Third time’s a charm

Three hours, seven minutes and four seconds. A quick glance, and the time is easy to misunderstand.

Elite marathon runners may look at the time and think it’s nothing to write home about, even if it represents the top women’s time at the OC Marathon on Sunday.

Cheryl Smith of Laguna Beach, who made that time and earned that title, might agree. In a way, she’s not really impressed with her mark either. It’s her slowest in three years of winning the OC Marathon, the fastest being the marathon record of 2:38:38 she set last year.

“It’s slow,” Smith said. “That’s my slowest marathon ever.”

But to Smith, 28, her win this year represents hope. Considering the training — or lack thereof — she had the chance to do before this year’s marathon, her win means so much. Marathon running isn’t ready to give up on her, even if she hasn’t had the time lately to train as much as she would like.

At her peak, she said she ran around 60 miles a week in preparation for last year’s OC Marathon. It’s been just a fraction of that lately, which left Smith thinking she wouldn’t compete.

Then there she was, out Saturday running leisurely with some friends. Smith ended up running 12 miles Saturday, got inspired and ended up with another first-place finish the next day. That’s almost 40 miles of running in a weekend by someone who has hardly been out for a jog, nevermind seriously training.

“[Training] has been really inconsistent and not enough, to say the least,” she said. “I was very surprised that I won, and very happy with my performance based on how little training I’ve done.”

Yes, she’s very humble. She credits Nick Stygar of Newport Beach for helping her keep a fast pace until the 19th mile, when she hit the wall that so many marathon runners hit. After that, it was two friends from her club, Irvine-based South Coast Roadrunners, who ran with her and kept her going.

Smith is also somewhat embarrassed. She said she doesn’t want to make a mockery of the training so many people put in. But stories like these are why Susan Marx admires her friend so much.

“She’s the most gifted, talented human you’ve ever seen,” Marx said. “She’s a total inspiration to me. She’s half my age and one of the biggest inspirations in my life. She’s my hero, seriously.”

Smith doesn’t need to apologize to the other marathon runners. Her daily routine is a constant race against the clock, which explains why she’s hard to track down on her cell phone. She has two kids to raise; Brennan is 5 and Olivia just turned 3.

“That’s like running a marathon every day, when I’m with the kids,” she said. “I’m running in circles.”

Not only that, but she separated from her husband in December, 2007. They keep an amicable relationship, although they’re now divorced. Smith doesn’t mind talking about it, how she left their home in Aliso Viejo and moved back to living with a friend in Laguna Beach.

Her career has been no less challenging. She now works at the New Balance shoe store at South Coast Plaza, and does various other “odd jobs” by her description

Smith used to be a substitute teacher until she quit, trying to secure running sponsorships, but that would be no easy task in a struggling economy. Times are hard, and Smith didn’t even have the time to really put the work in and impress potential sponsors.

“I’m just getting by, pretty much,” she said, laughing. “I’m looking for a full-time career. I studied nutrition at [the University of] Hawaii. I’d love to become a registered dietitian, or somehow work in the field of nutrition. Someday hopefully I have a little bit more free time to get that going.”

At Hawaii, Smith was an All-American in cross country and the 10K run in track. She then won the inaugural OC Marathon in 2004, but her personal life — and raising Brennan — proved challenging to following up with that.

But in early 2008, she had lots of success. After Smith’s second OC Marathon win, she got to run at the Olympic time trials in Boston. She finished 31st in 2:41:45, although they only take the top four women.

“I wasn’t as well-prepared for that race as I was for the OC Marathon,” she said. “Things changed in my personal life ... [but] it was an amazing experience. They treat you like celebrities. The course, the entire 26.2 miles was lined with spectators four rows deep. The whole entire race you’re getting this adrenaline rush and feeling famous from energy and hype.”

Her coach at Roadrunners, Danny Stein, said he wants to see Smith make it to the next Olympic trials, too, three years from now.

“She’s talented in many ways, and running just happens to be one of those ways,” Stein said. “Hopefully she gets time between now and the next trials, and legitimately trains. If she does, I think she has the talent to make the Olympic team.”

Smith would love that. But she just loves running, period, although marathons are about time too.

“What it does for me is it gives me a sense of stability, when everything else in my life is a little wacky and not stable,” Smith said. “Running provides a sense of, ‘OK, at least I can count on this.’ My running is my place to go for that feeling of consistency. It’s something to ground me.

“It’s kind of like my friend out there,” she added with a laugh. “Me and the pavement, having a grand ole time.”

Three hours, seven minutes and four seconds. Expect her to do even better her next time out.