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Peters Takes Gasparilla Women's Marathon

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By Jeffrey Jones, Tribune correspondent

Published: February 11, 2008

TAMPA - Missing the U.S. Olympic Women's Marathon Trials by just 29 seconds at last month's Disney Marathon, St. Petersburg's Melanie Peters finally secured a berth in that race with a winning performance in Sunday's Gasparilla Marathon.

The U.S. women's B qualifying time is 2 hours, 47 minutes. Peters, a 24-year-old Michigan native, crossed the finish line of Sunday's race with 15 seconds to spare.

Her strong effort not only secured her a chance to represent her country in this summer's Beijing Games, but also it earned her $6,000. She won $3,000 for being the top female finisher from Florida, $1,500 for being the overall winner and another $1,500 as a time bonus for cracking 2:55.

''That's like $2,000 an hour,'' Peters said. ''That's a pretty good job.''

Immediately after crossing the finish line, Peters' legs gave out and she was taken in a wheelchair to the medical tent. There, she was able to rehydrate and relax after an intense and grueling competition — her second 26.2-miler within a 27-day period.

''I was just praying to God my legs didn't lock up because if I went down, I'd be down,'' Peters said while having her legs massaged in the medical tent. ''And they stopped right at the finish.''

Peters was the only Tampa Bay area runner, man or woman, to qualify during this year's marathon. At the women's trials in Boston on April 20, she will be joined by former Plant High star Caroline Annis, who qualified during the fall.

For Peters, it was a late feat due to the fact she decided to run the marathon just three days prior to the event after being encouraged to enter by Gasparilla Distance Classic race director Susan Harmeling.

''I wasn't really shooting for [making the trials],'' Peters said. ''I was definitely looking forward to it in four years, but if I can get some experience now that would be great.''

Peters currently works for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission in downtown St. Petersburg, where she assists as an analyst making satellite map images of coral reefs.

''If I could get a full-time position there, I could stay there until I retire and be perfectly happy,'' said Peters, who is working toward a graduate degree in marine science at South Florida.

Between school and work, she says she has little time to train for such events.

''The week before, I did zero miles — I had committee meetings, proposals due, I slept a total of four hours and I lost nine pounds just from stressing out,'' Peters said. ''If that's how you prepare for a marathon everybody should do it.''

Despite all the conflict and potential recipes for disaster, Peters qualified for the Olympic trials in only her fifth marathon. She and the other women's qualifiers will compete the day before the 112th running of the Boston Marathon. Peters says she is excited about the opportunity to be a part of something special that most runners, local or otherwise, rarely get to be a part of.

''I'm not going to pass on something like this,'' Peters said.

Peters placed second last year in the Gasparilla 15K behind local competitor Christa Benton, who also lives in Pinellas County. Before attending USF, Peters graduated from the University of Miami, where she was on the cross country and track teams.

The women's runner-up was Kim Pawelek of Jacksonville, the 2007 Gasparilla Half Marathon winner. She will receive $2,000 for being the second female Florida finisher. Michelle Nunez of Orlando was third and won $1,000.

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