Ashburn’s Shull signs up for Marine Corps Marathon

Patti Shull does not enjoy attention, but the 47-year-old still signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon 10 day before race day.

“During the summer, people on the trails were asking me if I was running Marine Corps,” said Shull, who works and runs for the Potomac River Running Company in her hometown of Ashburn, Va. “But at that point, the race was sold out so [husband Wes and I] thought about running Richmond.

“It was definitely Wes’ decision [to run in the Marine Corps Marathon]. I’m running it for him. I’m doing it for the store, too.”

Wes chimed in that she actually is running from him, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

But anybody who knows the publicity-shy Patti realizes she is filled with anxiety now. Shull is one of the rare runners who prefers training to the pressure of racing, so the decision to run a marathon close to home takes its toll. The churning stomach, the sleepless nights, the loss of appetite. Welcome to the racing life of Patti Shull.

“I love my running,” she said. “You know it’s very spiritual for me. I love running out on the trails. It is very relaxing for me. I actually was planning on running Richmond [Nov. 12].”

Richmond is the midpoint for her family members from Gloucester, Va., who were planning to watch her run there. Instead, her friends will be lining the course next Sunday as she starts her fifth Marine Corps Marathon. She completed three of her previous four, dropping out of the 2001 race at 21 miles with an injury.

Shull’s best time in the event was a 2:55:17 in 1998, when she finished second. That Marine Corps race was just two weeks after she shocked many road race fans at the Army Ten-Miler, blazing a 1:00:10 time at age 40.

Two years later, she ran another personal best, this time a 2:53:39 at the Vermont City Marathon, which landed her third among women and first master. Shull also gutted out a fifth-place effort in Baltimore in 2003.

It has been a long time since Shull’s first marathon at the 10th running of Marine Corps in 1985, but she remembers it well.

“I had done some half marathons and just decided to run a marathon. I ran 3:12. I remember coming through the finish shoot and everybody was asking if I was first military.”

Think big — Mary Kate Bailey of Arlington has already qualified for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Women’s Marathon Trials, running a gritty 2:46:03 performance at Twin Cities on Oct.2. She surpassed the “B” qualifier of 2:47, placing 10th and earning $1,000 at the race selected as the USA Championships.

But Bailey has much loftier goals.

“I plan on running Chicago next year and I am shooting for the ‘A’ standard for Olympic trials,” said the former Marine who runs for the Georgetown Running Company team. “That is a dream for me.”

The “A” qualifier is pretty tough at 2:39, but the 30-year-old Bailey who won Marine Corps last year, came away from Twin Cities with positive thoughts.

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