Jenelle Deatherage has covered a lot of ground since winning the 1993 state cross country championship at East Peoria High School.

"I had a great career at the University of Wisconsin," said Deatherage. "I was fortunate enough to be a 4–time All–American and be part of a wonderful team. I had a lot of great training partners and teammates there. I stayed there for a while and got my masters degree in physical therapy and continued to run."

And now, at 30, Deatherage is about to make another run at a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. She's come excruciatingly close before. In her event, the women's 15–hundred meters, she's right there with the best in the world.

"I have just as good of a shot as anybody. There are a handful of us, may be 5 or 7 of us, who could be in that top 3 on any given day. And it really is just that day. You just have to be ready on that day. Even though people may come to the line with a faster time than you it doesn't really matter when you line up on that day. It could be anyone's race."

Jenelle finished fourth in the 1,500 meters at the 2004 Olympic trails. But she ran her best time. And she learned an important lesson, which she'll carry with her into the trials next month in Eugene, Oregon.

"It taught me a big lesson to never count anybody in. Never count anybody out but don't assume the team has been made before the trials have even been run. I kind of did that in my mind and I think I didn't give myself enough of a chance. I definitely won't be doing that this time."

Jenelle's taken the past two months off from her job to concentrate on training. She works as a physical therapist in Minneapolis. For a runner of her caliber, making the Olympic team would be the perfect physical therapy.