TALES FROM TRACKLANDIA (Part 3/4) ——————————————————————Consistent training led Cam Marantz to new heights. A 12th place finish in 46:21 at the Gate River Run (15k) and a 1500 in 3:49, closing in 56 showed well-rounded fitness. They also showed him that he was ready to push all his chips to the center and take a shot at the Olympic Trials Standard in a 10,000m once again in the electric forest. A card-carrying member of Couch Surfers America, Cam phoned a friend, jumped on a plane bound for PDX and settled into a nice beige, 2 cushion fold-out. On the track, Cam got out to a good start, coming through 5k feeling smooth in 14:12; 6 seconds shy of a PR. Through 6k, he was still good, but the next k brought with it a side stitch that put him into survival mode. Through 8k in 22:52 he was clinging to 70 second laps. Getting down near 28:20 was where the trials cut-off would be, but what Cam could muster wasn’t sending him in that direction. The stitch caused him to play it safe and it wasn...