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Ex-YSU runner set for Olympic trials
Thomas-Kaulen seems
to get faster with age
By Greg Gulas
Milestone birthdays are to be spent however you wish to spend them.
Former Youngstown standout distance runner Laura Thomas-Kaulen, who turned 40 on Friday, will try to qualify today in the marathon event for the upcoming 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The Garfield Heights native and 2000 YSU graduate, who remains the only Penguin cross country runner to ever qualify for the NCAA Cross Country National Championships, is one of 244 individuals nationwide seeking three spots on this year’s marathon team.
“I’m just ready to take in the entire experience and have some fun,” Thomas-Kaulen said. “The first three finishers are the only ones that get to go to Rio de Janeiro and while I will really have to push to get to that point, I’m all right with that. Just to line up and run against some of the greatest American runners that you’ve only read about in magazines will be a tremendous experience.”
Thomas-Kaulen has two daughters ages 10 and 8, and a son, 6. She is married to former Penguin runner Matt Kaulen. She is a special education teacher at Central Crossing High School in Grove City, Ohio, and will be one of two runners representing her team, the Columbus Running Company.
In order to qualify for the trials a runner had to beat the 2:43:00 marathon qualifying time, set by the USATF (USA Track and Field), the governing body for track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking) or 1:15:00 for a half marathon.
Thomas-Kaulen qualified by running 2:42:12 at the Erie Marathon at Presque State Park in 2014.
She was 38 years old at the time, recalling a failed attempt to qualify nearly a decade earlier.
“I needed to run a 2:48:00 back then and ran 2:53, failing to qualify by a good five minutes,” she added. “At 38 years old, I find it ironic that I added over eight years but took six minutes off of my time in order to qualify.”
Thomas-Kaulen said she tries to run at least one marathon a year and has run five overall.
Over the past four years she has also found time to take part in two half marathons a year and from March to November, enters two or three 5K’s a month as well.
She still trains with college-aged runners by taking part in the indoor mile and indoor 800 meters.
Her college coach, Brian Gorby, remains one of her biggest supporters.
“It’s no surprise to me that Laura has made the Olympic trials,” Gorby said. “She has always had tremendous drive, tenacity and the necessary passion to put in between 70-90 miles a week that is needed in order to achieve elite times in the 10K and marathon.
“It took her a couple years in college to adapt to running and training 70-80 miles a week, but once she did she has been successful ever since, living it 24-7 on the roads.
“Marrying another YSU runner, Matt Kaulen, didn’t hurt. They understand the time and sacrifice needed if one expects to be successful at long-distance running. I’m sure Laura would be the first to tell you that she is blessed to have Matt’s support. It’s also amazing that she has been getting faster with age.”
Thomas-Kaulen once ran and won the 10K, 1500m and 5K, logging 10 overall miles in the three races over a two-day period to help YSU win the 1998 Women’s Mid-Continent Conference Track & Field Outdoor Championships.
Because of her effort, YSU defeated Buffalo by one-third of a point, 188-187 2/3.
“A lot of runners were only doing one race, but Laura was beating those same runners after running two other races,” Gorby said. “To the coaches, that told us that Laura was destined to be a successful future marathoner.”
Thomas-Kaulen is just the second ever YSU track or cross country alum to qualify for the Olympic Trials, joining Matt Folk who earned three Olympic marathon trials.
Assistant coach Nicole Kent-Strollo was a first-year assistant coach when Thomas-Kaulen joined the Penguin program in the mid-1990s.
“Laura was by no means a standout at the time, she simply put in the necessary work to become a better runner and has continued doing so ever since,” Kent-Strollo said. “Beyond her outstanding accomplishments in the sport, what stands out to me is her continued pride in being a product of Youngstown State University. She and her husband were on our team at the same time and they come back each year during our conference championship meet in order to catch up and cheer on our current Penguins.”
Thomas-Kaulen, whose participation at the trials will mark her first Master’s race, joins teammate Christina Murphy for the event.
Neither will lack for a cheering section.
“There are 16 of our teammates that will be running the L.A. Marathon on Sunday, and they’ve come out early just to cheer us on,” she noted. “They already have their positions on the course and it’s just so very exciting to have their support.”
The course, which begins at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, begins with a 2.2 mile loop before runners break off into a six-mile loop, which they must complete four times.
The men begin at 1:06 p.m. and the women start at 1:22 p.m. with NBC set to air the event to a national audience.