David Luy goal is to run sub 2:20 this weekend in Eau Claire and qualify for the Olympic Trials

When the Eau Claire Marathon begins on Sunday, May 6, in Eau Claire Wisconsin, runners from 27 states, plus Canada and Malaysia, will be at the starting line. One runner to watch is David Luy but be sure to get there early. David Luy, 26, of Brookfield, Wisconsin is the defending two-time Eau Claire Marathon winner, having beat the field last year with a 2:25:57 finishing time — 23 minutes ahead of the next runner. He has an ambitious goal this year — to trim six minutes off that time and finish below 2:19:00 so he can qualify to compete at the Olympic Trials.  Avid runner Michael Olson said he’s thrilled that Luy is trying to reach this milestone at the Eau Claire Marathon. He said the city is perfectly placed for holding a marathon in early spring. “I think Eau Claire is getting noticed,” Olson said. “If we have someone hit the Olympic standard, that just boosts our race that much more.” To finish in under 2:19:00, Luy will need to run about a 5:18 pace per mile for 26.2 miles. Luy said he has been running all his life and ran at Brookfield East High School but wasn’t in the upper tier. He didn’t run for the UW-Madison team while attending school there. However, he continued to run and got faster. “I’d run the campus and go further and further,” Luy said. He decided to compete in the Chicago Marathon in 2012. “It was such a surreal experience, it just jump-started my passion for the sport,” he said.

posted Wednesday May 2nd