pinckney (3:37:40) and the North Country Trail Marathon in Manistee (3:27:54). Plaxton set a women's course record claiming the 2002 Running Fit Trail Marathon in 3:30:30.

"By the end of those races, you're usually stumbling down hills," she says. "But they're a blast to run, nonetheless."

Plaxton's 2:48:45 at the 2002 Free Press Marathon fell just short (or long) of the 2:48 Trials standard. Six weeks later, she ran a 2:46:27 PR in Philadelphia. "I felt I was flying," she recalls. "My calves cramped during the last 10 miles, but I just kept on."

In 2003, Plaxton ran PRs at the Cherry Festival 15K (57:23) and Crim 10-Miler (1:02:22). She also ran a strong 2:48:11 at the Austin Motorola Marathon Feb. 15.

Plaxton seemed poised to "bust one" at April's Trials. But she caught a cold on her way to St. Louis, and struggled to finish in 3:03:55.

"I had hoped to run faster, but the experience was unlike any I've had before," Plaxton says. "I'd love to break to 2:40 for the marathon," she continues. "But I've been so focused on the Trials, I'm not sure what to do next."

Winning her fourth-straight Bayshore Marathon title May 29 might be a good start.

"I will be there," Plaxton says. MR