Photo: Clint Verran, Ryan Shay, Kevin Collins.

Twenty-three year old Ryan Shay of Team USA California surged to victory at the 79th USA Men's Marathon Championship here on the course that will - in a year - select the 2004 U.S. Olympic Marathon team. The East Jordan, Mich. native broke away from Kevin Collins and Clint Verran at the 24 mile mark to win in 2:14:29.

The victory - Shay's first USA Championship - was a one second personal best.

Collins, 31, of Craryville, N. Y., finished an unexpected national runner- up in a personal best 2:15:32. Verran, 27, a member of Hansons Team USA Michigan and a resident of Rochester, Mich., was third in 2:15:52. The top three finishers earned the right to compete for the United States in the marathon at the World Track and Field Championships in Paris this August.

Photo: Clint Verran and Ryan Shay lead. Jeff Campbell, 31, also from Hansons Team USA Michigan was fourth in a personal best 2:16:26. Scott Strand, 34, Birmingham favorite son and the designer of the marathon course, ran a personal best 2:16:52 for fifth. Eight of the top ten finishers in the race notched personal bests.

Clear skies and temperatures in the high-20s greeted the 35 starters in the event hosted by the Mercedes Marathon, which will take place here tomorrow over a different course. The USA Championship route featured a 9.5 mile gradual downhill run into downtown Birmingham before making roughly three laps of a gently undulating, 5.4 mile criterium circuit.

A lead pack of Shay, Collins, Verran, Campbell and Kyle Baker set itself apart from the rest of the contenders by the mile mark. The group didn't seem to make the most of the descent into the city, however, clocking a 5:15 first mile and running a few beats over 5:00 pace on average the rest of the way down. Even some sub-five minute segments upon entering downtown - lead by Verran - put the group at only 1:06:24 at the half-marathon point and behind a chance at the Olympic "A" standard of 2:12:00.

Shay, a 2002 Notre Dame graduate, took the lead of the final three- some at 13 miles - Campbell had let go upon entering downtown, while Baker went off the back just past 11 miles - and kept the pace under 5:00 minutes per mile until the 16 mile mark when he felt the objective went from running fast to finishing best.

"It got to the point where I saw that we were too far behind 2:12 pace to make up for it, and that's when I decided to slow down and make it more of a strategic race," Shay explained.

The pace of the Shay-led group slowed to the five-teens from miles 17 through 21 before further regressing to 5:23 and 5:26 before Shay's surge at the 24 mile mark. Shay ran 5:01 for mile 25, quickly putting Verran and Collins comfortably behind him.

"I knew I slowed down quite a bit," the Joe Vigil-coached Shay continued. "But I just felt comfortable and confident enough to keep waiting, and once I knew I couldn't get the time I wanted, it was pointless to put in that kind of effort when I was feeling that good."

Shay, the 2001 NCAA titlist at 10,000 meters, was excited about competing in Paris, but cognizant of his need of an Olympic "A" performance to put himself in the safest position before the Trials. Heat and humidity at the afternoon race at Worlds make fast times unlikely.

"A possibility would be maybe to forego Worlds to concentrate on Chicago to get that "A" Standard. That's something I'll have to talk to coach Vigil about," said Shay who earned $12,000. "The only other option is to do it here at the Trials, which is a very good possibility because my Team USA California teammate Meb Keflezighi is planning to run the Trials and he'd be a good guy to help pull me through."

Shay is confident that the Birmingham course, designed for speed and chosen by USA Track & Field for the 2004 Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon, can yield fast times.

"I think it's pretty similar to Chicago. It's a little different because we didn't have the big pack we did in Chicago, so at times it felt a little tougher for me," Shay said. "One thing I noticed is [you are] running on concrete a lot, Chicago was more black-top, this had a lot more concrete - a harder surface - and I noticed that especially in the later stages of the race. It's pretty similar to Chicago, maybe not quite as fast."

The race also opened the 2003 USA Running Circuit - a USATF road series featuring USA Championships from 5K to the marathon. With 9 events for men and 7 events for women, the 2003 USARC, the ninth edition for the men and eighth for the women, offers over $340,000 in national championship prize money plus a $25,000 grand prix purse.

At the national marathon championship, USARC points were doubled and Shay leads the standings with 30 points. Per USARC race, the first ten U.S. runners earn points (15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1) with a final $12,500 grand prix purse ($6000, $4000 and $2500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. The next USARC race - for men and women - is the Gate River Run 15K on March 8 in Jacksonville, Fla. 79th USA Men's Marathon Championship Hosted by the Mercedes Marathon Birmingham, AL, Saturday, February 8, 2003

1) Ryan Shay, MI 2:14:29* $12,000

2) Kevin Collins, NY 2:15:32* $7,500

3) Clint Verran, MI 2:15:52 $5,500

4) Jeff Campbell, MI 2:16:26* $4,250

5) Scott Strand, AL 2:16:52* $3,250

6) Brian Clas, NY 2:17:15* $2,500

7) Chris Graff, CA 2:18:45* $1,950

8) Chris Banks, NM 2:18:52* $1,750

9) Kyle Baker, MI 2:19:55 $1,300

10) Carl Rundell, MI 2:19:59* $1,000

11) Fred Kieser, OH 2:20:45

12) James McGown, NE 2:20:51*

13) Nate Bowen, CA 2:21:26*

14) Rick Fuller, OR 2:22:02*

15) Jason Medler, IN 2:24:59*

16) Ken Pliska, MA 2:25:13

17) Stephen Jayaraj, GA 2:26:53*

18) Michael Wardian, VA 2:45:36

*set personal best

USA Running Circuit Standings after one race

1) Ryan Shay, East Jordan, MI 30

2) Kevin Collins, Craryville, NY 24

3) Clint Verran, Rochester Hills, MI 20

4) Jeff Campbell, Rochester Hills, MI 14

5) Scott Strand, Birmingham, AL 12

6) Brian Clas, New York, NY 10

7) Chris Graff, Palo Alto, CA 8

8) Chris Banks, Albuquerque, NM 6

9) Kyle Baker, Mason, MI 4

10) Carl Rundell, Birmingham, MI 2