BUTTE TO BUTTE PART OF OLMSTEAD'S LONG HAUL.

Byline: Paula Lincoln The Register-Guard

Dan Olmstead ran his first Butte to Butte four years ago. He completed the 10-kilometer course through the streets of Eugene in 32 minutes, 14 seconds to finish second behind Scott Touchette and was hooked.

The former Sunnyvalle, Calif., resident ran the race again in 2001 and placed fifth (32:28). Olmstead has since run in the annual Fourth of July road race two more times, and, like a scene from Bill Murray's "Groundhog Day," history has repeated itself with Olmstead finishing fifth in 2002 (32:28) and again in 2003 (32:19).

So why does Olmstead continue to run the local road race that is part competion and part community fun run?

The answers come easily from Olmstead, who moved to Eugene six years ago because of its reputation as Track Town USA.

"I'd been a runner and knew Eugene had a lot of runners and was a university town and wanted to come here. I liked the politics of the town. A lot of things fit me," said Olmstead, who attended college in Chico, Calif., and worked in Medford for a couple of years before moving to Eugene.

Olmstead, 32, works locally as a civil engineer and lives in south Eugene.

He has no problem identifying the reason he continues to show up at the corner of 43rd and Donald to climb the infamous hill each July 4.

"Strangely, I really like the course," Olmstead said. "Running straight uphill at the start forces you to go out strong. You get the super-hard part done with and then it's a flat course and you just cruise the rest of the way."

Paul Kezes, Aaron Davis, Rick Fuller, Jed Chappell, Dan Nelson, Matthew Mesner, Mike Dudley, Michael Kasahun and Dan Franek are among those who have beaten Olmstead to the finish line.

"In the Butte to Butte, so much depends on who shows up," Olmstead said. "There are a lot of really good runners here and it depends on what they're doing that day. I would certainly like to finish in the top five again, but I don't know if I could win it. (Some of them) are a fair amount better than I am. I could probably beat them in a marathon - maybe."

That's because Olmstead's running emphasis has shifted to the marathon.

"I still enjoy track, but I'm pursuing the marathon now. Once you start doing marathons - longer, slower, more reserved running - it's hard to have the gusts of intense running needed to win a shorter race," said Olmstead, whose ultimate goal is to make the U.S. Olympic team.

"Obviously I won't be making this one, but maybe four years from now ... if I make the qualifying time ... ," he said.

Olmstead, who is coached by Matt Lonergan at Team Eugene, has run 10 marathons, including the Boston, New York City and Chicago marathons.

"And all three of them went horribly," said Olmstead, whose best times have come on the West Coast, most notably two years ago when he finished the Portland Marathon in 2:27.09 to place second.

"I'm still a good five minutes off (the Olympic qualifying time of 2:22) but I felt real good," he said. "I think I could have run faster."

Olmstead and his wife, Courtney Leonard, had planned to be out of town over the weekend but decided to stay when they were asked by Eugene's Sister City committee to host a couple of runners from Kakagawa, Japan.

Olmstead's participation in Eugene's Sister City program comes full circle after he and Leonard were selected for a 10-day trip to Japan last April.

The pair were part of a seven-person delegation that included four Eugene-area runners who were among the 4,000 who ran Kakagawa's annual road race.

"It was extra special that both of us got to go," said Olmstead, whose trip included visits to Tokyo and Hiroshima.

The race was another story.

"It went OK. I got sick and I was really worried about starting the race. I didn't know how I'd do," said Olmstead, who overcame his illness to finish sixth.

Olmstead figures his time Sunday will be similar to those of the past four years.

"Historically, I haven't trained too hard for the Butte to Butte, but I've always been pleasantly surprised at how well it's went," he said. "I'm usually coming off a season and just starting to get going again."

BUTTE TO BUTTE

8 a.m. Sunday beginning at 43rd and Donald and ending at Skinner Butte Park.

CAPTION(S):

Dan Olmstead, fifth in the past three Butte to Buttes, trains with his Jack Russell terrier, Jasper.