Eugene (Ore.) Register-Guard story about Matt Hooley's race

For the second time since graduating from Carleton in 2004, Matt Hooley has qualified for the United States Olympic Marathon Trials. A former member of the Knights’ cross country and track and field teams, he fought through the rain to win the Eugene (Ore.) Marathon by nearly eight minutes on Sunday, May 3. In the process, he recorded a United States Olympic Trials “A” standard with his course-record time of 2:18:38.

The time also established a new personal record for Hooley, whose previous best time in a Marathon was 2:19:50 when he qualified for the Olympic Trials in 2007. That year, he qualified to run in the trials along with 178 other runners. Hooley will be part of a much smaller pool of runners to make it to the Olympic Trials this time because of a rule change since the 2008 Olympics.

Hooley credited the support of running partner Mike Reneau and the fans for helping him earn the qualifying time. He thanked Reneau for helping him stay at a consistent pace and keeping things interesting during the typically long and lonely running of a marathon. After Reneau dropped out, Hooley said things got difficult until the homestretch when the fans gave him a huge lift with their boisterous cheering.

Since 2007, the “A” and “B” standards for getting into the trials have been eliminated in favor of a single “A” standard mark for the marathon distance. Hooley beat this standard by over 40 seconds, a much larger margin than in his 2007 Olympic “A” Standard time. Hooley’s average pace over the 26.2-mile course at the Eugene Marathon was 5:18.

The date and location of the Olympic Trials have not been determined yet.

While starring at Carleton, Hooley recorded a total of 10 All-MIAC performances the track, including three conference titles during indoor competition and four more outside. He earned All-America distinction after finishing sixth in the 1,500-meter run at the 2003 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships. Hooley successfully pulled of an amazing trifecta when he won the 1500, 5000, and 10,000-meter runs at the 2004 MIAC outdoor championships to earn the conference’s Outstanding Track Athlete Award.

Hooley was also a three-time All-MIAC performer in cross country, placing third as the Knights won the conference meet in 2002. He followed that up by winning the individual title the following year.