Dropping ball no error for this marathon man.(The Dallas Morning News) - Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service

Byline: Cathy Harasta

DALLAS _ Alan Culpepper saw it as a choice: Hit or run?

When he made the sports call as a middle-schooler in El Paso, Texas, baseball bit the dust.

Culpepper, 31, of Forth Worth, secured his ticket to August's Athens Olympics when he won the U.S. Marathon Trials in Birmingham, Ala., last month. His wife, Shayne, a middle-distance runner, also could make Team USA. She finished third in the 3,000 meters at the World Indoor Championships in Budapest, Hungary, last weekend.

'My focus is on my training and supporting Shayne in what she needs to do to make the Olympic team,' says Culpepper, a 2000 Olympian in the 10,000 meters. 'That the marathon trials were in February allows me to recover properly and then train again for the Olympics.'

He was a promising second baseman when he dropped baseball to concentrate on track. Older brothers Doug and Chris also played baseball. Their parents, Stan and Patty, spent six nights a week at one diamond or another, watching their sons' games.

'In middle school, I was running competitive times for high school,' said Culpepper, who grew up in El Paso but whose parents have returned to Fort Worth. 'I knew that running was where my talents were.'

No one argued with that premise when his marathon debut, at Chicago in 2002, tied history's fastest debut at the distance by an American _ Alberto Salazar in 1980. That time of 2 hours, 9 minutes and 41 seconds gave Culpepper 2002's fastest marathon by an American by almost three minutes.

To say Culpepper's marathon debut provided a spark would be an understatement. Only one American time was a sub-2:12 the previous season.

In just his second marathon, Culpepper finished in 2:11.42 to win the trials over Meb Keflezighi and Dan Browne. As the top three, they qualified for Athens.

Paul Tergat of Kenya holds the world record of 2:04.55.

Culpepper, the reigning U.S. outdoor 10,000 champion, said the marathon had fascinated him for years. Frank Shorter was the United States' last man to medal in an Olympic marathon, winning silver in 1976.

'I always felt like I had the desire to explore that option,' said Culpepper, who is self-coached.

Culpepper, who won five Texas high school championships, ran for the University of Colorado. He and Shayne live in Lafayette, Colo., with their son, Cruz, who turns 2 in April.

But Culpepper's incentive for keeping up with Texas and its sports scene remains strong. His father ran track for TCU. Brother Doug lives in New Braunfels. Chris teaches and coaches in Crowley.

Shayne, a 2000 Olympian at 1,500 meters, said she will prepare to compete in July's Olympic Trials in the 5,000.

Their environment supports their goals and nurtures runners, Culpepper said. But it can be lonely.

'Pretty much nobody understands it,' he said. 'You're just pushing your body, either to getting hurt or to pure exhaustion. The emotional and psychological side is hard to explain.

'I think of it like being a trial lawyer: `If I don't achieve this goal, how will I feel?''

OLYMPIC RINGS

GREEK PEEK

Athens Games officials insist all the venues will be ready in time. But optimism is not a traditional Greek virtue. A recent Gallup International poll reported Greece as second only to Slovakia in pessimism. Fifty percent of Slovakians polled predicted a decline in their fortunes by the end of the year while 46 percent of the Greeks gave 2004's outlook a thumbs down. More than 65,000 people in 60 nations were polled.

GROWING PAINS

World champion gymnast Hollie Vise of Dallas says she'd be happy to hit a plateau, having grown several inches since January.

'When your body changes like that, you have to adjust,' she told reporters at the American Classic in Ontario, Calif., on March 5.

The spurt did not stop Vise from tying the night's top score with her 9.55 on the uneven bars.

Vise, 16, said she has time to get used to her new stature before the three-step Olympic selection process begins in June.

'Sometimes, they have a spurt,' said Evgeny Marchenko, who coaches Vise and Visa American Cup champion Carly Patterson at the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy in Plano. 'It's just a little difficult to handle.'

He said she stands between 5-1 and 5-2.

Martha Karolyi, U.S. women's team coordinator, said at the American Classic that the April training camp will be an important one for Vise.

FROM CEDAR HILL TO ATHENS

Sprinter-hurdler Jason Richardson, 17, of Cedar Hill, Texas, will be the young man representing the United States at the Athens Olympic Youth Camp. The U.S. Olympic Committee selected Richardson for the 16-day program based on his sports, academic and civic achievements.

WILSON STAYS OPTIMISTIC

Two-time U.S. Olympic gymnast Blaine Wilson said he expects to compete in Athens, despite having undergone surgery to repeat a torn left biceps tendon March 2. He said his rehabilitation schedule might require him to petition his way past some of the Olympic Team selection events. Wilson said he might be able to compete on all but the still rings at the U.S. Olympic Trials June 24-27. The last members of the men's and women's teams will be announced after mid-July selection camps.

UPCOMING EVENTS

March 14 _

NORBA National Mountain Bike competition, Waco, Texas

March 17-18 _

U.S. Olympic Shooting Shotgun Final Trials, Fort Benning, Ga.

March 18-20 _

U.S. Olympic Table Tennis Doubles Trials, Washington

March 18-28 _

U.S. Olympic Sailing Trials (Star class), Miami

March 25 _

Lighting of the Olympic flame in ancient Olympia

April 2-4 _

Canoe-kayak whitewater slalom Trials, South Bend, Ind.

April 3 _

U.S. Olympic Women's Marathon Trials, Birmingham, Ala.

April 3-4 _

Table tennis North American Doubles Trials, Atlanta

TICKETS

Call 1-800-360-2004 or visit www.cartan.com.

___

Visit The Dallas Morning News on the World Wide Web at http://www.dallasnews.com/

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

(c) 2004, The Dallas Morning News.