Community Corner

Walnut Creek Native Wows Olympic Trials

Deborah Maier of Berkeley seizes the lead for half of the 10,000-meter Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., then falls back.

Walnut Creek native Deborah Maier, running a race new to her, had an Olympic Trials crowd abuzz Friday night in the women’s 10,000-meter finals.

“I’m not a huge fan of going out superslow,” Maier said in Eugene, Ore., after leading more than half the 6.2-mile race, sometimes by 30 meters, before dropping back in the pack.

“I figured: I don’t have an ‘A’ [Olympic qualifying] standard. I’m in college (Berkeley). I don’t have any expectation of making the Olympics. So why not go for it?”

Find out what's happening in Walnut Creekwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The race was won by Amy Hastings in 31:58.36.

Did anyone used to run track intervals with Maier? Tell us about it in the comments.

Find out what's happening in Walnut Creekwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here