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BEI: EX-MONTGOMERY STAR, STANFORD RUNNER 'OVERCOME WITH EMOTION' THE PRESS DEMOCRAT DATE: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 BYLINE: By BOB PADECKY THE PRESS DEMOCRAT PAGE: C1 SACRAMENTO -- As is her custom, Sara Bei left it all out there in the track Monday night. Every bit of strategy, every bit of determination, every bit of energy, Bei gave all of it to the Hornet Stadium oval. That she finished 11th in the women's 5,000-meter run at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials did nothing to diminish the effort. ``Right from the beginning my calves were on fire,'' said Bei, running for Stanford and weary from a long collegiate season. But as the Montgomery High product lined up for the start, as she looked to the track ahead of her, Bei heard roar after roar going up from the crowd. She saw friends she hadn't seen for a long time. She didn't think so many would attend. For that moment, the fire in her calves subsided for the pleasant distraction. ``It brought tears to my eyes,'' Bei said. ``I was really overcome with emotion. I didn't think there would be so many rooting for me.'' Her crowd stayed with her, right from the first lap, when she settled comfortably into 10th place. Her usual strategy has to be comfortable in the beginning of a race, then push the finish. She and her coach, Stanford's Dena Evans, thought long and hard about staying with the leaders right from the beginning but then decided against it. ``I had to run with my style of running,'' Bei said. Bei stayed 10th for a couple of laps before dropping to 12th. By the sixth lap the field had separated, the top nine runners creating some distance. By the ninth lap, the race for first place contained six runners. Shayne Culpepper beat Marla Runyan with a finishing kick, 15:07.41 to 15:07.48. Bei finished in 15:52.43. Her personal best is 15:36.21. If she had ran that time Monday night, she would have placed seventh. Bei kept perspective on her race, however far from first place she finished. ``Anytime you don't win you never feel 100 percent satisfied,'' Bei said. ``But I didn't even know I was going to run in the Trials after the NCAA Tournament. I really needed a break after the NCAA's. But I felt God wanted me to run in this race. I felt great that I made it to the finals. Now I really am going to take a break.'' It was a long shot, and Sara Bei knew it. Her competitors were more experienced. Bei is 21. Culpepper is 30. Runyan is 35. Bei will need time to develop. Will Bei continue running after she completes her last year at Stanford? She is undecided. ``I'm not out to get glory,'' she said. ``I never have seen me running post-collegiately, but it all depends on what God wants me to do. I always thought running professionally was a self-centered lifestyle. Entirely focused on yourself. I don't know if I want to do that. I've always been interested in going on missions to other countries.'' You can reach Staff Columnist Bob Padecky at 521-5490 or bpadecky@pressdemocrat.com 5,000 METERS 1. Shayne Culpepper, 15 minutes, 7.41 seconds. 2. Marla Runyan, 15:07.48. 3. Shalane Flanagan, 15:10.52. 4. Amy Rudolph, 15:13.74. 5. Jennifer Rhines, 15:19.15. 6. Carrie Tollefson, 15:25.55. 7. Molly Huddle, 15:37.92. 8. Melissa Buttry, 15:46.21. 9. Amy Begley, 15:52.12. 10. Melissa Gulli, 15:52.30. 11. Sara Bei, 15:52.43. 12. Kristen Nicolini, 15:53.47. 13. Katherine Newberry, 16:14.89. 14, Sarah Hann, 16:27.73.
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