Mount Vernon's Moeller ready for Olympic Trials

By Alex Busbee, correspondent

The thought of running 26.2 miles can make even the toughest person squirm.

Not Erin Moeller.

A mother of two who works a full-time job, Moeller will compete in the Olympic Marathon Trials on Saturday in Houston, hoping to represent Iowa and the United States at this summer's games in London. The top three finishers earn berths on the U.S. team.

Moeller, 34, hit the qualifying standard twice for the trials, first at the 2010 Chicago Marathon and again at the 2010 California International Marathon.

“I want to run my own race,” said Moeller, who lives in Mount Vernon. “I have a lot of respect for the ladies who have qualified for the trials. I want to do my very best.”

Moeller's personal record, or PR, is 2 hours, 36 minutes, 51 seconds, set at the 2008 Olympic Trials, where she finished 10th.

Moeller will travel to Houston with her husband, Andy, and two children, Evelyn and Ryne.

“It means the world to me that they are able to be there, and take in the experience with me,” she said. “Just seeing their faces and hearing their cheers along the way makes me dig a little deeper and push a little harder. It makes me not only want to do this for myself but to do it for them in thanks and appreciation for all that they've sacrificed throughout the years that I've been training.”

Andy has encouraged Erin throughout her marathon career, helping with her training schedule. In Houston, he will play personal assistant, keeping track of details so Erin can focus on the race.

He and the kids have been helping her train for the trials.

“On weekends she'll go in to town for a long run,” Andy said. “I'll take the kids, pile in the van, and we'll kind of become her support group. We'll go to different spots and cheer her on and hand her water bottles.”

Ryne, 6, is a first-grader at Washington Elementary School in Mount Vernon. He is beginning to catch the running bug. his favorite part is “running with mom” because it's “goody fun.”

As the race draws near, Erin admits the chance of qualifying for the Olympics is slim.

“I have no delusions that I'm going to be one of the top finishers,” she said. “There are women who train and compete and run for a living who are much more talented than I am. I respect and appreciate that.

“But I also know that I have this gift as well.”

She will have no regrets, regardless of the outcome.

“Maybe one day I'll be 80 years old and wonder what would have happened if I gave it all up for running,” Erin said. “But we have a happy family and two great kids to show for it and I wouldn't trade them for running a minute or two faster in a marathon.”