Boothe has visions of 2012 Olympics

Fri, Nov 18th 2011, 09:14 AM

FREEPORT, Grand Bahama -- Delroy Boothe has his eyes set on the 2012 Olympic Games.
It was a goal he had established for himself a long time ago, and decided that the best way to be properly prepared for "the shot of his life" was to continually push himself to determine how much work needed to be done by the time 2012 rolls around. As a result, Boothe has competed in various marathons and races across America.
Boothe came up big in some of the 10 kilometer (k) and 5k races which were a part of his training program for 2011. He finished first in his division and second or third overall. Recently, Boothe returned home after having competed in a marathon race in Atlanta. He admitted that the race was much harder than he had anticipated, mainly because it had a number of steep hills which he had not prepared for in that kind of race.
"Atlanta was the hardest place in the world to run because it has a lot of up and down terrain, for 26.2 miles," explained Boothe, in an interview with The Freeport News. "I challenged myself to see if I could go below two hours and 58 minutes in that race, then I can run a blistering time in the upcoming Marathon Bahamas."
Boothe placed ninth overall and first in his division, and finished in a time of 2:57.00, surpassing his Marathon Bahamas time last year. Boothe said he was hoping he could have run faster, but pointed out that the rough terrain made that almost impossible. Besides, it was blistering cold and that affected how he finished in that race. Boothe said that out of over 400 runners, finishing ninth overall was not a bad placing for him.
"I really have to thank all of the people who have assisted me over the years and in particular, helping me get to Atlanta for this race," said Boothe. "I want to thank Mr. Carl Martin at Quality Auto, FOCOL, Frecon, Bruce Silvera, Sandy Sawyer at Sawyer's Food Market, and a number of other people. This is my first real trial in preparation for the 2012 Olympics, but I have to bring my time down. I have another marathon to run in December, so I'm hoping to do well at that race. There is another race in January, and one in March, which will probably be the final race before the Olympic Games. Of course, I also qualified for the Boston Marathon, so I will see where I'm at when that event comes around next year. Those are my three trials for the Olympic Games. My goal will be to bring my time down for the Olympics."
Boothe has aspired to run in the Olympics for a long time, since he began his career as a marathon runner. However, he's always been denied the shot he needed at qualifying. The Grand Bahamian runner is hoping that next year will be the year for him to get a shot at the elusive Olympic Games. Boothe said that he's at a place in his running career where he is actually stronger than when he was much younger. He's convinced that he has improved his skill, thanks to the many races he competed across the United States.
"I knew I had to prepare and so I made the decision to compete in the states," said Boothe. "People wonder why I keep going to the United States to run, but I have a goal and that's to compete and improve my time. I want to run in the Olympics, and I know what I have to do to get there."
DISTANCE RUNNING: Delroy Boothe, pictured, is looking to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England, in the Men's Marathon.                      Photo courtesy of ANDREW COAKLEY

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