Smith wins another marathon

Time is always of the essence for Laguna Beach resident Cheryl Smith when she’s running marathons.

The same is true, it turns out, for her ultimate goal.

If the marathon runner wants to qualify for the Olympics, the 2012 Olympics in London are going to be the ticket.

“If I want to make it to the Olympics, now is the time,” said Smith, 29. “Most women marathon runners peak in the early to mid-30s.”

She can begin qualifying next year. For now, she’s more than OK with winning events like the Long Beach Marathon, where she took first place Oct. 11 with a time of 2 hours, 50 minutes, 18 seconds after battling for much of the race with Daniela Alonso.

“It was kind of cool,” Smith said. “At mile 15, we were side by side. Mile 16, I got a fill adrenaline rush. I knew I had to take advantage of it and surge ahead. In marathons, my philosophy is when you feel the flow of energy you have to go. It just happened to be at mile 16.”

Alonso, who won the race in 2007, finished in 2:50:40.

Smith has won the OC Marathon three times, including last May. But, she said, she just started training again in September and said she’s now in it “for the long haul.”

She said she’s looking for an A-standard time of 2:39 or below to qualify her for the Olympic trials. In 2008, she ran in them in Boston after qualifying with her women’s course record of 2:38:38 at the OC Marathon.

For now, she said she plans to run some shorter races, like a 5K in Long Beach and the Turkey Trot in Dana Point in November.