LOS ANGELES — America’s top runners will gather on Saturday for the highest-stakes long-distance event in the nation: the Olympic marathon trials.
“Short of being at the Olympics, this is the highest stage for American marathoning,” said Shaluinn Fullove, a 38-year-old executive at Google who overcame thyroid cancer in 2005 to qualify for the trials. “To be included among them is the culmination of everything we do in running in this country. It’s proving that we can overcome.”
The event is a uniquely American tradition. Most countries determine their Olympic running teams through a committee. Since 1968, U.